04/04/2025
I fitted my first Wow FreeSpace bridle to a smaller horse today - Czar is a lovely Irish boy, and he needed a size 1 bridle. Honestly, when I first saw the bridles I wasn't sure how they would look on a smaller horse's head, as I was worried they would look too chunky, but I was really pleased with how it suited Czar! And actually, because there aren't so many buckles all over the sides of the face, it looks less chunky than other bridles.
He is a tricky one to fit a bridle. On all the previous bridles we tried, the sizes just didn't work - the browband was too small, or the noseband was too big, the cheekpieces too long - but with all the adjustability in the FreeSpace bridle we fitted the size 1 without swapping any pieces out (which believe me, is a big relief as a bridle fitter!)
The leather is lovely (as to be expected, it's the same high quality leather as the saddles). The padding is squishy and soft, but doesn't feel like it's going to squish to nothing. There's loads of space everywhere - it sits off the side of the face the whole way down, and over the top of the poll. The noseband is totally different - it has a very gently sprung conical shape, so the pads do sit touching the front of the nasal bone and underneath the jaw, but because it's sprung, there is no restriction on the horse's jaw movement. And yes, the FEI taper gauge will fit! I especially like the space around the side of the cheeks - the noseband doesn't squash into that ridge of teeth that happens so often with cavessons. And the flare of the conical shape ensures that it doesn't touch the sensitive edge of the facial crest.
So lots and lots to like! And Czar happily trotted round with his ears forward. I'm very much looking forward to seeing him progress even further.
WOW Saddles
