THE HORSE BRIDLE IS
ONE OF YOUR MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF TACK

The Horse Bridle provides the rider with an important line of communication with the horse along with the rider's legs, voice and body. This allows you to let your horse know what you want him to do. The Bridle is the piece of horse tack worn on your horse's head. The main job of the bridle is to hold the bit in the horse’s mouth.

Horse Bridles fall into one of the following general categories:

1. The Western Bridle

2. The English Bridle

3. The Halter Bridle Combination and

4. The Bitless Bridle

Traditionally, Horse Bridles are made of leather. There are many different styles and types of Horse bridles to choose from. Your everyday leather bridle is often made of plain smooth leather. Sometimes the leather is rolled. Good quality leather is smooth, soft and pliable to the touch with a rich, aromatic leather smell. The leather can be dyed to give you a choice of colors. The most common colors are Black, Brown, Chestnut, Burgundy and Natural. The term Dark Oil refers to a dark brown leather and the term Light Oil refers to a Natural or Tan colored leather. Some leather bridles are decorated with tooled, stamped designs or fancy conchos.

Conchos dress up your horse tack. They are usually round and silver in color, but also come in a variety of different shapes and styles. Stars and Crosses are very popular. They attached to the brow and cheek pieces with a screw, sometimes referred to as Chicago Screws. Most Conchos can be removed to make cleaning the leather easier for you.

Other decorations used on the Western Horse Bridle are rawhide braids and knots. Silver cones and colored beads adorn the brow bands and cheek pieces. Horse hair tassels hang from the knotted brow bridles and on the sides of bridles.

Synthetic Horse bridles are becoming very popular. A synthetic bridle is usually made of nylon. The nylon comes in a wide variety of vivid colors, some with beautiful patterns and designs. Many people prefer the nylon synthetic equipment to avoid the leather cleaning task. Cleaning nylon can be done with a scrub brush, sponge and water hose.

Kids love the selection of the popular, hot colors available in the nylonmini, pony and horse bridles. We have been fortunate to find a skilled craftsman who makes our line of Miniature Horse and Pony Nylon Bridles and breast collars. Special orders can be placed for just about any color nylon bridles and breast collars.

Finding the correct size of horse bridle, halter, or other tack for your horse can be confusing and difficult. Many manufacturers and retailers use the terms Mini, Pony, Cob, Horse and Draft to describe what size animal a particular bridle will fit. These general terms are usually close to what you need. But they are General terms. Returns due to the wrong size are much easier when you purchase your bridle at a local store. Internet shopping is becoming so popular and has opened up a wide choice of style, colors and sizes to choose from. Descriptions and sizes need to be more detailed for Internet and Catalog purchases. If you purchase from a catalog or on the Internet, you should look closely at the descriptions and know the measurements for your horse. If you are unsure, always ask questions before you make your purchase.

Often halters are described as Foal, Weanling, Yearling, Pony, Mini, Cob, Horse or Draft size. Some manufacturers give weight ranges for sizing halters. I'm sure you have seen the labels that say "This Halter will fit the 600-800 pound horse". Do you know what your horse weighs? The average person doesn't have a clue.

Measure and keep your horse's tack measurements handy. You should know your horses measurements for halters, bridles, sheets and stable blankets, harness and any other horse tack you use.

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR HORSE FOR A BRIDLE

You can measure a bridle that you have that already fits your horse or you can take a tape measure and get your horses Measurements.

Measuring the horse bridle: You should use a flexible cloth tape measure. Start by placing the tape measure at the end of the cheek piece where the bit is attached. Go up the cheek piece, over the crown (poll) and down the other side to the bottom of the opposite cheek piece. This is your B2B (Bit-to-Bit) Measurement. When using the B2B measurement, you want to keep in mind what type of bit you will be using. Some bits have an inch or more upper shank that the headstall attaches to. If your bit has longer upper shanks, you will want to add an inch or two, depending on the length of the upper shank to the B2B measurement.

Measure your horse. Place your tape measure at the corner of the horse's mouth and go up the cheek, over the poll and down to the opposite corner of the horse's mouth.

GENERAL MEASUREMENTS

The Bit to Bit Measurements below are a General Guideline and should not be used in place of the actual measurement you take on your individual horse. Notice the overlap of measurements between each group of horse.