Review: PS of Sweden Flying Change bridle

Published on by Amanda C

I’ve gotten a bit behind on my PS of Sweden reviews, it seems. I still need to do one on the High Five breastplate, but I want to wait until I have a chance to use it more and give it a thorough test. For the Flying Change bridle, though, the time has come.

I’ve had this bridle for about a month now and used it several times. I’ve conditioned it a couple times and cleaned it once. This is not my first bridle from PS of Sweden, I also have the High Jump in dark brown leather. Like the High Jump, I ordered the Flying Change in a cob size. Henry really measures between their cob and full size, but I prefer how the cob size browband fits. The Flying Change was ordered with the intent of being his dressage bridle, so I chose black.

I have gotten really spoiled by PS’s shipping… two days for something to make it from Sweden to my doorstep (it’s ALWAYS two days!) is pretty amazing considering how long most of my other orders take from other places. Plus the bridles come in a fabric bag to store them in to keep the dust off, and there’s always something “extra” in there from PS – either rein stops or a keychain or whatever. Small details, but nice ones. When I opened the package, the first thing I noticed was the thick soft padding on this bridle. The noseband and crown are super soft and squishy for those delicate faces and polls. There’s also a nice thick pad running under the jaw area of the noseband. I gave a quick condition with Higher Standards balm and it was ready to go.

wide padded anatomic crownpiece that is a standard feature on PS bridles

As with the High Jump (and all of PS’s bridles) the browband snaps on and off to be easily removeable and interchangeable. This is an awesome feature if you happen to also own a sparkly PS of Sweden browband like I do. It literally takes 15 seconds to do a browband change. Yes I timed it.

The other super cool “quick change” feature of this bridle is the flash attachment. The tab connecting the flash to the bridle runs between the top layer of leather and the padding. The tab hooks back on itself via a little rounded metal stud, similar to the studs you see on some models of jumping boots. The stud has smooth rounded edges and just barely sticks up from the surface of the leather when the flash is attached, so I’ve had zero worry about it getting snagged on anything. The stud really makes it very quick and easy to put the flash attachment on or take it off. Again, just a matter of seconds. The first time I took it off and put it back on I didn’t push the leather down firmly enough on the stud and it popped off when I went to fasten the flash on the horse. Once I took care to make sure that it was back on the stud correctly, I’ve never had another problem with it popping off. I absolutely LOVE the fact that when you take the flash off of the bridle, you would never know it was there in the first place. No ugly flash tab, and no dents in your padding!

view of the noseband from the front

 

and from the top

The reins on this bridle are similar to the High Jump but not quite the same. They are made from the same “softy” leather, which I really adore. It’s super super soft and thin and grippy, which makes it very easy and comfortable to hold. They also have the same leather hand stops spaced evenly down the length of the reins. The only difference is that these are not lined in rubber. For a dressage bridle, these reins are really ideal for me. I love having the hand stops to help make sure my reins are even and to help prevent me from letting them slip through my hands – both bad habits of mine.

The noseband came with a clip on the bottom for easier attachment, and while I do love the ease of it I liked the fit a little bit better without it, so I took it off.  There are rollers on each side of the hardware under the bottom strap of the noseband for easy and fluid tightening/loosening.

The top of the nose has a slightly squared design to it that molds really nicely around the nose and then tapers to thinner leather on each side. IMO this makes it a very flattering bridle for many different head types.

The reins and cheekpieces also have the same heavy duty elastic “cradle” inserts in the ends as the High Jump has… it’s up to you whether you take them out or leave them in. I’ve left them in for now but will take them out before we start showing just in case a steward ever objects.

Overall I’m just as happy, if not more so, with this bridle as I am with the High Jump. The quality is good, the design is both innovative and beautiful, and the horse goes well in it. I sat here for a while trying to think of something negative to say, but honestly I’ve got nothing of note. The only slight negative, depending on how you look at it, is that one of the keepers on the noseband was very tight. To stretch it out a bit I slathered it in conditioner and stuck a Sharpie in it (it was just the right thickness!), twisted it around a little, and left it for a few days. When I took the Sharpie out it was looser, and the keeper held up perfectly to all the twisting and stretching. I’m excited to debut Henry’s fancy new dressage bridle at events this year! Thanks PS of Sweden for another great product.

 

 

40 thoughts on “Review: PS of Sweden Flying Change bridle”

  1. Oooh! I like this one!! I’ve been iffy on all their other designs, but the noseband really has me drooling. I love tapered nosebands. 🙂 Plus the reins are interesting. Do they sell just the reins? I need a good grippy pair of handstop reins for my double, and can’t find what I’m looking for here without adding too much bulk for double reins. (Thinline/rubber lined are too thick!) Also, LOOOVE that the flash attachment goes between the noseband and the padding. What a fantastic idea!

    2 day shipping? Are you for serious? It’s taking FedEx 7 days to send me something from freaking CALIFORNIA. How do they even DO that?!

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    1. They dont sell just the reins but they just rolled out a “pick n mix” option where you can basically build your own bridle, which is neat. And yes – every package ive gotten from PS has taken two days to get to Texas! SB got hers in Idaho in two days as well.

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  2. Amanda, remember when I was asking you about pricing on the high function v. the high jump? I emailed PS of Sweden and they explained that they were working on a contract with UPS and the price difference was because shipping was so high to the US. They have now lowered the price on the high jump in USD, to match the equal prices of both bridles in all the other currencies. I really want to get a PS bridle, so I guess I need to hurry up and get an English saddle again,

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  3. It’s a gorgeous bridle! And I’m always super impressed that you get such cute head shots of Henry. I’m lucky if I get one ear pricked.

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      1. My willpower is slowly dwindling, along with the leather on my 15 yr old reins. My current Stubben bridle being that old, I think it may actually bite the dust soon. Whatever I get needs to be my everything bridle (as in schooling + showing, used 4-5x/week bridle)…. Think the PS of Sweden leather will hold up to that?

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  5. Love the look of this bridle on Henry! I contemplated if this would look good on Spot, but her head is pretty big and I don’t know if it’ll make her big ole noggin look a little funny. I already subject her to all sorts of other torture. 😛

    Supa Fab Henry!!!

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    1. Sounds like someone needs to buy a dressage saddle then. Tell ya what… you find me a great price on a Devoucoux Milady and I’ll sell you a Frank Baines plus TWO “boring” bridles” at a great price. 😉

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  13. i really like the innovative designs! this particular bridle isn’t my favorite bc i think the noseband would overwhelm my mare’s teeny tiny face — but it looks great on Henry!

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  17. I read this entire review like I was reading a suspense novel…and now I want one!!…for the pony…and we don’t do dressage… Amanda you are ruining my cheapest thing I can find on eBay self!!!! Seriously curious if they will fit on Stormie pony… (:

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  19. I just stalked there website. Nothing for boring hunter ponies. 😦 Except the horse treats–which seems a bit excessive to order from the UK. But still, love the look of this bridle. The noseband looks so comfy!

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