First, the length of my reins. I use l-o-n-g reins. Long enough that when I've got them crossed over Estee's neck they still almost drag the ground. A lot of people see them as trip hazards, and I'll agree that if they were to drag the ground they'd be trip hazards. The reason I use them is so that when I'm leading out a ride, I can park my lead horse at the front of the line, dismount, play out the reins and help whichever guest needs help all while keeping contact with my horse. If I had short reins and had to keep my lead horse next to me when I went back to help the guest, I'd lose control of the line. A parked lead horse keeps the others from wandering off.
What about the quick-clips to attach them to the bridle? Monster demonstrated it perfectly on Sunday when he had to lead Estes back to the yard. He was able to leave the lead rope behind. When riding bareback, there's no place to attach the lead rope unless you leave it clipped to the halter and tie it around the horse's neck. It gets cumbersome. When Monster made the decision to lead Estes back to the yard, he was able to quickly disconnect the reins from the bridle and clip one end to the halter and lead her back without putting pressure on her mouth.
8 comments:
I think I shall be a little cheeky here!lol!.......My favourite piece of kit is !!!! My Hackamore, soft nosed, easy use, response from the horse is cool! But in all, its a good piece of kit.
I'm a long rein and snap fan myself. Like the snaps because at one point, a long time ago, I used to ride a whole lot of different horses, and they all had different bits. I had one (still have them) *favorite* pair of reins. Which I am kinda OCD over. So I'd just unsnap from one horse's gear, and snap to the next. Kept my OCD happy ;)
I like the long reins, too--and love the idea of the clip--but I use the leather ties instead.
Well, life is even easier if you ride in just a halter and lead rope :) And if I can do it on my arab-cross, anyone can, haha.
Actually, I'm usually in a hackamore with a set of gaming reins (looped soft rope). I'm sure I look absolutely ridiculous, but it works most excellently. The clips are WAAY easy, and I can just undo one, attach to a halter and I've got a leadrope.
I think you have the right combo for your needs - I thought it worked well on our ride! :)
Eric the Bold makes us a long single roper rein out of braiding used ropes and we put clips on both ends (although one would work)them and then when we lead we have one long soft rope. A single rein is easier for most of our guests. I ride in long split reins. Good system you have
Cheyenne - I've thought about changing her to a hackamore, but she does well with the set-up we have.
Mrs Mom - there is the ability to change out reins thing, too. In fact, I took my long split reins off so Monster could use his sister's barrel rein.
Linda - I love the clips :)
Rachel - you know I'm not as crazy as Bill and not quite ready to ride Estes in a halter and lead rope. Her other mommy uses a piece of baling twine looped once around her nose.
TJ and Mark - I agree, a single rein is so much easier for guests to use and I love that if you just unhook one side you've got a good lead rope.
mine are long enough so I don't have to lean over when the horse drinks! that's the last place I want to lose a grip on my reins.
- The Equestrian Vagabond
I use long reins too. They are good for leading a horse over tricky terrain such as narrow trails down steep slippery slopes where one is forced to lead from in front. The length means that one can keep well away from the hooves.
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