Bridles, bits and horse tack

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Essential items of horse tack

The amount of horse tack one needs is very much dependent on the level you compete at, your chosen discipline as well as the amount of horses you ride. However, as a one horse owner, there are certain staple accoutrements that one needs in order to enjoy horse riding to the full.

They are as follows:

Leather saddle

A saddle, such as the new Stubben Genesis CS de Luxe, is one of the mainstays of horse riding tack. Depending on what discipline you compete in, this will determine what type of leather saddle you use. If you are a dressage rider you will need a saddle that is cut specifically for the dressage. Fine examples of these are the Stubben Roxane, Stubben Maestoso, and the new Stubben Genesis Dressage. The shape and cut of these saddles include a long straight flap which enables the rider to ride long in the stirrups and have close contact with the horse to ensure effective aids are given.

If you are into eventing or show jumping you would require a jumping saddle which features a forward cut flap to allow the rider to ride in shorter stirrups. Excellent examples of such jumping saddles are the Stubben Genesis Jumping, Kieffer Arlene and the Frank Baines Reflex.

Finally if you enjoy horse riding and wish to hack and compete in various disciplines but not to an advanced level, then a general purpose saddle would probably be the best choice. The Stubben Siegfried VSD and Roxane VSS are fine examples, with each designed to lend favour to either dressage or jumping.

Bridle

A good quality leather bridle, whether cavesson, French, flash or grackle is an important piece of horse tack, especially given that it is your primary means of controlling your horse. With obvious variations in noseband attachment, a Stubben bridle is a perfect choice to add class and an unparalleled quality of craftsmanship to your horse tack collection.

What Stubben bridle you have depends on your particular requirements; if you're looking for a well padded bridle with colour variations in leatherwork and padding then the 1700 padded snaffle would be a perfect choice. However, if you want to really stand out and make an impression then the 1005 with silver or brass inlay and the 155 with pointed and raised midnight blue suede inlay would be an excellent choice.

It is useful to have, as well as the bridle, a breastplate or martingale. These help secure the saddle in place and act as a safety aid to prevent the horse from chucking its head up and possibly injuring the rider.

Girth and numnah

To securely fasten your saddle and protect it from your horse's sweat, a girth and a numnah or saddle pad is essential. Stubben and Griffin Nuumed make a great range of numnahs and saddle pads with qualities to suit all individual and discipline.

With regards to girths, Stubben make beautifully fitted girths out of natural leather and trevira cord.

Head collar/halter

One of the safest and most elegant pieces of everyday horse tack is a leather headcollar / halter. Whether it is padded such as the Stubben 1083 padded halter or unpadded such as the Stubben 1080, a leather head collar should be high on your list of essential horse tack.

Once you have the above mentioned pieces of horse tack you are well on your way to becoming an established horse rider with tack to suit the varying needs of you and your beloved horse.

Fine leather horse tack at Dogwood London

With an outstanding collection of leather horse tack ranging from bridles to saddles, numnahs to riding boots, Dogwood offers you the ultimate in horse riding equipment. Our collection spans a wide range of equestrian disciplines so whether dressage, show jumping or eventing is your preferred activity – or you just enjoy general riding – we have something for you.

Our exclusive collection off horse tack includes prestigious names such as Stubben, Kieffer and Frank Baines, so you can be assured that you will be getting nothing but the very best no matter which product you select.

For more information on any of our items of horse tack please do not hesitate to get in contact by calling 0845 30 10 365.