There’s a lot of money out there in specially curved and contoured bridles, saddles that look increasingly like the Grand Tetons, and bits—wildly expensive, of course—designed to complement your horse’s palate, personality and astrological sign.
But when it comes to equipment, I’m a simple girl. My kit is pretty straightforward, and I’ve had a lot of success with it. Of course I want my horses comfortable and happy, and I know there’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all, but I’ve also found that simple works best, with a few modern upgrades.
I have two types of noseband in my spare tack box: a crank noseband with a flash (which I can take off, for the occasional horse who prefers to go without a flash), and a drop. “Crank” refers to the mechanism that closes the noseband, and I think they can get a bad rep from the uninitiated, because the word “crank” makes it sound like a mechanical strap that slams a horse’s mouth shut. I use them because I find them better padded than a non-crank noseband, and I’d rather have a comfortable, cushy noseband over a thin one any day.
I know there’s a new style out there with the crownpiece cut dramatically back, to alleviate poll pressure. I’m not a fan, not because I don’t like alleviating poll pressure as much as the next guy (though there are horses out there on whom I don’t mind poll pressure), but because it seems like a big flashing red light above my horse’s neck, which could draw attention to any imperfections in our training and self carriage. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, dressage is still a subjectively judged sport, and the weird and noticeable equipment draws attention to itself.
And clearly, no bridle is complete without a pretty browband, like Danny’s, from Topline Leather!
When it comes to bits, I’ve got basically three mouthpieces: the lozenge, the French link, and the single-jointed boucher. The boucher also gets a bad rep for being a strong bit, and while I agree it’s not the softest, it’s a great bit for those horses who go best with a downward draw on the poll. I’ve really liked it for high-headed horses, like Midgey, though I’ve also had some horses who don’t fall into that high-headed category who’ve loved it.
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The other two, the lozenge and the French link, I have in a range of thicknesses, and in both loose ring and eggbutt ring styles. I tend to reach for a loose ring first, because I like that it moves more in the mouth and, as such, isn’t as solid and rigid and as an eggbutt can be, although I’ve also had horses get rubs on the corner of the mouth and on the exterior of the lips from a loose ring, so for those horses an eggbutt is a good choice.
For double bridles, I use a bradoon that’s the same mouthpiece as their snaffle bridle, and my go-to curb bit is a medium thickness, medium port. Almost every horse I’ve ever had has gone in just that. One time we had a horse we bought for a client come to us with a no-port curb, and so we continued using that, though he probably could have gone in anything; he was pretty simple. And we found that Ella preferred a high port, though I couldn’t tell you why; it was something a trainer I rode with suggested, and I tried one, and she liked it, so I bought it.
At the end of the day, that’s pretty much how my bitting decisions go; I raid what I have, and rarely need to deviate from that, but I’m willing to play with other things on tricky horses.
Which is how I made a recent sort-of-miraculous little find. I was wandering through our local used tack shop and came upon a Lorenzini snaffle bit on sale at a terrific price. I’d heard of Lorenzini before, because a horse I’d bought was being ridden in one before I bought him, but I found he went well in a more traditional stainless steel bit that I already owned, and that was that.
But they intrigued me, because they’re made of titanium, and as such are INCREDIBLY light. It was a steal of a deal, and I figured that if I hated it I could stick it on Ebay and get my money back, so I picked it up. I wanted to see if the incredible lightness of the bit would make a difference on one of my personal horses, who struggles with self carriage.
The difference was miraculous. How a few ounces less weight can make a huge difference in an animal weighing north of a 1,000 pounds, I can’t explain. But it was really impressive, the difference in this one horse. So I tried it on another horse for whom self carriage isn’t easy. And boom—a huge improvement. This horse also has a dry mouth, not producing much saliva while he works, and it improved dramatically in the Lorenzini.
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It takes a lot to impress me, and I’m impressed!
My saddles are also simple, though we use a little modern technology too. I choose saddles that are less shape-specific than what seems to be in vogue today, with flatter, broader fitting trees. I want saddles that are tolerant to not only the changes of shape my horses go through over time, as they build condition, but also in any given ride, as they raise and lower their backs within the course of their work. If a saddle looks like a stiletto, it’s likely to fit like a stiletto—barely comfortable at low speeds, impossible to move in with looseness and relaxation, and really only designed for style.
I also ride everything in a shock absorbing pad by ProLite. The horse’s back is not really designed to bear weight, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to protect it. The ProLite pad also comes in a version with pockets, so I can add shims to help horses who are gaining condition stay comfortable in their equipment as their bodies change.
I ride a few horses in a girth by Fairfax, and for the horses that it helps, it really helps them. In particular I’ve found it helpful with the longer-backed horses, and it seems to act like a pair of control-top pantyhose (not, of course, that I would ever know what those are like…). It provides support and lift to the belly, but isn’t a replacement for good work.
In the end, no equipment is a replacement for good work. Our tack has to fit and be kind to the horse, and then our horses have to be trained to accept it, by compassionate and educated hands.
