Running Bear Sidepull/Cross-under with Moss Rock Reins
The sidepull noseband arrived for the Running Bear Smart Bridle I ordered last month. They had flubbed the order and forgotten the rings on the noseband when they initially shipped it so I sent just the nose piece back because the rest of it fit beautifully.
I love that it can convert to a halter, bridle (both bitted and bitless), and has independent bit hangers if desired. It is crazy-adjustable. The crown piece has buckles, the browband adjusts (and can be removed), the cheeks obviously adjust, the noseband has buckles on both sides, throatlatch, and even the strap that connects the noseband to the throatlatch has adjustability. It is awesome. When you order you also have an insane amount of color choices both for the main piece and the padding/underlay.
The sidepull noseband does have extra padding on it compared to the plain one they initially sent me that I think is a bit excessive. I would have been happy without the extra neoprene. I had gotten used to the Moss Rock Evolution bridle that sits lower on the cheek. I need to adjust the crown and see what I can manage there.
I went with Running Bear instead of Moss Rock this time for two reasons. The shallow one being that Moss Rock doesn't have hunter green anymore, the other one being my curiosity about the quality of Running Bear's stuff and whether I could use their sidepull as a cross-under bridle with Moss Rock's rein design.
The quality of the Running Bear bridle is definitely high. Moss Rock is good and servicable and the price for what you get can't be beat (paid more for just the Smart Bridle than I did the Moss Rock one, which included the reins). Running Bear doesn't disappoint, though. There is padding on the crown, browband, and all around the nose. They add neoprene for the sidepull, which as noted before I think is a bit excessive, but okay. It feels very sturdy in hand too. I think it will take a little time to really mold to Kash's face as the material is a bit stiff with how thick they make it. It definitely holds its shape!
What I was most happy about was the fact that the Moss Rock reins fit through the rings and snapped on the ring the throatlatch, crown, and browband all connect to. That was pretty much the purpose of getting it actually.
Kash worked well in it this evening, though I didn't try anything too exciting with it. I'd like to take him to the property and see how he does over there with it.
I do think once I get a couple other things squared away I will be contacting Lisa at Moss Rock for another set of reins for Kash (I borrowed Charm-n's) and asking her about possibly making some long lines as I have thoughts about starting Tru-D in the cross-under bridle and I don't really want to introduce the bit for another couple years and my lungeing cavesson isn't set up well to long line from (tried with Z, needs to have rings that stick out sideways more) on top of wanting the extra control/finesse over a plain sidepull (and the stability, sidepulls tend to migrate sideways across the face).
Kash didn't cooperate for a side view. He kept staring at me.
Yep, that's my boy.
I love that it can convert to a halter, bridle (both bitted and bitless), and has independent bit hangers if desired. It is crazy-adjustable. The crown piece has buckles, the browband adjusts (and can be removed), the cheeks obviously adjust, the noseband has buckles on both sides, throatlatch, and even the strap that connects the noseband to the throatlatch has adjustability. It is awesome. When you order you also have an insane amount of color choices both for the main piece and the padding/underlay.
The sidepull noseband does have extra padding on it compared to the plain one they initially sent me that I think is a bit excessive. I would have been happy without the extra neoprene. I had gotten used to the Moss Rock Evolution bridle that sits lower on the cheek. I need to adjust the crown and see what I can manage there.
I went with Running Bear instead of Moss Rock this time for two reasons. The shallow one being that Moss Rock doesn't have hunter green anymore, the other one being my curiosity about the quality of Running Bear's stuff and whether I could use their sidepull as a cross-under bridle with Moss Rock's rein design.
The quality of the Running Bear bridle is definitely high. Moss Rock is good and servicable and the price for what you get can't be beat (paid more for just the Smart Bridle than I did the Moss Rock one, which included the reins). Running Bear doesn't disappoint, though. There is padding on the crown, browband, and all around the nose. They add neoprene for the sidepull, which as noted before I think is a bit excessive, but okay. It feels very sturdy in hand too. I think it will take a little time to really mold to Kash's face as the material is a bit stiff with how thick they make it. It definitely holds its shape!
What I was most happy about was the fact that the Moss Rock reins fit through the rings and snapped on the ring the throatlatch, crown, and browband all connect to. That was pretty much the purpose of getting it actually.
Kash worked well in it this evening, though I didn't try anything too exciting with it. I'd like to take him to the property and see how he does over there with it.
I do think once I get a couple other things squared away I will be contacting Lisa at Moss Rock for another set of reins for Kash (I borrowed Charm-n's) and asking her about possibly making some long lines as I have thoughts about starting Tru-D in the cross-under bridle and I don't really want to introduce the bit for another couple years and my lungeing cavesson isn't set up well to long line from (tried with Z, needs to have rings that stick out sideways more) on top of wanting the extra control/finesse over a plain sidepull (and the stability, sidepulls tend to migrate sideways across the face).
Kash didn't cooperate for a side view. He kept staring at me.
Yep, that's my boy.