Equi-Supple - SMS Qualified Bridle Fitter

20/11/2022

Useful info 👀

Let’s talk dressage legal snaffles 🐴

📖 The British Dressage Rulebook 2022 states bits of metal, rubber, nylon or synthetic materials are permitted, including a mix of metals in the mouthpiece. Even if they are not competing in dressage, many riders are keen to stay in a dressage legal snaffle, and they are generally the bits we use at the start of a horse’s ridden career, with many horses staying in a snaffle their whole ridden life.

Our dressage legal snaffles are:

🔸Starter Loose Ring
🔸Turtle Top Loose Ring
🔸Team Up Loose Ring
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge Loose Ring
🔸Verbindend Loose Ring
🔸Turtle Tactio Loose Ring
🔸Demi-Anky Loose Ring
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge Eggbutt
🔸Turtle Tactio Eggbutt
🔸Turtle Top Eggbutt
🔸Verbindend Hunter-D
🔸Verbindend Dee-Lite
🔸Turtle Top Hunter-D
🔸Demi-Anky Hunter-D
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge Hunter-D
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge D-Ring
🔸Turtle Top Full Cheek
🔸Turtle Tactio Full Cheek
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge Full Cheek
🔸Turtle Top Baucher
🔸Turtle Tactio Baucher
🔸Tranz Angled Lozenge Baucher

03/10/2022

Wahoo! And here officially starts the Qualified Bridle Fitting journey… 🦄

Successfully passing the Society of Master Saddlers’ Qualified Bridle Fitters’ Course and gaining the City & Guilds Qualification in Bridle Fitting & Measuring - Emily Gladwin said: “I am very proud to have earned Qualified Bridle Fitter status from the Society of Master Saddlers. I have always enjoyed discussing the implications of poorly fitting tack with clients, and have noticed a marked increase in the level of interest to bit and bridle fit over the last few years. Backed by this respected qualification, my clients can be confident that their horses will perform to a higher standard in bridles that are comfortable, fit for purpose and tailored to their exact anatomy.”

08/09/2022

HOW DOES BRIDLE FIT AFFECT HIND LIMB ENGAGEMENT?

At The Horse Hub we are all about bringing you answers to the questions you may not know you even need to ask! Here is an excerpt from an excellent article answering the above question - and more, live on The Horse Hub now.

THE HYOID APPARATUS
The tongue is attached to a little group of bones at the back of the skull called the hyoid bones. These are an incredibly important and unique group of bones. Firstly, they are not attached to any other bones using joints; they are attached with ligaments.

The front bone embeds into the tongue with ligaments, it then attaches to two long thin bones, which are situated inside the jaw that attach to the TMJ. Behind these are two small bones that attach to muscles, which run down the lower neck into the scapula, along the abdominal wall and into the pelvis.

Problems with bridle fitting here, which restrict the ability of the tongue and lower jaw to move, will actually shut down the ability of the horse to recruit the lower ventral chain of muscles. If he cannot mobilise his jaw and tongue, he will send tension through the hyoid bones, up into the TMJ, down the muscles of the neck, through the thoracic sling and along the abdominal wall.

This impacts his ability to lift his back and engage his hindquarters. The horse is then put in a U shape; putting pressure along the dorsal spinal processes, disconnecting his shoulder sling and raising his head by recruiting the muscles underneath.

This is when we as riders, get locked into a spiral of asking our horses to lengthen their frame, drop their head, lift their back and engage their hindquarters but, not allowing them to naturally use themselves biomechanically correctly.

https://www.thehorsehub.co.uk/how-to-fit-a-bridle-understanding-the-anatomy-of-the-horse-s-head

05/09/2022