Choosing the perfect fit of bridle for your horse is just as important as a regular dental checkup for braces and crowns because the wrong choice of fit can cause harm and damage to your horse. The bridle is actually a mediator of communication between the jockey and the horse . It is an essential part of horse’s equipment as equestrians use it to signal their horse and it is used to hold the bit inside the horse’s mouth. Other parts such as reins and bit along with bridle function together to allow a rider to have complete control over the horse’s head. The bit first applied pressure over the horse mouth which helps in applying reinforcement to the weight distributing part of a rider , i.e. on rider legs. Equestrians at horseback riding in Orange County claim that a skilled rider and an experienced horse don’t need bits and reinforcement as parts of communication channel , but they use it more as an adjoining cable so that the stability can be maintained which allows you to gain complete control over your horse.
Parts Of Bridle
- Headpiece: Also known as crown piece and it goes all around the horse’s head to behind their ears. It is then attached to the cheek pieces which are already connected to it to secure its position.
- Browband: It covers the horse’s forehead by being attached below the horse’s ears. Its basic goal is to avoid the bit from slipping towards the horse’s neck.
- Throatlatch: It is a latch attached under the horse’s ear and goes till the horse’s throat where it is made tightly fastened. Just make sure not to fasten it too tightly otherwise it can agitate your horse.
- Cheek pieces: As already mentioned , they are basically the strap that holds the bit. They are flexible and can be extended or shortened depending Upon the need.
- Noseband: It goes around the horse’s nose. The main purpose of the noseband is to hold the bridle in its original position as well as prevent the horse from opening their mouth.
- Flash: Flash is a strap that is attached to the noseband and placed under the horse’s chin. The main aim of flash is to stabilize the bit inside the horse’s mouth and prevent it from moving the jaws or putting its tongue over the bit.
- Bit: It goes inside the horse mouth and is placed between the spaces of teeth which are also known as bars. Two rings from each of the either sides of the bit are fixed with a bit and they rest outside the horse mouth.
- Reins: Reins are attached to the bit and they are the main link between the rider and the horse. They can be seen on every bridle you use.
How to Bridle?
We generally start with putting the reins over the horse’s head and then we have to unclip the head collar.Then the horse’s nose is secured with one hand to prevent it from raising its head and meanwhile bridle should be cleared by putting up the noseband and making sure the buckles are resting on the outside . The next step will be to sort the bit with the left hand and place it in the horse’s mouth .After the bit is perfectly positioned inside the mouth the rest of the bridle now can be lifted and the headpiece goes behind the horse’s ears.Trainers offering Horseback riding said that in the process the ears can be flicked through or folded in order to carry it out gently. Move the reins now over the neck , move the forelock to the front and then gently lift it over the browband. Now it’s time to fasten the latches. First, the throat latch is fastened. The basic and simple rule that applies here is that an upright fist should fit between the throat of the horse and the throat latch in order to move to the noseband. Centre for equestrian Orange County also suggested that latches should be put below the cheek pieces and two fingers should fit between the ridge of the nose and the noseband and the same theory applies to the flash strap if the bridle has one in its position.
Bottom Line :
Thus the whole process is completed by correctly applying a bridle to your horse. Always be careful of the perfect fir and behavior of your horse while applying the bridle , make it seem generous so that they can be comfortable too !
