Tack Shopping for Dallas the Rescue Pony...input please?

[fergusnc]

So it's about time to make time to get going with him, and there will need to be a great deal of tack shopping. I love the way warm brown tack looks on a chestnut, so already had a brown bridle in mind for my search...but this morning I had a thought....how hard will it be to find a briwn dressage saddle for him nowadays? I haven't saddle shopped for dressage saddles in 15 years and haven't shown in maybe 6 years, so am far out of the loop on trends and thus availability.

Also, re: trends....in show photos I have seen a lot of those v-like brow bands....is it too dinasaur like to go with the standard, traditional ones? I lean towards the classic.

[PaulaO]

Brown is just as accessible as black for dressage saddles. It is not dinosaur to go with classic tack. I'm a George Morris devotee when it comes to that--clean, simple, classic. My dressage saddle is black and I was always on the lookout for a black hunt bridle...

[fergusnc]

Took a drive down to spend an afternoon at my favorite tack shop, saddle tracing for Dallas in hand, just to see what options we had to work with. I adore the owners, one of whom is a great saddle fitter trained by a guy I feel is a guru. She and I hashed out the current state of affairs with Dallas, put some notes on his tracing folder about brands that would be options for him and me, and I sat in a few saddles. The next step is to call her when I feel like he and I are both ready for me to get on/off enough to try some saddles, and she will come out with a car full. My goal is still brown tack, which can't happen in every brand, but we hope will work out. I brought Dallas' halter down for a size guide, and found him a used brown bridle that cleaned up pretty well....so we can get started on getting reacquainted with a bit in his mouth and maybe some ground driving when I have a second set of horse savvy hands to err on the side of safety.
You can see he had no major concerns with playing dress up while I worked on sizing the bridle.

[capstone]

Also, re: trends....in show photos I have seen a lot of those v-like brow bands....is it too dinasaur like to go with the standard, traditional ones? I lean towards the classic.

The V-shaped brow bands aren't too common in my neck of the woods but the curved ones are. I think they look nice and not so weird and fad-ish. I might be biased...

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I love brown tack but I don't have any at the moment.

[Chisamba]

Most of my brow bands are simple straight leather. Some of my clients have bling to different degrees.

You can get brown as it seems you have found out dressage saddles, but not all brands. I like brown too despite mine all being black.

[fergusnc]

Is there a point to the alternate shaped brow band or is it just preference? I wonder if a curved one would be for a horse, like Dallas, where the brow band looks too big and gaps across the forehead? But I wouldn't do any bling on him, so don't know that I'd have much luck matching up an older bridle...that is brown.

[capstone]

Is there a point to the alternate shaped brow band or is it just preference? I wonder if a curved one would be for a horse, like Dallas, where the brow band looks too big and gaps across the forehead? But I wouldn't do any bling on him, so don't know that I'd have much luck matching up an older bridle...that is brown.

Preference, like most things. And you're right - if you're sticking with plain leather, then straight is likely the way to go.