If you're looking for an unbiased PS of Sweden bridle review, we've got you.
PS of Sweden is an innovative bridle maker that came onto the market in 2011.
With months of design testing and research before each bridle model comes onto the market, PS of Sweden focuses on quality and making your horse comfortable.
The brand offers a range of bridles, which we will introduce you to here, so you can pick the best horse bridles.
PS of Sweden Bridle benefits & drawbacks
Every brand of tack has its good and bad points. Nothing is perfect! Let’s take a quick look at what to expect from a PS of Sweden Bridle.
For those of you in a rush, consider this your TL;DR overview.
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BENEFITS |
DRAWBACKS |
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Attractive and stylish |
Expensive |
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High quality leather |
If you can’t buy it from a tack shop in your country, will might get stuck with import duties |
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Wide choice of bridle models for showjumping, eventing, and dressage |
You have to buy the reins separately |
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You can buy individual bridle parts, such as nosebands and browbands |
Some bridles do not come with a throatlatch, so you have to buy this separately |
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Anatomical headpiece |
While polite, customer service is not always accommodating |
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Fast and polite customer service |
There are some concerns about durability |
Features of PS of Sweden Bridle
Features of the PS Sweden bridle focus on the comfort of the horse, and stylish design for the rider.
The range includes serval designs for the different English riding disciplines.
Customization
If you contact PS of Sweden before you buy your bridle, they will help you choose the best size.
They will send you their measurement instructions and make a recommendation based on that.
For example, your horse might need a full size crownpiece, but a cob size noseband.
You can also ask their advice on what type of reins to get based on your preferences and the size of your horse.
Anatomical Headpiece
The PS of Sweden anatomical bridle. One of the best features of PS of Sweden’s bridles is the anatomical crownpiece. This piece takes your horse’s comfort seriously.
It is well padded, and shaped so that it doesn’t push into the back of the horse’s ears.
The center of the headpiece has an air gap. This adds to its pressure releasing abilities. By adding the air gap, less pressure is put on the sensitive nerves, muscles, and ligaments that attach the neck to the head.
Cheekpieces
The cheekpieces contain PS of Sweden’s own specially designed elastic Cradles™, which help the bit ‘float’ in the horse’s mouth. This helps reduce poll pressure.
Nosebands
The noseband on the Figure 8 bridle does not have metal rings. It is shaped to sit comfortably on the horse’s face and has extra padding to help relieve pressure.
Depending on the style you choose, the noseband will come with a removable flash or none at all.
Browband
The clincher browband is rubber lined to help keep it in place. The browbands for all PS of Sweden’s bridles have a convex shape, which keeps the bridle in place.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDZHodBL5Jw
Check: Lunging Horse Equipment and How to Use Them
4 Types of PS of Sweden Bridles
PS of Sweden has a great range of bridles with different configurations.
- Stockholm Bridle
This bridle is one of the most traditional designs with modern innovation incorporated.
It has fancy stitching and the company’s signature padded crownpiece. The noseband is also well padded.
This bridle comes in cob and fulls size, as well as in brown or black
PS of Sweden recommends this bridle for horses that are extra sensitive about restrictions around their head. The flash strap is removable.
- Athens Bridle
The PS of Sweden Athens bridle. The Athens bridle is a figure 8 (Mexican) design with some changes for the horse’s comfort in mind.
Instead of metal rings that sit on the sensitive cheek area, this bridle only has a leather strap. This strap is padded to prevent rubbing.
The lower strap of the noseband is anatomically shaped, so it sits more comfortably around the muzzle. The headpiece with well padded and has an ergonomic design to prevent pressure on the poll and ears.
This bridle suits strong horses, and those that have a sensitive jaw area.
- Paris Bridle
The Paris bridle is a newer type of flash or drop noseband design.
It is aimed at experienced riders that need more control but don’t want to put a stronger bit in the horse’s mouth.
This drop noseband sits in a more comfortable way on the lower muzzle.
It attaches to the main noseband via two straight straps that allow it to set straight over the muzzle and around the mouth, instead of at an angle.
This bridle helps horses that need help with balance and those that are very forward going.
- Paragon Double Bridle
The Paragon is a beautiful double bridle for advanced dressage horses.
PS of Sweden designed this bridle with input from the successful dressage rider Nina Hofmann.
The company incorporated its unique noseband design for jumping bridles into this double bridle.
It gives dressage horses more freedom in their mouth and avoids putting pressure on the facial nerves.
The crownpiece is extra wide, anatomical, and padded. It has an elegant rolled browband.
One neat feature of this browband is it uses PS of Sweden’s ‘Click-It’ design, which allows you to change it without even taking the bridle off the horse.
The bridle comes in brown in three sizes, cob, full, and extra full.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHA-EAMu1ws
Why choose a PS of Sweden Bridle
Even though a PS of Sweden Bridle is expensive, there are many reasons to choose one for your horse.
The main reason is the design. With innovative anatomical shapes, your horse will have less pressure on the sensitive areas of its face.
These designs can help a horse with bridling issues, which potentially means, you will encounter fewer behavioral problems when riding.
The horse has very sensitive skin, so sensitive it can feel a fly landing on it.
One of the most sensitive areas on the horse is the poll, due to it being a junction of nerves, muscles, and ligaments, all close to the surface.
When the poll suffers too much pressure, it affects the rest of the horse’s body. It can make the back and neck stiff, cause tension in the jaw, and restrict the horse’s movement.
PS of Sweden’s anatomical crownpiece is designed to greatly reduce poll pressure, allowing the horse more freedom of movement and relaxation.
Its width and padding help to distribute pressure and avoid pressure points.
In addition to the crownpiece, the cheekpiece design is unique. Instead of securing the bit directly in their leather look, these include an elastic cradle.
The bit sits in the cradle, which suspends the bit in the horse’s mouth. This feature helps give the rider a softer feel and more sympathetic contact.
Finally, because PS of Sweden provides each bridle part individually, you can customize the bridle specifically for your horse.
You can easily change nosebands and reins without having to purchase another entire bridle.
Fitting Your PS of Sweden Bridle
Because PS of Sweden bridles have innovative designs the fit is a little different than a traditional bridle.
Before you buy one it is a good idea to measure your horse. For this, you will need a soft measuring tape.
PS of Sweden has put together a guide for each of its different bridle parts. It includes pictures of each part and the area you need to measure.
It also has a chart that lists each part and its size.
You can compare your measurements to the horse bridle sizes chart to pick the one that will fit your horse. Check out the guide here.
Final Verdict
We love the PS of Sweden bridle range. It is worth the investment for a more comfortable, happy, and a better performing horse.
All these bridles come with their own storage bag to help protect them.
With good leather care, your bridle will last years, especially as high quality leather is used for their construction.
The company has a lot of knowledge regarding bridle fit due to continuous research.
If you are unsure of the best configuration for your horse don’t hesitate to get in touch with them for a chat and advice.
References:
- Barlow, Ashleigh. 2021. “PS of Sweden - the Truth behind Brilliant Bridles - Naylors Blog.” Naylors Blog. January 21, 2021. https://www.naylors.com/blog/ps-of-sweden-the-truth-behind-brilliant-bridles/.
- 2021a. Psofsweden.com. 2021. https://www.psofsweden.com/ps-of-sweden/ps/about-ps/.
- 2021b. Psofsweden.com. 2021. https://www.psofsweden.com/ps-of-sweden/horse/bridle/bridle/bridle-athens.
What do you think of PS of Sweden bridle? Share your thoughts in the comment section!