dancing horses

dancing horses

Monday, November 11, 2019

Flexible Fit Bridle Review

I've been looking at new bridles for a little bit. As much as I like Carmen's bridle it's not the best fit for her Andalusian head. It's a lovely bridle but it was on the top holes for everything and the nose band always seemed to be a bit loose. It also looked a bit tight behind her ears and with the brow band.

I don't know if you can tell but the throat latch is loose
but the bridle is tight behind the ears. 


can you see the gab in the nose band? 
Let me be clear- the bridle is not a terrible fit. It just didn't feel perfect. The issue is that the andalusian head is not the same as thoroughbred or even a warmblood.  This made me hesitate about buying another 'off the rack' bridle. I did think of buying one a size down and cobble it together but that wouldn't fix the brow band and crown piece. 

But the internet is a great resource and after searching around I stumbled upon Flexible Fit Equestrian. They have a variety of bridles and you can custom order your bridle to fit your horse. They even have a form you can fill in if you are not sure of what size to get. That is the option I did and after a bit of back and forth they recommended the various components. 

With that settled I needed to decide if I wanted to order a bridle from Australia. Returning it would not be easy (or with it). I read reviews, did price comparisons and decided that it would likely work out. While I was contemplating I had signed up on their email list. I quickly realized that there were often sales. 

So I waited, keeping a close eye on my inbox. 


After a couple weeks I got a notice for a 20% discount and I pulled the trigger. I ordered on October 29 and it arrived on November 8th. Not bad for coming from another continent! I opened it up with a mix of excitement and 'what have I done?' 

However, I was blown away by the quality of the leather and workmanship. I ordered the gel padded crown piece and it was so very soft. I ordered the regular nose band (not crank) with the detachable flash. I love how it can be removed and there will no little tab hanging down (which I hate). It was nice to have to buy either a 'dressage' or 'event/hunter' bridle but be able to mix and match the pieces. 

You can customize the brow band and when I saw this one I thought it would be perfect on Carmen. I showed it to Julia and she said it looks like a viking head band! 


 I did a quick fit on Carmen and it seemed to fit well. I took it apart and conditioned it. I've ridden in it twice now and it's has softened to her head really well. 

the first day I put it on. I do love a flat nose band. 

from today (Carmen thinks that it even makes her orange fly bonnet look good)
It fits really well behind her ears and on her forehead. 

I am definitely pleased with this bridle. Of course it's always possible that it will not last but I honestly doubt it. And for something that cost less than $200 all in (taxes, delivery, currency conversion) it was a great deal.




25 comments:

  1. I kinda want to replace Cisco's bridle as I don't like the fit and I've been looking at these ones. I've seen many good reviews for them.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh that does look good on her! I’m a big fan of the big flat wide nose bands too. Good to know all the sizing worked out as well !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's always a bit of a guess, as different bridles seem to have different versions of what is 'cob' vs 'horse' etc. I liked that we can measure and then figure it out from there. I do love the flat nosebands.

      Delete
  3. Lovely bridle. As I ride in a one-ear, I do not have so many attachments to worry about. But generally, I buy my andie an arab Hamilton halter, and in bridles I go for cob-size. But I think mine might have a shorter face than yours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cob doesn't really work her length wise. I bought the 'full' size over all but went with a warmblood browband. Her forehead is quite huge.

      Delete
  4. Ooo I need to do a review for my flexible fit breastplate. They had a booth at LRK3DE and it totally sold me on their products. The leather was really nice and I love the mix and match aspect!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes do it! I'd love to read a review of the breastplate!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Will be interested to hear how this holds up, as I've been wanting to pull the trigger on a FF bridle but haven't seen many reviews to make an informed decision. Glad you love yours!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It is absolutely gorgeous on her! LOVE the browband option, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the browband is not something I would've picked for myself but holy crap its gorgeoussss

      Delete
    2. They had plain and fancy ones. I was just struck by how 'strong' this one looked.

      Delete
  8. Beautiful bridle and Carmen looks wonderful in it. And I'm sure she thinks so too. Does she have a mirror in her stall? If not she definitely needs one to admire herself.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Looks great! I can't believe the coincidence, despite all their options I got the exact same bridle for Kachina in September! (same browband and same noseband!) I really liked being able to decide the measurements of each piece individually as Kachina has a differently shaped head as well.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks beautiful on her! The browband is perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Their US website with direct free US shipping is now up www.ffequestrian.com

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for leaving a comment. I love the feedback.