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Guestblog Schockemöhle: testing the Schockemöhle Sports bridles

When we opened the box from Schockemöhle Sports that was delivered to our door, they already made us swoon. We get to test five brand new bridles. These bridles are part of three different series of bridles from Schockemöhle Sports: the Equitus line, the Anatomic line and the Select & Mix. Three different series of bridles with different possibilites and functions.

The Equitus line

The bridles that immediately stand out the most are the ones from the Equitus line. This line consists of special, anatomic bridles with an innovative look. As we’re the most curious about them, we started the tests with those bridles. We received the Equitus Beta and Equitus Gamma – the latter being the double bridle version of the former. The Equitus line is made to avoid putting pressure on the nerves and sensitive areas of the horse head as much as possible. This is done with specially shaped, soft padding running along the horse head and to which the cheek pieces attach. With this technique, the cheek pieces are not directly touching the skin. The crownpiece is fitted with the same soft padding, is nicely shaped according to the ears and decreases pressure on the poll. The flash band is attached to the bridle in a special way: not in the middle, which would create extra pressure on the nose bone, but on the sides of the nose bone. It is attached to the noseband with two rings and thus can move slightly, giving the horse room to breathe well. Even the browband isn’t only very pretty but also functional: Thanks to the wide and curved fit, all the sensitive areas around the ears and eyes stay free.

Beta and Gamma

The Equitus Beta and Gamma are ready to be tested. The initial fitting of the bridles to get them correctly sized takes a little more time and effort if you’ve never worked with a similar type of bridle before. The Equitus bridles are quite different to the standard bridles that most of us are used to, but they sure do look super fancy. The possibilities for size adjustments are also different than normally. As the cheekpieces are attached to the padding, there’s less room to adjust them. But that’s nothing to worry about, as of course there’s a solution for that. There’s some extra holes in the leather pieces that attach to the bit, with a big button on the side with which you can slide the cheekpiece up and down. The button needs a little extra effort, but once everything is fitted well, it’s all perfect! If you need some additional instructions, you can find some more information on bridle fitting on the website of Schockemöhle Sports.

Riding with the Equitus bridle takes some getting used to. It already even said so in the documentation about the bridle, but it really is true: because of the way the bridle is designed, your aids affect your horse differently. The rein aids turn into more of a soft impulse on the nose of the horse, which makes it possible to have a more subtle influence. The Equitus Gamma, the double bridle, is a fully anatomically shaped bridle, but then as a double bridle. How amazing is that?! The Gamma has all the same special features as the Beta, but with one extra and longer cheekpiece to attach the Weymouth bit to. Due to the soft padding which all cheekpieces are connected to, both bits are very stable in the mouth. The horses walk nicely with the Equitus bridles and are very relaxed in their topline, have lots more spacious movement and seem looser in their neck and jaw.

Good to know: All bridles from Schockemöhle Sports, including the Equitus ones, are approved by the FEI!


The Anatomic line

The Anatomic line was our second testing victim. A very chic bridle (the Stanford model) and a double bridle (the Venice model), which looks more like ‘traditional’ bridles but – as the name suggest – are fully anatomically shaped as well. All sensitive parts of the horse head are being kept free as much as possible. The wide, pre-shaped and super softly padded noseband gives extra room for the cheekbones and the bit, as it’s slightly cut back around the cheekbone. The bridle is adjustable in many ways, making it possible to have it fit perfectly for your horse no matter what. The headpiece is softly padded and also anatomically shaped to relieve the neck and keep the ears free. What’s extra nice is that the Stanford and Venice models both come with two browbands! An elegant black one and one with a row of small rhinestones. Like that, you can always change up the look and pick what suits you and your horse better.

Stanford en Venice

As these bridles are more ‘normal’, we didn’t really need the fitting guide on the website, but if you do need it, do check it out. Since the noseband is cut back at the cheekbones, you can put the noseband up a little higher, which looks very nice. This bridle was also well accepted by our horses. Funnily enough – even though they both did really well – one horse had a clear preference for the Equitus line, while the other liked the Anatomic line better. We therefore think that it’s really practical to test your bridles if you have the possibility to do so, to find the bridle that your horse likes best. Our horses definitely made some clear choices. The Anatomic line is really a very chic bridle, that looks like a normal standard bridle but has all the perks of an anatomic one. This also goes for the double bridle Venice, which sits nicely without being too tight or uncomfortable.


The Select & Mix

The Select & Mix bridle is a super cool concept! With this idea, you can always find the perfect bridle for your horse, even if your horse doesn’t tick all the standard boxes and needs something special. The different bridle parts are super easy to switch out and change. All parts can be ordered and swapped out individually. You can therefore buy an entire bridle or just some separate parts – for example, if you have a great noseband already, but want a new crownpiece that fits your horse better, you can simply get a separate crownpiece from the Select & Mix line. There are some characteristics that all bridle parts of the Select & Mix have: The small and softly padded headpiece and the softly padded noseband are both anatomically shaped. The bridle consists of four different parts: the headpiece, the cheekpiece, the browband and the noseband. These are all available in multiple sizes and both noseband and browband are also available in different version to make sure that the bridle is perfect for you no matter what discipline you follow. The leather is very nice and stands out: the colour is deep and it feels very soft. All the soft padding under headpieces, noseband and cheekpieces is great, too. All in all: this was designed with the comfort of the horse in mind.


Maintenace

For the maintenance of the bridles, Schockemöhle even has their own line of products. The best maintenance routine for the bridles is as follows:
  • Use a damp cloth to get rid of dirt and sweat on the bridle after every use
  • Clean the bridle 1 á 2 times per month with leather lotion or creme
  • Usage of saddle soap is not recommended
  • Do not use oil
Shop all Schockemöhle bridles

Source: Dressuur Edition August 2020, Eisma Horsesmedia.


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