# Throat latch or not?



## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

The throatlatch helps keep the bridle on the horse. It is an integral part of the bridle. You can use a bridle without it, but you have a greater chance of the bridle coming off during rigorous activities (like jumping).
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## Kailex (Oct 31, 2014)

I understand and have experienced losing the bridle in past experiences. I'm just hesitant as to whether i should buy this head stall or not. My jumper tends to flick/thow his head the more the adrenaline kicks in, he also likes to itch his knees when I'm not paying attention. 

Is it extremely easy to fall off?

Would I be able to manually attatch a throat latch myself?


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## Kailex (Oct 31, 2014)

This is the heads tall, sorry I couldn't attach the full image.


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## OutOfTheLoop (Apr 1, 2012)

I wouldn't use it. It looks like the poll strap is deisgned to help it not come off, but I still wouldn't trust it if your horse flicks his head and scratches his legs.
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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. Last thing I'd want with a head tosser would be to give him an opportunity to get that bridle off. 

I don't see a way you could attach a throatlatch yourself to that bridle. You could take it to a tack repair shop and see what they think, though.
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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

Not something I'd buy.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

I wouldn't use a bridle without a throat latch with a snaffle bit. With a curb/leverage bit (like the one it's pictured with), when you pull on the reins the bit rotates and pulls the crown of the bridle tighter. With a snaffle bit, when you pull on the reins the bit rings are pulled backwards, loosening the crown piece; this makes it much more likely to fall off and is why a throat latch is absolutely a requirement on most English bridles, but is often left off of western headstalls.


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## Kailex (Oct 31, 2014)

I am currently riding in a Pelham


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

It appears it's been cut off. The bit you ride in doesn't matter, a quick rub and the bridle is off. Maybe the horse will hang on to the bit, maybe it will drop it and develop the "freedom" attitude which might entail some vigorous bucking.


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## unclearthur (Feb 25, 2012)

Having taken a bridle off, complete with browband, throatlatch and grakle, at a coffin (in front of the ditch) as I flew over the horse's head, I'd never ride without a complete set of straps.

When your means of control is hanging between your horse's front legs like so much leather spaghetti, it's embarrassing to say the least!


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

unclearthur said:


> Having taken a bridle off, complete with browband, throatlatch and grakle, at a coffin (in front of the ditch) as I flew over the horse's head, I'd never ride without a complete set of straps.
> 
> When your means of control is hanging between your horse's front legs like so much leather spaghetti, it's embarrassing to say the least!


Not just me then!!!
Mine was 'not going over' a show jump but equally embarrassing and not helped by the fact that the horse decided that for once in her life she was not going to be caught.


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## Clayton Taffy (May 24, 2011)

I have never seen an English bridle without a throat latch, especially one used for any jumping. I have only seen Western show bridles, to be used only going around in a ring, without a throat latch. I would not get it.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Why do you want this bridle in particular even though it doesn't have a throatlatch?

I'd never buy a bridle without one. Perhaps you'd go your entire lifetime without a problem, but perhaps not. I could (and have) done without a noseband, but never without a throat latch.


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

There is a high end company in Europe making english bridles without throat latches now so I suspect it will become more common.

As someone who has flown over a horses head taking the bridle with them from not doing the throat latch tight enough, not something id want. I like my throat latches.

The bridles im talking about... I wont lie I have been drooling over a few of them...

PS of Sweden - Bridle


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## unclearthur (Feb 25, 2012)

NBEventer said:


> There is a high end company in Europe making english bridles without throat latches now so I suspect it will become more common.
> 
> As someone who has flown over a horses head taking the bridle with them from not doing the throat latch tight enough, not something id want. I like my throat latches.
> 
> ...


They look nice quality but...something not quite right :wink:


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## NBEventer (Sep 15, 2012)

It is almost like a part of the bridle is missing or something eh? lol


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

This looks like some sort of fad to me. The crown is wide and set back on most of these, the manufacturer will probably say they won't fall off. I don't see this design going anywhere. Bridles look the way they do for a reason.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

How many western bridles have throatlatches?

If a throatlatch was tight enough to keep everything in place if it wanted to come off it would be too tight. Note that several people had bridles come off (scary!) while the throatlatch was done up.

Personally I don't think they do much. Looks like these are designed to stay on and most horses (some are weird) have heads that encourage a bridle to stay on.

That said I don't think I'd buy a bridle without one! lol


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## DraftyAiresMum (Jun 1, 2011)

The only western bridles that don't have throatlatches are one-ear, two-ear or split-ear. These are all designed to be used with a curb bit and little to no rein pressure, making the only way they could come off would be if your horse scratched its face on its leg and managed to pull it off that way. 

In English bridles, with direct contact on the bit, as someone else pointed out, a bridle with no throatlatch is more likely to become loose and slide over the ears than a bridle with a throatlatch. It takes far more effort and force for a bridle with a throatlatch to become dislodged than it does for one without.
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## freia (Nov 3, 2011)

Turn the clock back 25 years. Jumping lessons with cavalry-officers on Fjord horses with budget tack. Headstall had a throatlatch, but was too big. Couldn't tighten the throatlatch properly. I was told it was no problem.

Good approach to the jump. Horse refused one stride before the jump. I grabbed whatever I could as I headed over the ears and towards the fence. Don't know what really happened, but I found myself sitting in the dirt: fence in front of me, horse standing stoically behind me. I'm holding the entire headstall and reins in my hands as if I'm still riding. Everybody is laughing. Luckily, this is before the age of iPhones and Instagrams.

I like properly fitted throatlatches.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I think I am one of the rare few that has lost a bridle in spite of it being a full browband with throatlatch. HOWEVER, it happened when the horse performed a faceplant at a long lope. He clipped it with a front hoof trying to get his feet back under him and the whole thing fell off. Turned out, after I got him stopped, that it had torn the hole out of the throatlatch and it came off that way. Thank God it was a broke horse instead of a colt LOL.

Bridles like those that drafty mentioned are common throughout western riding and many don't have throatlatches, but they are designed to be used with curb bits, as others have said. For snaffles, a browband and throatlatch is the only way to go. I was lucky to find this example of why one-ear headstalls and snaffle bits are a very poor combination. You can see how the bridle has slipped nearly halfway up the horse's neck.


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## EdmontonHorseGal (Jun 2, 2013)

aside from what is a big safety issue with not having a throatlatch, it just looks dippy to me to see that horse's jaw not sporting a strap around it. looks odd and not right.

i even have a throatlatch on my bosal hanger (headstall).


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

I've tried the "Pull back with both reins on the snaffle and have the one-ear headstall come back and off the ear and fall off the horse" thing. It is a good thing I was riding Trooper at the time. He stopped and waited for me to get off and make things right. Mia would have run as if all the devils in hell were after her.

That was probably around the 5-6th time I used that combo on Trooper. Maybe it was bad luck and would actually happen rarely, but I don't plan to find out. To me, no throatlatch equals curb bit only.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

Kailex said:


> I am currently riding in a Pelham


If you're riding with two sets of reins and primarily using the snaffle rein (as I understand the Pelham to be designed to be used) then you'll run into the same problems as using it with a snaffle.

If you're using one set of reins and roundings then it's anybody's guess how much it will affect the bridle


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Personally, I would pass.


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## Cielo Notturno (Sep 12, 2013)

I think that a headstall without throatlatch would last on my horse for 2 to 5 minutes. 
Ok, nothing is 100% safe and any kind of bridle can come off if something really uncommon happens, but in jumping I don't see why you wouldn't want to use one.


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## SketchyHorse (May 14, 2012)

bsms said:


> I've tried the "Pull back with both reins on the snaffle and have the one-ear headstall come back and off the ear and fall off the horse" thing.


You aren't the only one bsms  I _adored _one eared headstalls on my Arabian mare with her little dainty head. Yeah well... no one told me one ear with no throatlatch + snaffle = NOOOO. I never personally pulled it off her face (don't ask me how I managed to never do that) but a lot of the kids I had riding her did. It was like 'Wha? There's Lily grazing in the pasture with no bridle...'

Not something I would do OP. I think I was lucky with my one ear + snaffle because I rode my mare with no contact. I'd wiggle the rein to get her to bring her head down, but other than that kept it slack. I can't tell you how many times the kids pulled the thing off her head. One of them did it multiple times in one ride. While having bridles come falling off is a possibility even with all the gadgets - I would never risk it without at least saying I WAS fully covering my butt with all necessary straps. Can you imagine pulling back to slow your horse & having the bridle just fly off in front of a jump? Eesh.


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## tinaev (Dec 2, 2012)

Just the other day I was bridling Rio, we had the bit in (always an adventure) and the bridle positioned correctly. I moved one step to the side so I could do up the throat latch when he decided to do a head shake. Before I even realized what had happened his whole bridle was just on the ground. So there go my dreams of beautiful one ear headstalls.


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

I wouldn't use it for anything but ring riding. A throatlatch does help keep the bridle on for minor rubs that happen constantly.

However, I don't even trust THEM 100%. When I do XC I ALWAYS braid around the crown piece with mane and forelock. That really helps to keep from peeling the bridle off if you go forward over the horse's head. You might fight yourself back in the saddle, but it's hard to finish the course without a bridle.

Not the kind of braids I use, but you get the idea.


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## Peanutbutter (Apr 23, 2014)

NBEventer said:


> There is a high end company in Europe making english bridles without throat latches now so I suspect it will become more common.
> 
> As someone who has flown over a horses head taking the bridle with them from not doing the throat latch tight enough, not something id want. I like my throat latches.
> 
> ...


They sell the throat latch separate actually. The bridle is supposed to be ergonomical, and they look good. But I would buy the throat latch to :lol:


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## achance (Sep 24, 2009)

I own one PS of Sweden bridle and have another on the way. My High Jump is by far the best designed and most stable bridle I've ever had. With the crownpiece having such a wide and very ergonomic platform, it stays put very well. But yes they do sell a separate throatlatch piece if you want one, so problem solved. A Micklem does not have a throatlatch either. How stable a bridle is really has more to do with a) how it's designed b) how it's fitted.

Honestly unless you're making your throatlatch too tight, it's not really going to keep a bridle on a horse's head. Just look at how many videos have gone around lately of people's bridles coming off over the head in competition - with a throatlatch. If you really want guaranteed bridle stability, tie/braid the crown to the mane... that's about the only thing that'll really do it.


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