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.
