Sunday, December 11, 2011

Rolled Leather.......

My first experience with a rolled leather bridle was at a horse show and a friend of mine was running late and asked me to put her horse's bridle on. She handed me her bridle and dashed off to the tack room, well hopped off to the tack room as she was also trying to take her pants off at the same time, but i digress.

 i go to put this contraption on her horse's head (she was using a snaffle though not a double) and he's having none of it, as i'm chasing this gelding around the stall, because the day before he'd broken his halter but even though he was a thoroughbred his head was gigantic! No one had a halter that would fit him *sigh*
When i finally catch him the bridle is so tangled i cant make heads or tails of it..... Still not sure how that happened........
However we finally figure it out and off she goes, that started my dislike of rolled leather.

And then i had to clean one....... lets just say i missed so many spots it didn't look like anyone had cleaned anything except for the noseband because this particular one had a rolled leather browband. Now the dislike had graduated to strong  dislike.

Then theres the cracks. If you get a crack in one of these suckers your screwed because the cracked leather can be ripped apart with your hands, i know i accidentally ripped one.

Strong dislike is now hatred.....

Not to mention the fact that I think their ugly...... and that they make the horse's nose look huge. Ewww

Anyone else have any tack fashion hatreds?

4 comments:

Dressager said...

Saddles with huge knee rolls and/or really deep hold-you-in-place seats. I feel like I'm locked in and I can't do anything: I can move my legs forward or back for aids, I can't move my seat with the horse. I feel like I'm on one of those rollercoasters where you're strapped in with those body contraptions and molded seats and it's just your feet dangling. I'm thinking "Geez, if this horse took off on me or did some crazy acrobatics, I'd be trapped!"

It sucks on jumping saddles. Why, on a jumping saddle of all things?

Give me a flat, old-fashioned strip-of-leather saddle any day. Then I have to keep my equitation in line MYSELF.

I think they encourage you to rely on the saddle for proper form and balance rather than upon yourself, imho. Weak, floppy legs and bouncy seats will abound!

When it really stinks is when all the dressage saddles you see out there are like that. Thank goodness I bought used: talk about an old-fashioned saddle from the late 70s with NO knee rolls!

Merideth said...

personally i love my thigh blocks but their not so big that i can't move anywhere and the seat is not shallow but its not deep, i guess i'm a middle of the road saddle person XD

Dressager said...

I'm talking hard-core "you're not leaving this seat without a key to unlock your seatbelt" kind of saddle. They scary!

Merideth said...

ewwwwwww nooooooo.... XP