The Bridle

I own a bridle!!!!!  I have not the horse but I own a bridle, one small step for a horse crazy gal, one giant leap towards owning a horse...I have no idea....!!!  There is a purpose to owning a bridle though, not sharing tack with a bunch of other people means that there are fewer adjustments you have to make in order to tack up your horse.

Conditioning my new tack!

The stable where I lease and ride Willy has mainly western tack, saddles, bridles....all western.  There was one bridle I could find that was a simple snaffle bit; the issue there that could arise is what would I do if that bridle was being used or no where to be found?  It would be difficult, I can't exactly ride English in a western curb, so I purchased a bridle...problem solved.  I can fit it to Willy's head and then all I have to do is put it on him, no adjustments to cheek pieces or the bit.  In a way it's like his own bridle, at least for now while I lease him.

Doesn't really fit Spencer that well.

The bridle is a simple black leather bridle with a raised nose band and brow band, meaning there are two layers of leather with a piece between to give a nice rounded look to those two parts.  Immediately upon receiving it I spent an hour taking it apart and applying a leather conditioner to help soften the new leather.  Regular use will help with that too but I wanted to make sure the leather was conditioned so it wouldn't dry out and crack.  I can't wait to put it on Willy and try it out!  There's just something about having YOUR tack to use rather than relying on someone else's tack that might not be your preference.  Either the color is off or the reins feel weird or there is fancy stitching that really makes the bridle look tacky...there can be any number of things about other peoples tack that just don't suit you.  I like to match my tack too, a black saddle and a Havana bridle just looks weird!  An oak bark saddle and a black bridle would look just as weird.  Owning my own tack is bringing me closer to horse ownership, the tack itself needs to be taken care of and worked with; bring on the responsibilities!  Stay tuned when I try out the new bridle on an unsuspecting Arab!