Which leather bridle and noseband?

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Leather bridles come in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles and colour, and with this vast array of leather horse tack, one can get somewhat overwhelmed. The terminology itself is a minefield for a novice equestrian, be it snaffle bridles, grackle, double, hackamore, kineton, they all seem like a foreign language and not something that one can readily relate to.

This article will give note to the most common leather bridles, their uses and styling.

Snaffle Bridle

With a slightly misleading name, a snaffle bridle is by no means only used for snaffle bits. A snaffle bridle is commonly seen in the UK and for this reason it is known as the "English-type" bridle.

In its most basic sense, the leather snaffle bridle has no noseband at all; its features are a crownpiece, cheekpieces, throatlatch and browband. From this basic leather bridle make up you then get a number of different nosebands, with each one serving a particular purpose.

The Cavesson

A cavesson is the most common of all nosebands for a leather bridle, and can be adjusted with great precision because it fits onto its own headstall through the browband.

Dropped Noseband

Another fairly common piece of leather bridlework is the dropped noseband. It is usually used on horses that have a tendency to open their mouths a lot - whether trying to avoid the bit, gobbing, or attempting to get their tongue over the bit.

Hanoverian (drop)

The Hanoverian drop is more commonly known as a flash noseband. It has a similar type of action to the dropped noseband, but is in actual fact an attachment via a small loop on the cavesson noseband. The attachment is a thin piece of leatherwork that goes from the cavesson below the bit and round the lower part of the nose - much like the drop. This helps to keep the horse from trying all the evasive measures previously mentioned in the drop noseband section.

Grackle

The grackle noseband has a two piece action, whereby it crosses the nose of the horse quite high and then crosses again under the horses jaw. Sometimes known as a figure of eight or a Mexican noseband, the two piece action helps to prevent the horses from opening its mouth as well as stopping it from crossing its jaw.

Kineton

A kineton noseband is a type of noseband which is usually only fitted to a leather bridle when a horse is strong. It has a metal loop on each side which goes underneath the horses bit, so when pressure is applied through the reins it is transferred onto the horses nose and poll, thus encouraging it to lower its head and become more submissive.

Worcester

The Worcester noseband looks in some ways like a flash but has two independent straps that lead from the middle of the noseband and attach to each side of the horses bit. Its effectiveness is the way it helps prevent the horse getting its tongue over the bit and stops it opening its mouth. However, it is also good for turning and putting pressure onto the horses nose, thus taking sole emphasis away from the bit.

Double Bridle

Also known as a Weymouth bridle, a double bridle uses two bits at once - one is a small snaffle �bradoon and the other a curb or Weymouth bit. As there are two bits, two sets of reins are required. Double bridles are usually used in advanced level dressage.

Hackamore

A Hackamore or bitless bridle exerts pressure on the poll, nose and curb groove. Being bitless, there is no control coming through the mouth or bit, so this sort of leather bridle is often used in endurance riding and dressage where strong contact on the horses mouth is not required.

Hackamores are also seen in showjumping, especially the showjumping phase of a Three Day Event, as the event riders do not want to put undue pressure on the horses mouth the day after they have been round a cross country course. Quite often they have a fleecy sheepskin covering; this is put there so the horse has to lower its head to see over the fleece and thus will not chuck its head up and evade the contact.

The various leather bridles and noseband attachments give a wide choice for the equestrian who wants the best for their horse. It is up to the individual horse rider to assess the relative merits of each and to choose one that complements their horses way of going.

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