The Bridle

           I belong to the community of horseback riders. The cultural artifact I chose is a bridle. Nearly every horse rider uses a bridle. A bridle gives the rider control of the horse. The rider can make a horse stop or switch directions by simply applying the correct kind of pressure on the reins. There are three basic parts to a bridle. The reins are long straps of leather that are connected to the bit. The bit is a piece of metal that goes inside a horse’s mouth. The headstall is attached to the bit and goes up the horse’s face and behind his ears. It keeps the bit in place inside the horse’s mouth.

There are many different types of bridles. My photo is of an English bridle. The biggest difference between an English and a Western bridle is the noseband. Western bridles don’t have a noseband, the piece of leather that circles a horse’s nose. The noseband can serve a couple of purposes, but the main purpose is simply for looks. It can make a long faced horse appear to have a shorter face or the other way around. It can also help keep a stubborn horse’s mouth closed or offer more control to the rider.

The bridle is very important to horse riders. It’s been around for as long as man has been riding horses. It is possible to ride bridleless, but it isn’t very safe or as effective. I sometimes ride my own horse around our pasture with nothing on him at all. It can be really fun, but I would never ride him like that without a fence surrounding us. He’s much bigger, stronger, and faster than I am. Without a bridle I would be virtually unable to stop him if he decided to make a run for it.

There are many different styles of English bridles. A different one is used for different disciplines. There are hunter, dressage, eventing, and endurance bridles. Bridles can come in different colors as well. The standard colors are black or brown, but there are lots of colors available to choose from. I’ve glued green rhinestones onto my bridle’s browband, the strip of leather that goes in front of a horse’s ears. There are lots of things that can make a bridle fun and unique. At horse shows Western riders will often have silver on their bridles. The silver has beautiful designs etched into it. It can really help improve the looks of the horse in the show ring.

Bits are one of the most important parts of a bridle. There is a large variety of bits. The two main types are snaffle and curve bits. A snaffle is two pieces of metal combined in the middle. This is so it can fold. Snaffle bits are less painful on a horse’s mouth, and they are generally used on young horses for training. A curve bit is basically a single piece of metal that goes in the horse’s mouth. These bits are used to gain more control from the horse. On the ends of any kind of bit is a place to attach the reins. Sometimes they are circles or sometimes are attached to a longer piece of metal. These are called shanks. They give the rider more leverage on a horse’s mouth.

            I believe the bridle is an extremely valuable tool to a horse rider. It helps a horse and rider to understand each other. It helps them to be able to communicate to one another. A bridle can help a horse and rider achieve seemingly impossible things.