Bridle Leather · Dec 10, 2018

What IS Bridle Leather & why use it in guitar straps?

What is Bridle Leather?

Bridle Leather refers to the way that a piece of leather (cow hide) is finished at the tannery. Bridle leather has both the Flesh and Grain side of the leather stuffed with greases and finished with wax. This is generally a labour intensive process, thus expensive! Only the best grades of leather are treated like this, it would be uneconomic to treat poor quality leather in this way.

The purpose of bridle leather is threefold;

It's expected to look good. That is, it must have good depth of colour that changes over time and use and be attractive to look at, it must age well and it must not have natural imperfections that weaken the leather.

It is expected to be smooth, comfortable and flexible to handle. It is designed for use in bridles, so must be comfortable for a horse to wear next to the skin. Therefore the treatment of the flesh side is as important as the grain side as the flesh side is typically worn next to the horses skin and must be smooth.

It is expected to be both strong and durable. The riders life literally depends on bridle leather not failing unexpectedly. Its is subjected to quite high loads, and must tolerate this time after time, so not only must the leather be strong, but it must survive poor weather, dirt, everything being in contact with a horse throws at it for many years. An item of saddlery is typically expected to last for 10 or more years of use when used with a horse - and this is why we offer a LIFETIME guarantee with our bridle leather guitar straps.

All in all, bridle leather is pretty amazing stuff. We use it as it is simply the best leather available for any guitarist wanting a beautiful strap that will literally give a lifetime of playing pleasure.

A bridle leather guitar strap will become more beautiful, characterful and tactile as it ages. There aren't many products produced now that get better with age, but good bridle leather is certainly one of them.