Too loose and it sits out from the horses head, or it sags. This makes the overall picture look a bit odd. Too tight and it can pinch below the ears and put pressure on this area. It can also be a safety issue with horses having removed their bridles due to rubbing on something and the browband being tight enabling the horse to pull the headpiece over the ears and remove the bridle.

When measuring your horse or ponies browband, its best to use a browband that fits the horse well. Remove from the bridle and lay the browband flat to measure the whole length including the loops for the bridle.

Another thing to be aware of when ordering a browband if your bridle has a large/wide headpiece, such as some of the ergonomic and mono crown types. If you have one of these let your browband maker know the size of the headpiece when ordering your browband or your diy browbands.

I make all my own browband blanks here and can make custom loops to fit any bridle, conversely if you have bridles with a fine headpiece such as some smaller ponies wear I can make smaller loops to fit. I can also make custom length sized browbands.

Here is my handy size conversion chart (rounded to the nearest 0.5cm for quick reference)

Penny F 2024

Some Tips on caring for your show browbands.

Please keep your browband protected if it has bling elements. One of our browband covers is ideal available here, or remove from the horse after the class and store in a browband storage bag. 

Rhinestones and sometimes the whole rosette! on your browband can be knocked out by horses with itchy heads determined on rubbing the itch, or by browbands being left on the bridle and put in a bridle bag with no protection. 

Mirror and inlay  browbands will  need to be stored curved to prevent mirror or inlay  being damaged. The mirror or inlay can be damaged if the browband is flattened after use. A shoe box is often a cost effective way to store a browband that needs to be stored curved.

Black makeup and hoof black is just about impossible to remove from your browband so try to avoid getting this on your browband by keeping it covered until just before your classes.

Lightly soiled/sweaty and dusty velvet bands can be carefully cleaned with a dry toothbrush this is good for removing dust from the velvet pile and from around bling stones.  If there is sweat and dirt you may need a damp toothbrush and a small amount of hard laundry soap such as sard wonder soap bar or sunlight bar. Satin can be carefully cleaned with a damp cloth or sponge and a very tiny amount of hard laundry soap. Minimal water and cleaning with a sponging action rather than rubbing is prefered to prevent wear.

The Video shows two ribbons on a 1″ (25mm) wide browband. You will need approximately 2.7m of each ribbon to cover a full size (16″ or 40.5cm) long browband.