Micklem Vs. Stubben
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| Gigi In Her Stubben Bridle |
Okay, it could be any bridle but in this case I will be comparing my new Micklem with my previous Stubben. Firstly I love my Stubben bridle, it fits Gigi perfectly, is a lovely shade of brown and is amazing quality all round. I love that I have a choice whether I want to use the flash or not and the fittings are all brass coloured. If a piece breaks I know I can easily find another to replace it. I have had this bridle for almost 3 years, it has matching plaited reins and the shade of brown matches my other tack amazingly. I recently got my Micklem bridle as I had heard about them and wanted to try one for myself. I got the multibridle as the fittings are all brass coloured, the competition bridle has stainless steel fittings. The multibridle also has a loop on the noseband, this means the bridle doubles up as a lunge cavesson. There is less bulk on Gigi's face when lunging. There are also a few other ways to use the multibridle, it comes with various attachments and straps to make a bitless bridle of varying strengths and can be used as a headcollar. I love my Micklem, I find Gigi goes a lot nicer in it, shes more relaxed when I use it and I find I have more control, especially out doing cross country. Not all bits can be used with the Multibridle, this is important to note as you may need a specific bit, but you may not be able to use it on the bridle. Both of these bridles cost roughly the same amount of money, they are reasonably expensive in the £120-£150 range. Neither came with reins, I had to purchase my reins separately, for the Stubben bridle the reins cost £50 as I bought Stubben's own make and the reins I use on the Micklem cost £20 from my local tack store.
The Fit
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| Gigi In Her Micklem |
Micklem bridles fit differently to a standard bridle. They are designed to fit the shape of the horse's skull, not just the outer appearance of the horse's head. This allows the bridle to avoid pressing on the horse's facial nerves. As you can see from the photo, the bridle is flush to Gigi's face and does not have areas that could press and cause irritation. The noseband must be positioned at least 6 fingers above the nostrils, not on the fragile ends of the nose-bones. The bridle comes with 2 sets of bit straps and clips, the straps attach to the bit then are done up on the correct loops. This allows the bit position to be altered easily, the bit should be at the normal height within the horse's mouth (a couple wrinkles at the corners of the mouth). The other straps (under the jaw) should be flush to the skin, the throat strap holds the bridle in place and the noseband strap allows the horse to open his mouth but encourages the horse to close his mouth by lifting the bit.
Benefits?
There are some benefits to the Micklem bridle. I have found these are the main benefits:
- Gigi relaxes a lot faster when wearing it
- I have more control as Gigi doesn't evade the bit, especially when going fast and doing XC
- I can use my kimblewick on the less-severe setting and maintain control
- The clips provided can be used to fix the bit to the noseband, this means if the rider gets left behind/balances with their hands/pulls against the horse, any excess pressure is spread over the horse's nose
- The bridle is competition legal without the bit clips attached
- The bridle features a large padded headpiece
- The bridle can be used in multiple ways
- Changing bits is fast and easy as you can leave bit straps attached to the bits you use most often
Photos
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| Flatwork In Stubben |
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| Flatwork In Micklem |
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| Jumping 1m+ In Stubben |
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| Jumping 1m+ In Micklem |
Overall
I love both of my bridles, I find the Micklem works best for Gigi however it does not work for all horses. I can be softer with my hands as Gigi does not try to run through the pressure, she is a lot lighter in my hands and leans on the bit less. I feel cross country a lot safer when using the Micklem, in the Stubben bridle Gigi has taken off without stopping in the past, when using my Micklem she has stopped pretty quickly when asked. This is very helpful as Gigi will always attempt an obstacle, however if she is worried by it she often runs away on landing, if we are in a combination this can cause us to gain faults or the combination can become dangerous. I have also found that Gigi has a lot more spring in her hind end when using the Micklem bridle, she jumps very boldly. Another bonus is in her Stubben Gigi would always drop a front leg when jumping with a stud girth on, she has never done this in the Micklem bridle. I still love my Stubben bridle and I continue to use it for flat work. Gigi goes nicely in both bridles however I love to have the extra control the Micklem gives me, especially as I can use Gigi's kimblewick on the least severe setting , without the use of a curb chain, but achieve the same results as the most severe setting plus curb chain when I use the Kimblewick on the Stubben bridle. Her Stubben is now her flatwork bridle and her Micklem is used for hacking, jumping, cross country and lungeing. The loop on her nose is very handy, at first I wanted the competition bridle but I am too picky with the fittings so settled with the multibridle, both types of Micklem can be used in competition so I went with the multibridle, hey at the end of the day if I want to do some bitless work/lunge without the use of a cavesson I have more options available to me! I have grown to like the little loop on her nose, I don't think it looks messy or weird, and to be honest you hardly see it in the photos anyway!
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