Proper Bridle Adjustments
By Tom Goodspeed
Long dangling earrings look beautiful on women, but a long dangling curb chain could be your ticket out of this world.
This article is to help the beginner/novice be a little more aware of proper bridle adjustments that have both an impact on safety and performance.
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| Curb Chain Adjustment- Over the past few years, I have traveled a great deal around the country and have consistently noticed long dangling curb chains hanging off one side of a pelham or curb bit. This may seem harmless enough, but when the horse is galloping, that excess chain will flap in the breeze and could and has become hooked to the curb hook on the horse running along side of you. That is as I am certain you can imagine, is not a good thing and is responsible for one death of a player that I am aware of. Curb chains should be properly fitted and centered. Then any chain hanging more than three links on either side should be clipped off. Some players have even opted to clamp one of the curb hooks and then just leave one side open to be able to do adjustments. You might think why not just clamp both curb hooks, but the curb chain should really be undone before unbridling and bridling. So this open curb hook could potentially catch a flapping curb chain from another bridle. So if you notice someone else with a long chain, spread the word. Letting others know of this issue is buying into an insurance policy that works for all of us. The proper adjustment of a curb chain should allow for at least two or three of your fingers between the backside of the jaw of the horse and the chain. The chain should only engage when the curb rein is pulled back. The curb chain should also lay flat which is accomplished by continually twisting the chain until it is flat…before hooking it to the curb hook. There is also a lip strap on curb bits and pelhams that assist at keeping the curb chain in its proper place. |
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| Bit Adjustment -The bit should sit in the corner of the horse’s mouth. If you look at the bit, without pulling against the reins, there will normally be about 2-3 curls of skin at the corner of the horse’s mouth, just behind the bit. If the bit hangs too low in the horse’s mouth, the horse will be able to actually grab the bit with their teeth, which will allow them greater leverage than you, not a good thing. It won’t really hurt them any, but it can affect performance dramatically. If the bit were too tight, the horse may be reluctant to go forward and the bit may also pinch the corners of the horse’s mouth causing them some discomfort. And if they aren’t reasonably comfortable with the bit adjustment, there is a good chance that neither will you be. There are also different widths to bits. You need to make certain you have sufficient enough width to fit comfortably on your horse. If you stand in front of the horse and grab the bit gently on both sides of the horse’s mouth, if you pull it down towards the opening of the mouth, those three curls in their lip should almost disappear. That would be considered a good adjustment. |
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Martingale Adjustment – There is certainly an amount of variance from one horse to the next as to proper length of martingale, but generally, if you just push the hanging martingale up towards the underside of the horse’s jaw, the martingale should fit comfortably along the under neck line of the horse. If the martingale is too tight or loose, the horse’s performance and your safety could be compromised. Too tight and the horse could balk backwards…too loose and they may throw their head into yours, which is why we use the martingale in the first place. Another aspect of the martingale is that you want the martingale to hang at the front half…between the horse’s head and the neck strap of the martingale. They used to always have rubber martingale stoppers to help insure that the excess of the martingale was towards the head of the horse. Often times, today, I now see martingales without the rubber stopper, and the excess of the martingale hangs low…between the neck strap and the girth. The problem here is if there is too much excess, the hanging martingale could potentially trip up a galloping horse, especially if they have high leg action. This problem is an easy fix. If you don’t have a rubber stopper, you can easily tape the martingale strap to the neck strap junction. The martingale piece that adjusts to the girth should be centered so as not to pinch the elbow skin of the horse.
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| Breast Plates – I will include the breastplate along with the bridle, but it has far more to do with the saddle. The purpose of a breastplate is to keep the saddle forward, and not allow the saddle to slide back. The common problem is that most people leave the breastplate loose, thinking they are being kind to the horse. So the saddle slides back 4-6 inches or more and places the rider’s weight more over the small of a horse’s back. Horses carry our weight or any weight better over their shoulders, than they do with their lower back area, pretty much like us. There is no real problem with a snug breastplate as horses are very good at pulling weight from their chest area. Remember that is how horses pulled the heavy weight of wagons and their former job of farm implements. So a saddle is a non-issue, so snug up the breastplate. . It may be necessary to use a sheepskin cover over a breastplate if you notice any rubbing or hair loss on your pony. |
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| Nosebands and Dropped Noseband – Nosebands should allow you the ability to slide one or two fingers between the noseband and the horse. A drop noseband or a figure 8, should be a little closer fitting, snug, as its purpose is to keep the horse’s mouth closed, generally used along with a gag bit. They should be underneath the main noseband and then the lower piece wraps below the bit in the mouth. Then the drop noseband or the figure 8 restricts the horse from opening their mouth to try to get away from the action of the gag. On the other hand, you don’t want the drop noseband so tight over the nostrils, that it is impeding the horse’s breathing. Some people will use a noseband made out of rope. The purpose is that it does a little better job at getting a horse to respect the action of a martingale. Sometimes the rope will rub the nose and will require a sheepskin cover. |
| Rein Length – Sometimes there will be too much excess rein for the rider to manage. If you are holding your reins comfortably and the excess rein falls so long as to wrap around your stirrup . .. you should probably consider having your local tack repair
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