Introducing a Double Bridle with Glenda and Faye Hinchliffe

This article is from the October 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Mother-daughter FEI dressage duo Glenda and Faye Hinchliffe own and operate Wyronga Park Equestrian Centre in the heart of the picturesque Yarra Valley, Victoria.

Glenda has been around horses all her life and has lived and worked overseas for many years. She has worked with some of the wonders of the dressage world, such as Christopher and Jane Bartle, Bjorn Binder and Paul Beck to name a few. Through this Glenda was able to bring many useful training exercises and tips to produce top performances horses and riders.

Faye originally started in showing, where she had enormous success before turning her eye to dressage where she has been able to produce a large number of successful horses and ponies to national level. Faye and Revelry R are members of the Prydes High Performance Dressage Squad and won the FEI World Dressage PSG Challenge at the end of last year and went on to be named second in the world for that class.

Back in January 2019, the FEI introduced a new rule change surrounding the use of snaffle bridles from advanced level above. This, therefore, means people now have an option to choose whether to ride in a snaffle or double bridle, whereas previously it was stipulated you must ride in a double.

Note: For CDI3, 4 and 5 and U25 classes, Championships and World Equestrian Games events a double bridle still must be used.

With that rule change there is now no set time frame for when your dressage horse must be in a double bridle. It’s more about when your horse is ready to wear one. When your horse is trained to go consistently into the contact and is capable of being ridden in good self-carriage and balance, that is, that their muscles must be strong enough to maintain a good connection swinging through the back from behind.

Each horse has different needs, so the snaffle and curb must be fitted comfortably. Conformation of the mouth is so important and so we would suggest getting a bit expert to fit your bits, as it can make such a difference to the overall comfort and acceptance of the double bridle. The bit experts will also try different bits to see what each individual horse works more happily in.

We also get our horses’ teeth checked by vet/dentist every six months and would highly recommend doing this before introducing the double bridle to ensure there are no sharp points or dental problems, therefore not causing any additional pressure or problems.

The rider must also be at a stage where they can ride with an independent seat and rein so they do not interfere with the horse.

The Fit and Positioning of the Bit and Bridle

The double bridle has two bits; the bridoon is a snaffle and the curb is an unjointed mouthpiece, often with a port and a shank.

The bridoon bit, which is a snaffle, should be fitted in the same way you would do so when fitting a snaffle bridle, although it may have smaller rings so as not to be too cumbersome with all the strapping of a double bridle. The bridoon acts on the tongue, bars of the mouth, and lips of the lower jaw and is the main rein for regulating, guiding or correcting the horse.

The bridoon can be single or double-jointed and should be similar to your snaffle bridle bit.

The curb bit should be of the correct width, type and proportion to suit your horse or pony and should lie just below the bradoon in the mouth. The mouthpiece can be 0.5cm shorter than the bridoon because the bridoon lies slightly bent in the mouth due to its joint or joints.

Make sure the bit and the shanks of the curb are not pinching the corners of your horse’s mouth or cheeks when fitting the bridle and bits.

The bridoon may be a loose ring (sliding), D-ring or a fixed ring like an eggbutt. The curb may also have a sliding shank through which the mouthpiece attaches and can slide approximately half an inch, allowing the horse to move the curb in its mouth. The curb may also have a fixed mouthpiece to the shank in which there is no extra movement in the horse’s mouth.

The curb chain must be lying flat with no twists so that the links twist from the right and form a flat supple surface. The chain should sit in the chin groove when the shank of the curb is rotated 45 degrees.

Some horses prefer to have a chain guard on rather than the exposed chain. These can be made out of leather or the synthetic gel.

The small ‘D’ on the curb shank is for the placement of the lip strap, which attaches to each side of the curb on the dee and slips through the extra loop midway on the curb chain.

We would highly recommend you read the Equestrian Australia Rule Book to ensure your bits are competition legal before you go out and compete.

Introducing it to the Horse
When introducing the double bridle to your horse for the first time, it is all about making it a positive experience. We do so on a nice quiet ride, like a supple/stretchy ride or trail ride, so that the horse can get used to having two bits in their mouth.

This is a crucial moment in the horse’s training, so you want to ensure everything goes as smoothly as it can. It’s always a good idea to ask a professional who is knowledgeable so that they can help you in this process of the introduction of the double bridle. It would be a good idea to have a lesson from your coach in your double bridle after your quiet introduction ride.

We use anatomical bridles as they are designed to avoid putting pressure on the horse’s sensitive facial nerves or pinching the ears and reduces the poll pressure. It is more comfortable for the horse and allows natural face movement whilst riding. The older style bridles have the bradoon strap going over or under the headpiece and doing up on the righthand side whereas the anatomical do up on both sides.

The modern double bridle allows the noseband, bridoon, curb and throat lash to be adjusted each side, therefore only the headpiece goes over the poll, reducing the poll pressure on the horse.

With the double bridle, a cavesson noseband is compulsory when competing.

Correctly Holding the Reins

Option A There are different ways in which to hold the double bridle reins, but the ‘traditional’ way to hold the reins is where the rider holds the bridoon rein on the outside of the little finger and the curb rein passes through on the inside of the little finger (between the little and ring fingers), then coming through the palm of the hand and the thumb closing on top of the bridoon.

Option B The other way of holding the double bridle reins is to hold the bridoon rein as if you were holding the snaffle bridle, which is with the rein between the ring and little finger. The curb rein will be held in the inside of the hand, running under the fingers. The thumb will close on top of the bridoon rein, which then lies over the middle of the index finger.

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