Recently I came across a german silver pelham bit. It's really interesting because it looks quite old and I'm pretty sure it's hand made. The german silver alloy gives it a neat "antique" patina. You can see areas where the metal was shaped by hand, it's really unique! I thought it was the perfect addition to my sidesaddle tack. And it came with two sets of plain, flat reins, all for $35!
I've been trying to keep my eye out for a hunt style bridle. A brown one with the plain flat noseband and browband. I've seen them on the internet usually starting at around $200 US and up from there. None of the tack shops that I've been too carry new hunt bridles. So I was hoping to find a used one in good condition. I figured it wouldn't be all that hard as they aren't really "in style" anymore. Surprisingly enough they are a little hard to come by! We found a couple of them but they were in really bad condition.Finally on our last stop of the day I found a store that DID sell new hunt bridles! And nice ones too, made by Bobbies English Tack. They had just one, horse sized, brown hunt bridle. The reins didn't match on it though but since I already had a nice set of flat reins, I didn't really need to worry about the mismatched color anyways. The manager ended up giving me a discount because of the discoloration at the till which brought the price to $85! Another great deal! I can't get over how soft and supple the leather is.
I really can't wait until the day that I get to put everything on, tack & attire, and see how it all looks together! But for now, I guess I'll have to just have fun wearing it around the house! 
Don't mind my messy hair! I just got back from the teaching at the barn.
What bargains you found!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time finding bridles that fit my mare as she's in between cob and horse size so I often have to buy separate components and make my own bridle. My current side saddle bridle has a horse size crown piece and browband, cob size noseband and pony sized cheek pieces. It's just an ordinary raised snaffle bridle for low level dressage but one of these days, I'll get myself a nice hunt bridle.
LOL, you should come to my local tack shop, there are LOADS of used flat hunt bridles hanging up for sale on the wall. They seem to be more popular here than in North America for some reason.
Oh that would be a pain!
ReplyDeleteI think hunt bridles are definitely more popular over in Europe. I couldn't get over how hard it was to find one! And I was pleased at how good of a deal it was when I did find one.