Monday, March 7, 2011

Happy Monday!

Hello blogger world. I have so much to talk about this week that it's almost ridiculous. I will try to break it up throughout the week so you don't get stuck reading huge massive monster posts.

As you maybe recall, my Micklem competition bridle came on Thursday and I was excited to try it out. I'd never touched one before, so I'll give you a brief review.

LOVE. That is it.

The leather quality is nicer than I expected for the MSRP. The bridle with reins is available at Dover for $176, I believe. While I'd hardly group it with my nunn finer bridle in terms of leather quality, it's definitely nicer than I expected and should hold up well.

In fact, I know it holds up well because I facebook stalked the girl I bought it from and there are pictures from several years ago of her competing in it. Creepy, but effective.

Anyways. All stalking aside, I loff loff loff the contoured comfort crown that's all one piece. It's easy to handle and just fits her head. Like it was made to be there.

Here is the lovely mare herself modeling it. It's super easy to put on--just slip it in to place, buckle the throatlatch (jawlatch?) and the noseband (chinstrap?).

A couple thoughts: I absolutely love the jawstrap/throatlatch thing. It makes so much more sense to me than a traditional throatlatch. It in no way interferes with her breathing and actually serves to stabilize the bridle on her head and keep it out of her eyes. Perfect!

I also really like the noseband section. I've been contemplating a flash bridle because I do like the bit stability added by the flash, but I'm just not wild about attempting to tie a horse's mouth shut. (Oh, and she doesn't react well to artificial restrictions, so it was not a happy picture in my head when I considered trying it out.) This gives me the bit stability option without the flash option and it's fabulous. It can also be used bitless, which we'll probably tackle eventually.

You might have noticed that I didn't talk about performance improvements. There are a few reasons for that.
1) I have used it a total of three times, which is hardly enough for a decent analysis.
2) It was a long shot that it would actually fix our headshaking problem anyways--I think that's got more to do with attitude and back pain.
3) Izzy is used to me putting all kinds of crazy contraptions on her anyways, so I don't really think we're looking at a tack problem.

Anyways. Gushing aside, the Micklem bridle is a definite keeper.

Saturday was awesome, too. We had a photoshoot with one of my super talented friends.

It was raining, but we got some lovely shots.

I love this one. We are adorable.












Izzy is not so sure that the photographer is in an acceptable location. I love her expression.

Throughout the whole shoot, she was being ridiculously adorable. Very personable, cute, and curious.

I love this mare.








Cute mare in the pouring rain.













So dramatic. I'll post more throughout the week, I think.




10 comments:

  1. Very cool bridle. I'd never seen one like it. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. She is like, who is that stalking me, you is not supposed to be there. Love her face! I was considering the bridle as well but I'll let you be my guinea pig first :P I love the last picture :)

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  3. That is a cool bridle. I love the you can use it bitless option...hmmm. I love that you got a photoshoot with your girl. That is awesome and the pictures are priceless.

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  4. Great pictures. It's always nice to have someone there to shoot the special moments with your horse.

    The bridles looks really nice on Izzy. It will be interesting to hear how much difference it makes over time. I too like the general arrangement of all the parts.

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  5. Very nice photos! I like the look of the bridle - it really looks nice with her face and head. I'm a fan of the jowl strap too - the sidepull I ride Pie in has one too.

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  6. Pretty pictures! I love the bridle. You'll have to let us know how it continues to perform, that way I can justify purchasing one...

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  7. I've been dying to try one of those bridles, just to see if it makes any difference. It looks great on her.

    Facebook stalking is effective! I facebook stalked the owners of every horse i test rode to see if I could find any scary statuses about the horse!

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  8. Lol, I just did a Monster Post myself, but I felt the need to post at least a considerable chunk of the 184 pics that I took on Saturday.
    :-)

    Izzy looks super cute in her bridle! I have to say, that strap that goes in front of the bit doesn't look nearly as restrictive as a flash, but it still looks like it holds the mouth shut (no?). Just curious.

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  9. So nice to read about your great weekend and enthusiasm. Glad the new bridle is working out.
    The pictures are VERY cute - especially the one where she's eyeballing the elevated photographer.

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  10. Last picture is my favorite!

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