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The Original Stroud Saddlery IR Bridle
The Stroud Saddlery IR Bridle has been specifically designed to help alleviate discomfort around the horse's poll and ears, using a curved and padded headpiece. The curved headpieces are made individually to each horse and are therefore as good a fit as possible.
We are pleased to say the Stroud Saddlery IR bridle has been used by Zara Phillips on her horses including Toytown since 2004.
Other riders who use the Stroud Saddlery IR bridles include;
- Rhegan White, dressage rider, trainer and owner of Aderro Dressage Centre
- Cassandra Price, local up and coming young eventer
- Olivia Kuropatwa, young dressage rider
- Nathalie Rozard, winner of the 2007 British Eventing Intro Championships
- Gillian Higgins, sports and remedial massage therapist
Why choose one of our bridles?
- It is the original curved headpiece bridle design and has been used successfully on many types of horses since 2003.
- We only use best quality English bridle leather.
- Our standard fittings are stainless steel manufactured in England and are individually quality checked before use. Our brass fittings are of the best quality brass avaliable.
- Our padding is Prolite covered with very thin English leather ensuring none of Prolite's properties are lost and making the padding easy to clean.
- Unlike most manufactered bridles, all our work is hand stitched (with the exception of the grips on rubber grip reins) meaning the sitches will last much longer.
- We stitch all our bridlework in a synthetic/linen mix thread giving the thread a longer life than traditional thread, which tends to rot due to repeated exposure to moisture.
- We take great care in selecting the right part of the cow for the right use e.g. the reins, headpiece and cheekpieces are cut out of the best part of the hide.
- All our bridles are made bespoke to each individual horse's specifications and each owner's specifications.
- Our thicker, heavier leather used for stirrup leathers and harness is from J and FJ Bakers in Colyton, Devon. They are one of the last tanneries still pit tanning leather in the traditional way, which takes about 15 months from raw cowhide to the finished product.
Case Study
| Rider/Owner | Angela |
| Horse | Bella, 16.2hh bay sensitive mare |
| Challenge | Bella has large sensitive lumps under each ear and all bridles and headcollars seemed to cause her discomfort. Angela came to us to try to design a headpiece to alleviate the pressure around Bella's ears. |
| Solution | The Stroud Saddlery IR bridle, padded and curved around the ears. Bella has been noticeably more relaxed since being ridden in the bridle and she is now happy for Angela to bridle her. |
The bridle is named after the designer, Isobel (Issi) Russell, who holds the Cordwainer's Diploma and the Higher National Diploma in Saddlery Technology as well as recently becoming a qualified saddler and harness maker.
Issi completed her Worshipful Company of Saddlers Millennium Apprenticeship and her Modern Apprenticeship in December 2005. Issi has also won prizes in the annual Society of Master Saddlers Competition, including the Les Coker Trophy for the best entry by an apprentice in 2004 for her Show Double Bridle (on display in the shop).
Also on display in the shop is her entry for the Bridle competition at the BETA International Trade Show 2006 which entailed making a bridle from start to finish in 12 hours over the three days of the show. Issi's bridle was raised and fancy stitched on the headpiece, browband and noseband in 12 stitches to the inch (normal bridles are stitched 10 to the inch), quite a feat in the time allowed!
Issi entered again in 2007 along with one of Laurence's other apprentices Jo Newman. For more details please click here.
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Above: a close up of the unique IR headpiece, curved to each individual horse's head and ears.
Above: matching bridle and breastplate with running martingale attachment and NEW Supergrip reins.
Above: Black rasied padded IR bridle, crank flash with Silver Lightweight West End buckles
Above: Close up of the bridle around the horse's ears. Notice the white marks caused by a previous conventional bridle on a particularly sensitive horse. |
The Stroud Saddlery IR bridles are available in the following options in any noseband, doubles and snaffles; Colours
Styles
Buckles/fittings (all available in either brass or stainless steel)
Ornaments
Billets
Reins
English Made Bits We can have bits specially made, for example if your horse goes well in a stainless steel mouthpiece but you would like brass buckles on the bridle, we can have a bit made up with brass rings and stainless steel mouthpiece. Please contact us for more details. |
Above : an example of an IR bridle in Australian Nut leather with brass lightweight West End buckles with a crank flash noseband, padded browband and hook stud billets
Above: an IR bridle in Dark Havana with Lightweight West End buckles in brass and padded cavesson noseband woth matching browband. (Bridle shown with the smaller of two bits)
Above: Black Padded IR Bridle Cavesson Flash with standard bridle buckles
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We offer a handmade bespoke bridle service for any type of bridlework
Our team of qualified saddlers are available to come out and measure up for all handmade bridlework. We do have a minimum consultation charge of £30. Please ring the shop for more information or email us.
Care of Bridlework
Leather loses an amount of its oils every day of its life which needs to be replaced to ensure strength. The horse's sweat is slightly acidic (pH 6) so it will also attack the oils in the leather. The leather we use has been extensively 'stuffed' or 'dressed' with mutton and fish oils making it the best on the market. However how the leather is treated after purchase will determine how long it lasts.
Remember that the cheaper the leather, the more looking after it requires simply to stay safe.
To get the most out of your bridlework: store at normal room temperature in an atmosphere that is not damp
If the leather gets wet: allow to dry naturally away from direct heat and then condition well.
If leather is allowed to dry by a heater or fire it will be stripped of all its natural oils and will become brittle and very unsafe not to mention uncomfortable for the horse. Unfortunately there is little that can be done to resurrect leather treated in this way.
When the bridlework is new condition it with a good leather food or balm before putting it on the horse. Clean with a slightly damp sponge then allow to dry naturally before conditioning well, about once a week. Many breakages, cracks and tearing is due to the leather not having been looked after. Saddle soap should be used with caution and only on dry leather, keeping the sponge as dry as possible. Soap has sometimes been known to make the dyes in the leather run if used on wet leather. Preferably only use a minimum amount of water to clean mud and sweat off then condition with a good leather food or balm. Our leather manufacterers recommend their own brand, Sedgwick's Natural Leather Dressing , which is the same combination of oils as used in the tanning process. The more the bridle leather is manipulated, especially when wet, the more the fibres are weakened, so always try to avoid bending the leather. If leather is over oiled the fibres will swell and the leather will weaken.
An important part of cleaning bridlework is also to check it over so any worn stitches, fittings or leather will be seen and can be repaired before it may cause an accident. This means the bridle should be entirely taken apart including all buckles etc and thoroughly cleaned and checked. The fittings should be cleaned of all tarnish and green residue so they can be checked for weaknesses. Many buckle tongues bend or rust through use and will eventually bend through the buckle or break off entirely so it is important to unfasten buckles regularly and check.
The most common areas of wear and tear are areas of constant stress, i.e. the most commonly used buckle hole, the throat strap, the billet turns and the back strap of the noseband. If the bridle is not taken apart to be cleaned regularly then these areas do not get the nourishment they require to stay strong and last a lifetime.
Leather is a natural product and has natural oils impregnated therefore is perfect to go against the horse's skin. It is very strong however unlike web, leather will break if the horse gets caught and panics saving the horse from damaging itself, similar to tying the horse up to baler twine.
The workshop are always more than happy to check anything over for safety i.e. before Pony Club Camp.