What Leather And Foam Is Used For Padded English Bridles?

[yankeeinoz]

Hi Expert Folks,

I want to make a padded chinstrap for a Mexican crossover type bridle that I have The padded chinstrap that comes with the bridle (too short for the horse) is simple in design but I am not sure how to shop for the leather and the padding material which I assume is a type of foam. Other features are that the padding leather is buttery and soft but not slippery. I assume it is a type of calf skin but not sure of the thickness. The padding I can only guess is a type of foam that is commonly used to pad brow and nose bands on bridles? Anyone have experience in this area?

[Kevin]

When I pad something, I usually use neoprene (diving suit) foam and naked finish chap leather. That being said, to me, when you add padding, that just makes three ridges to rub, instead of one flat surface. Pretty much the whole world disagrees with me though.

Good luck,

Kevin

[AdamTill]

I commissioned a bridle for my girlfriend a few months ago, and because I was curious asked the same questions you did.

Answers were:

Main body: English bridle leather about 10-11oz

Lining: sheepskin or calfskin padding, chrome tanned with a slightly shiny finish, 2oz

Padding: neoprene (1/8" for thick, 1/16" for thin)

Would love to learn english bridlework at some point, but the tooling is expensive and I'm not sure I'd do enough of it just yet.

Edited May 22, 2012 by AdamTill

[Emmabeth]

I use plastazote (like neoprene but comes in a variety of thicknesses) foam for padding and often use pigskin suede (clothing weight) for the lining, as it comes in a variety of colours and you can use it shiny side out or suede side out.

[Jax]

Hi, I'm with Emmabeth on this 1 depending on how thick you want the padding, I generally use 1/8" plastazote which is self adhesive, sometimes I rasp it down a little to reduce the bulk. As for the leather I use a nice soft hide, about 0.5-1mm thick.

Good luck with your project.

[dwdwannabe]

Thank you to everyone. I am actually looking at making one to learn more and I have been searching everywhere for the item used for padding. Is there somewhere that you may direct me to learn about the sizes or possibly purchase templates for curved browbands. 

Any help is greatly appreciated.