Maybe you have decided your current bridle has done its time? Or maybe your horse shakes its head during riding, or rubbing its head after a ride and is not feeling comfortable with its bridle? You have probably seen enthusiastic people using an anatomical bridle. Are you not sure what they’re all about? In this blog we will explain the ins and outs of an anatomical bridle, introduce you to the Horsegear bridles, and their hot off the press separate anatomical head and nose pieces.
Horses anatomy
Your horse's head carries many nerves, which are highly sensitive and responsible for his sense of feel, motor functions, balance and heart rate. Pressured nerves can cause not only discomfort an pain, but can increase stress levels, restricted breathing and negatively influence your horse’s overall performance.
Feel free
Anatomical bridles are designed to comfortably fit the shape of the horse’s head, avoiding putting pressure on sensitive nerves of your horse’s face. To relieve the pressure across the poll and nose areas, the headpiece and noseband are padded. The horse will be more inclined to collect and accept the bit.
The nosebands are slightly curved to run below the facial nerves and slightly higher across the nose and above the small and fragile nasal bones. This alleviate pressure of the upper jaw and molar teeth for maximum comfort.
The anatomically-shaped headpiece distributes pressure evenly across the poll. The padded area minimise pressure and allows more freedom of movement of the muscles in the neck.
Must have Horsegear
Has your interest in anatomical bridles been triggered by now? To make your live easier we have listed the newest anatomical bridles from Horsegear for you.
Bridle Horsegear Cygnus: Softly padded noseband, chin strap, browband and headpiece. The noseband has a unique shape which prevents pressure on sensitive nerve endings.
Bridle Horsegear Lunair: bridle with contrasting stitching, soft padding and small ventilation holes in the headpiece.
Bridle Horsegear Nexus: The softly padded noseband is integrated in the headpiece, so that no unnecessary pressure is created.
Are you still happy with your current bridle but do want to replace the essential parts to make sure your horse is comfortable during riding. Or you want to customize your own bridle with only parts you like? Horsegear also has separate anatomical bridle parts to mix and match!
Headpiece Horsegear Anatomical: separate headpiece with troathlash included. Super softly padded for maximum comfort.
Noseband Horsegear Aquila: leather noseband with the chinstrap through the noseband. With 2 buckles, suitable for bridles where you can remove the lower part of the noseband.
Noseband Horsegear Shaped: Softly padded, crank noseband with strap made of very supple leather.
Noseband Horsegear Cygnus: Separate noseband in supple leather. The noseband ensures less pressure on the cheekbones and nerve endings. With 2 buckles, suitable for bridles where you can remove the lower part of the noseband.
Noseband Horsegear Cygnus II: Separate noseband in supple leather. The noseband ensures less pressure on the cheekbones and nerve endings. This model with a strap across the headpiece is suitable for bridles where you remove the noseband in its whole so that no straps are leftover.
Double noseband Horsegear: Separate double noseband made of supple leather. Due to the combination of a high and low noseband in one, the bridle is suitable for controlling ‘’stronger’’ horses.
Happy horse?!
Maybe you are thinking, my horse is fine with my current bridle, why would I change it? There are lots of matters that can be relieved with the use of an anatomical bridle. We have mentioned the head shaking and rubbing earlier but there are other issues that could improve when using an anatomical bridle, like fighting the contact, getting the tongue over the bit and resistance to the bit. Needless to say, all horses are different and react to different things but a lot of riders see an improvement in their horse’s behaviour using by an anatomical bridle.