Horse Bridles Explained

Horse bridles are the straps worn over horses' heads and mouths in order to control movement.  There are several types of horse bridles traditionally worn.  These include the snaffle bridle, the pelham bridle, the western bridle, and the double bridle.   

There are several separate parts of horse bridles that add to their effectiveness. The crown piece goes over a horse's head and lies on the ears.  The cheekpiece is set along the cheeks on either side of the animal's head.  A throatlatch is the piece of material that is hooked to the crown and runs down under the throat of the horse.  This piece is meant to keep the bridle in place.  The browband is the piece that goes over the horses' forehead.  A noseband is a piece that circles the nose of the horse, and the horse bit is the piece that rests in the horses' mouth.  The bit goes into the natural indentations within horse mouths for horses that have no teeth.  Reins are the straps attached to the bit. Reins are used for riders to communicate to their horses.  Horse bridles can be complicated pieces of equipment, but they have proven to be the most effective way of handling horses.   

There are several dangers you must be aware of when planning to use a horse bridle.  If you are using a horse bridle with a bit, you must not use the reins to tie the animal to a solid objet.  This could cause serious injury to a horse that may pull away hard enough to yank on the bit.  It could injure the horse's neck, mouth and head.  If you ground tie a horse that is wearing a horse bridle, you could also cause injury.  Ground tying is technique in which the rider trains the horse to stop in its tracks when the reins fall to the ground.  This is dangerous because a horse can put its hoof through a dropped rein and pull the bit down.  This could cause injury to the mouth, and neck. Be sure to choose horse bridles with care and to understand their uses and use in conjunction to horse safety. 

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