It’s hard to hunt without your bridle

I’m usually very organized during hunt season. I keep essentials in my trailer and I have spares of most of the truly important things. This morning, I broke with my routine and paid the price. When I looked in my trailer tack room this morning I found that my bit wasn’t clean enough. So, I […]

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A new kind of noseband?

This recent ad from Dover Saddlery belongs in the “what’s wrong with this picture?” game. Or maybe it’s a new kind of noseband — one that maintains the traditional hunter appearance but which shows that your horse needs no pressure from a noseband to behave. Think of it as the anti-crank noseband! Of course it’s […]

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How to assemble the Micklem Multibridle

I could have used this when I first bought mine! I got a bunch of pieces in a plastic bag with no instructions. Sure, I thought, how difficult can it be? I’ve put together any number of bridles in the past. Creating a side pull bridle was a piece of cake. Figuring out some of […]

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Using the Micklem Multibridle with a Bit

When I first bought this bridle it was to use on my Trakehner who preferred being ridden bitless. I never used it as a bitted bridle. Since he died, it sat in my tack trunk for about a year until the day I wanted to try a different bit on Freedom but didn’t want to […]

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35 uses for baling twine at the barn

Baling twine is right up there with duct tape as being one of those “can’t live without” items. The best part is that you always seem to have more of it than you can possibly imagine and it’s included in the price of your hay! I’m not sure I can come up with 101 uses, […]

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Finding and Fitting a Noseband (or Cavesson)

I’ve been looking at a lot of bit/noseband combinations lately, trying to find the right one for my OTTB. Out in the hunt field, I wanted to make sure that he couldn’t evade the bit by opening his mouth. Looking at tack store catalogs, photos from shows and horses of friends, I realized how much […]

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On the Bit(less) Bridle: A Comparison

I have nothing against riding a horse in a bit. In fact, until recently, it wasn’t even an issue. I’ve ridden all my horses in some form of snaffle and never thought much about it. For my Trakehener gelding, bits have always been an issue. During the 12 years that I’ve owned this horse, I’ve […]

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