MICKLEM BRIDLES REVIEW
MICKLEM BRIDLES REVIEW Are They Worth The Money And Do They Really Help? By Georgie Wood
William Micklem is an International Coach and Speaker as well as a Fellow of the British Horse Society. He invented the Micklem Bridle which won the BETA Innovation Award in 2008 and was the first comfort bridle on the market that was designed through looking at the horse’s skull, not just the external shape of the head. William was aware how many traditional bridles sat over sensitive nerves in the face and also across the cheek where the protruding upper molar teeth sit due to the upper jaw being wider than the lower jaw. The Micklem is designed to avoid the sensitive areas and nerve endings in the face, thus making the bridle much more comfortable.
2. Noseband positioning avoids any pressure on the motor and sensory nerves exiting at this point, eliminating the possibility of discomfort and numbness on the lower areas of the head. 3. The unique shape and positioning of the noseband and back straps means they avoid the protruding molar teeth, so sensitive tissue inside the mouth is not damaged. 4. The shaped cheekpiece fits comfortably around the protruding cheekbones, avoiding unnecessary pressure. 5. A shaped, widened and padded headpiece, with no separate uncomfortable narrow noseband, spreads the pressure evenly over a wide area of the poll. You can find out more about William and the reasons behind his design on his website > www.williammicklem.com
1. The noseband sits higher than a dropped noseband, avoiding pressure on the fragile nose bones. The placement of the bottom back strap gives similar functionality to a flash noseband. 32
I started using Micklem Bridles very early on, before they were really known about. I remember having to carry a letter to show the dressage stewards at British Eventing competitions to prove the bridle was dressage legal! The reason we started using a Micklem was because we had a horse that suffered with head shaking and we wanted to make him as comfortable as possible. The Micklem made a marked improvement to his level of comfort and I really liked the minimalist look of the bridle and the fact it sat so still on the horses face, so I started to use it on the other horse I had at the time. Horsemart
