Holy bridles

And having a buckle on only one side drives my OCD mad, because it's not symmetrical, dammit, and if I'm paying $95 for a super pretty headstall, it better have two stinkin' buckles.



In all seriousness, though, look at NRS--they have a big selection of single-buckle headstalls from economy line to fancy show quality.

Most my headstalls have two buckles and I am the only person I know who doesn't care how asymmetrical they are as long as the darn thing fits my horse.
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One thing that never did make any sense to me though...on bridles where you honestly only need 1 buckle like a browband or sliding ear (because all the parts can shift over and there's no need to center the buckles on the sides to fit the ears just right), there always seems to be two buckles...but on bridles where you really should have 2 buckles like the notch or slit ears, there is only one .

I understand that the notch/slit for the ear limits the space for a buckle on the off side but what if you end up with a horse that has a head that is just a touch too big or too small and the slit isn't in the right spot for their ear? Then you have to go buy a new bridle or add extensions or punch more holes or make a bigger slit for the ear. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense to have a smaller ear notch and buckles on both sides so that you could adjust it to exactly the right spot for whichever horse you were riding?

They want to make more money off of you?

Maybe I'm buying the wrong leathers then? Lol I had a draft bridle that was just a simple thing made by Weaver. It was about an inch and a half wide and made of "harness leather" I adjusted everything the first time I used it for my horse and then left it the way it was for the better part of six months, using it as needed. The next time I went to swap the bit for a different style the leather literally snapped apart.

Also, I'm more favourable to the buckles on nylon headstalls than the little screws in leather - although I'm liking the ties on the leather ones posted above.

Were you storing it in temperature extremes or outside or something?

It was stored in our tack room, which is part of the barn and has no heating or anything like that. We can get some pretty nasty weather here, going down to -30C without windchill. So I'm sure that can affect the longevity of my leather's lifespan as well.

As a whole though I've always been partial to the bright colours of nylon among other pros that I've already mentioned XD I'm debating trying for leather again in the future for the local showing circuit, but from my experieces I'm a little leary.

A properly maintained leather bridle will last, but if you won't be maintaining it regularly - BUY NYLON. It's safer :)

I prefer a browband - or nothing - rather than a 1 ear, but that's just personal preference. The ear openings on one-ears either fit or they don't, and if they don't, there isn't much you can do about it.

I always make sure it has a throat latch for safety reasons - its too easy to snag a headstall on something and yank it off the horse if you don't have a throatlatch fastened.

Also, some horses will learn that a well timed head shake can remove the bridle as well LOL.

Thank you all for the reply's I have learn more then I ever expected about such a simple thing but makes since now thank you all again