# Bridle dilemma



## Marsha Cassada (Feb 27, 2011)

I am not at all happy with Dusty's bridle. :arg! I hate to mention on here where I got it. The harness is fine, but this bridle has been a problem from the beginning. I did not return it, as the horse I got it for was sold after he only used it a few times, and I had no other horse to wear it until Dusty. (It didn't work with him either, but I thought it might be the particular horse.) So, with that time lag of nearly 2 years it would not be fair to return it.

I CANNOT get the blinders to adjust properly, and no matter what I do they never seem even when I'm looking at him from behind. They also lay too flat against his face, and not even at the same angle, besides.

Today I tried taking off the brass-embellished brow band, thinking it was holding the blinders in the wrong spot. It did no good.

I am fed up with it.

Where can I get a black headstall with brass, including the brass side check loops? Without having to buy a harness?

I'm not even going to put it on him again; I'll go back to the open one until I find one that will work.


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## drivin*me*buggy (Feb 27, 2011)

Janie at Chimacum Tack should be able to help you. I have 2 bridles from her and am very happy with them...I have the 'sport' bridles. I love the crownpiece as it is curved for behind their ears. You can also buy just bridles pieces from her. I had open cheek pieces from when I started my ponies. Then found myself wanting to have an open bridle to grab for inhand work. I am spoiled and pressed for time so didn't want to take apart my driving bridles. So, since I already had the open cheek pieces I ordered a crownpiece, browband, and throatlatch and tada, had a very nice open bridle for less $$ than buying from somewhere else! Camptown harness is another place I have bought harness from in the past and I am happy with that tack too.

Angie


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## RhineStone (Feb 27, 2011)

A forelock that is thick will keep a bridle from being straight on the horse's face.

Myrna


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 27, 2011)

RhineStone said:


> A forelock that is thick will keep a bridle from being straight on the horse's face.
> 
> Myrna


I've tried putting his forelock every which way and nothing helps. His forelock is not really that thick anyway. I even had my husband, Mr Schematic diagram/physics/just-the-facts guy, look at him today and try to adjust the blinders. The blinders were askew and I stopped after a mile or so to see what in the world was awry with them. Math and physics wasn't the answer, either. Poor Dusty made it home in spite of it all.


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 28, 2011)

This bridle is available. Does anyone have it? Are the blinders good? The problem, is if I order it with brass, to match my harness, it is not returnable. $200 for a bridle that might not work is a pretty big gamble.

http://camptownharness.com/index.php?pg=Just%20for%20Minis&i=42

I just laid the bridle out and did some measuring with a cloth tape. The sewn blinder section has 1/2" difference. One side is shorter than the other.


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## Sue_C. (Feb 28, 2011)

Marsha Cassada said:


> This bridle is available. Does anyone have it? Are the blinders good? The problem, is if I order it with brass, to match my harness, it is not returnable. $200 for a bridle that might not work is a pretty big gamble.
> 
> http://camptownharness.com/index.php?pg=Just%20for%20Minis&i=42
> 
> I just laid the bridle out and did some measuring with a cloth tape. The sewn blinder section has 1/2" difference. One side is shorter than the other.


A good friend of mine has this harness and bridle, and the bridle will not fit her 35" mare, it is significantly too large. While I do like the harness, aside from the bridle being too large for a "B" horse, I find the blinders themselves a bit too "clunky" for my taste.

Take a look at the bridle shown here. harness/bridle I have two of these harnesses, and the bridle fits both the larger-headed mare in my avatar, and my much smaller featured "A" mare.

As for your original bridle being odd-sized...I would contact the seller to inform them.. I would think they would be willing to work with you on this.


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## hobbyhorse23 (Feb 28, 2011)

Marsha Cassada said:


> This bridle is available. Does anyone have it? Are the blinders good? The problem, is if I order it with brass, to match my harness, it is not returnable. $200 for a bridle that might not work is a pretty big gamble.http://camptownharness.com/index.php?pg=Just%20for%20Minis&i=42


That is the same bridle Janie sells, or at least it was before Marjean switched harness makers. I agree with Sue- they are comfortable for the horse but clunky and unflattering and the blinkers on Camptown bridles tend to be huge. Janie has had that fixed so hers are much smaller but I still find the whole blinker assembly bulky and I'm not fond of the cavesson if you have to unbuckle it. One side always slips free of the hanger and then dangles annoyingly in the horse's face. Kody liked the crownpiece but looked like The Fly with those giant round blinkers so he's never used his. We stick with our leather Ozark bridles which, yes, have a tendency to not be assembled evenly. I inspect each one carefully when it arrives and send it back if it's not right. I have yet to find a non-show mini bridle I really love but you can buy just a bridle from any vendor whose harness you like. They will all sell individual parts.

Leia

P.S.- Janie does not have that "brass is not returnable" policy.


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## Marsha Cassada (Feb 28, 2011)

hobbyhorse23 said:


> We stick with our leather Ozark bridles which, yes, have a tendency to not be assembled evenly. I inspect each one carefully when it arrives and send it back if it's not right. I have yet to find a non-show mini bridle I really love but you can buy just a bridle from any vendor whose harness you like. They will all sell individual parts.
> 
> Leia



I will say now that the bridle is Ozark. After looking over the bridle to see if a simple hole punch would solve the problem, I did call them this morning, even though it's been 2 years. They said to return it and they would fix it. So I am happy to continue to give them A+ credit for customer service!!

I learned a good lesson. It wouldn't have occured to me to measure the bridle parts. But I will from now on. And I am glad to know it wasn't Dusty's head that was out of kilter!

Not every harness vendor will seperate parts. I'd like to have another Big Dee bridle; they do not sell parts seperately.

Thanks for all the informative replies!


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## Sue_C. (Feb 28, 2011)

> I did call them this morning, even though it's been 2 years. They said to return it and they would fix it. So I am happy to continue to give them A+ credit for customer service!!


Most excellent, I figured if it was a reputable seller, they would do something to help you out.


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## ThreeCFarm (Mar 2, 2011)

Ozark is very, very easy to work with and I've never had something from them be off like that. I think I have two of their bridles? I'm glad you got it worked out.


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