Jeff Sanders California Vaquero Horsemanship

09/02/2026

⬇️This week's reflection…⬇️

The old Californios had a saying:

“If you have two good bridle horses in your life, consider yourself lucky. If you have one great one, consider it a gift from God.”

In a world that often measures horsemanship by how quickly we achieve the next milestone, perhaps it's worth asking:

🐴What are we actually working toward?🐴

For Jeff, making a bridle horse has never simply been about getting a horse into the bridle.

The real goal is something much harder to measure.

Those moments when horse and rider seem to work effortlessly together.

When you think about where you want to go and the horse seems to already be there.

When the communication becomes so quiet that, for a moment, his feet feel like your feet.

And then comes the real work:

➡️Making those moments the norm rather than the exception.

Whether the horse is in the hackamore, the two rein or the bridle becomes almost secondary.

The goal remains the same.

Not another piece of equipment.

Not another box ticked.

Not getting there faster.

➡️Understanding. Communication. Unity.

Perhaps that's something worth remembering in a world increasingly drawn to shortcuts and quick results.

Some things are valuable precisely because they take time.

So for this week's reflection, we'd love to ask you:

❓What does success with your horse look like to you?❓

Not the next piece of equipment.
Not the next competition result.
Not what anyone else says you should be achieving.

❓When it's just you and your horse, what are you ultimately working toward?❓

08/31/2026

❓Curious to go a little deeper? ❓

We've spent the last few weeks exploring some of the WHY behind the traditional California hackamore.

But sometimes you just need someone to show you the HOW

➡️ How do I choose the right hackamore for my horse?

And...

➡️ How do I tie the freaking mecate onto it? 😂

This month's focus takes us back to those foundations with two videos from a filmed Jeff Sanders clinic:

🐴Choosing a Hackamore
What should you actually be looking for when selecting one for your horse?

🪢Tying the Mecate
A practical demonstration of how to correctly attach and tie the mecate to the bosal.

These videos are already part of our Monthly Membership, where members receive unlimited , ongoing access as part of their membership.

But we know some of you have been following along and might simply be curious to see what Jeff's teaching is like before deciding whether membership is for you.

So for a limited time, we're opening this month's videos to everyone.

📺 $4.99 gives you one week's access to watch this month's focus.

No big commitment. Just an opportunity to pull up a chair, learn something useful and perhaps follow us a little further down the rabbit hole.

And if you decide you'd like to keep exploring, Monthly Members receive ongoing access to these videos as we continue opening more of Jeff's filmed clinic over the coming months.

Because sometimes centuries of California horsemanship begin with:

😂🐴 Okay… what do I do with all this freaking rope?” 😂🐴

➡️💻📲 www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com

08/27/2026

A wonderful opportunity for riding spots has come up in the upcoming Vaquero Horsemanship Weekend 3-4 October in Poprad, Slovakia 🇸🇰🌍 contact details in the attached flyer - don’t miss out 🐴🤠

08/26/2026

🔍Another small detail with an important purpose…🔍

We've been exploring some of the less obvious details of the traditional California bridle—rein chains, breakaway connectors and romal length.

So this week, let's look underneath the horse's jaw.

➡️ The curb strap

In the traditional California vaquero bridle, you'll usually find generally a flat or plaited leather curb strap rather than a curb chain.

But, as with so much of this equipment, simply having the right piece isn't enough. How it is fitted matters.

Jeff typically adjusts the curb strap to approximately one finger's width beneath the lower jaw.

Why?

Because the curb strap is not simply there for "control." ➡️ It is part of the signaling process.

If it is too loose, the bit can rotate farther than intended before the curb strap engages. This not only interferes with the signaling process, it can lead to pain and even injury to your horse depending on the bit being used.
The rider must also move the reins farther before the horse receives the signals the way the old California bits were designed to deliver them.

The traditional setup Jeff uses is simple:

• Flat leather
• Approximately one finger's width beneath the jaw
• Buckles on both sides
• Unbuckled each time the bit is put on or removed
• No chain

That last detail surprises some people, particularly because curb chains are common in many modern disciplines.

This isn't about saying that everyone using different equipment is doing something "wrong."

We're simply looking at the historically grounded California tradition and understanding why its equipment developed the way it did.

Because once again, the interesting part isn't just WHAT the old horsemen used.

➡️ It's understanding WHY

Jeff goes much deeper into curb straps, adjustment, signal and the traditional bridle in “The California Two Rein and Bridle — The Art and Science of the Traditional Bridle Horse”, with further teaching available through our Monthly Membership.

🐴 Sometimes an entire lesson in horsemanship is hiding in a little strip of leather 🐴

Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com
Online school
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com
Jeff’s Hackamore and Two Rein & Bridle books on Amazon
📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author

08/26/2026

Thank you 🙏 for capturing such great photos 📸🎞️

08/24/2026

Thanks Kaisa ! 🐴

https://www.instagram.com/stories/muuliprojekti/3970197127218492194?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsi=MXA5d2k2d2JnN3d2YQ==

11K Followers, 916 Following, 0 Posts

08/23/2026

🗓️ This Month's Focus: Back to the Beginning 🗓️

We've spent a lot of time lately exploring the “why” behind the traditional California hackamore.

But sometimes the questions are much more practical:

❓How do I choose the right hackamore for my horse?🐴

And...

❓How do I tie the freaking mecate onto it?😂

They're two of the questions Jeff gets asked most often—and they're good ones.

So this month we're beginning something a little different.

We have an entire Jeff Sanders clinic that was filmed as a course, and over the coming months we'll be gradually opening sections of it to our monthly members.

We're starting with two videos that take us right back to the foundations:

➡️Choosing a Hackamore
What should you actually be looking for when selecting one for your horse?

➡️Tying the Mecate
A practical look at how to correctly attach and tie your mecate to the bosal.

Both videos are now available to members as part of this month's focus, and they're just the beginning.

We'll continue opening more of the clinic as we work our way through the traditional California hackamore together—one question, one detail and, inevitably, one rabbit hole at a time.

Because sometimes understanding a centuries-old horsemanship tradition begins with a very simple question:

❓"How do I tie this thing on?”❓

Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com
Online school (new cattle 🐄 sections are coming soon!)
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com/p/monthly-membership

08/21/2026

❓Why 42 inches?❓

Our recent posts about romal reins and rein chains brought up another great question:

🙋‍♀️ How long should traditional romal reins be?

Jeff generally recommends around 42 inches (107 cm), with some variation depending on the size of the horse.
Today, it's common to see longer romal reins—often around 52 inches—particularly in the show arena. Different disciplines have their own requirements and traditions, but if we're looking specifically at the traditional California bridle horse, there's a reason for the shorter rein.
Traditionally, romal reins were used ➡️ with rein chains, and the length, weight and balance of the whole setup formed part of the communication between horse and rider.
As Jeff explained in our earlier post, on a highly educated bridle horse even the change in weight of the chains as the rider begins to pick up the reins can become a signal.

➡️ When we change the length and setup of the reins, we also change that signal.

That's why these seemingly small details of traditional equipment are worth understanding. They weren't simply choices of appearance or fashion—they were part of a system developed around increasingly subtle communication with the horse.
So if you've wondered why your traditional romals are shorter than many of the ones you see today:

➡️ 42 inches isn't just an old measurement. There's a reason behind it.

And understanding the WHY is where things get interesting.

Jeff goes much deeper into romal reins, rein chains, their balance, setup and use in *The California Two Rein and Bridle — The Art and Science of the Traditional Bridle Horse*, and we explore these subjects further through the California Bridle Horse monthly membership.

We'll keep answering some of the wonderful questions you've been sending us here, too.

❓❓❓What other little details of traditional California gear have you seen and wondered, "Why did they do it that way?" ❓❓❓

💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com 💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com
Jeff’s books on Amazon 📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author
YouTube 📺

08/18/2026

🐴 This week's reflection… 🐴

"You can't start a horse in the hackamore."
"The hackamore is only for starting horses."

They can't both be true.

Yet if you're trying to learn about the California hackamore, there's a good chance you've heard both.

We've been hearing from riders who have received so much conflicting advice—often from people they respect—that they've begun questioning whether they're making the right choices for their horses.

If you've been confused by all of this, you're not alone.
The information really is contradictory.
Part of the problem is that hackamore is now used to describe different equipment and different approaches to horsemanship.

The traditional California hackamore, however, isn't simply a piece of bitless equipment.
It is part of a complete system of education.
Historically, horses absolutely were started in the hackamore. But their education didn't have to end there.

A horse could progress from its earliest lessons to increasingly refined work, collection and advanced movements while remaining in the hackamore. In the traditional California progression, that education may eventually continue into the two rein and ultimately the bridle.

So perhaps instead of asking:
"When am I supposed to get my horse out of the hackamore?"
Ask:
"What can I continue teaching my horse while we're here?"

Preserving and sharing this knowledge has become a life's work for Jeff.
Through his books and the California Bridle Horse online school, we're working to document and teach the historically grounded California tradition—what the equipment was designed to do, how it was used, and importantly, why.

➡️ Not because everyone needs to follow the same path.

➡️ Because you deserve enough understanding to decide what best serves the horse in front of you.

❓Have you ever been given contradictory advice about the hackamore?

Tell us what you've heard in the comments ⬇️
(Something tells us there may be quite a list… 📋)

For more information on the traditional approach to training horses used by the California Vaquero, resources can be found on Jeff’s websites 💻 and books 📚 and accessed no matter where you and your horse are in the world
Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com
Online school (new cattle 🐄 sections are coming soon!)
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com
Jeff’s Hackamore and Two Rein & Bridle books on Amazon
📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author
YouTube
📺

08/14/2026

🔎A small detail with an important purpose…🔍

Our recent post about rein chains prompted some fantastic questions—and several of you asked how the chains should be connected to the reins and bridle.

It's a great question, because there's an important detail here that can easily be overlooked.
There should always be a breakaway point somewhere between the reins and the bit.

On Jeff's bridles, at least one connection is made using a thin leather connector. On some, there is a leather connection between the chain and the bit as well as between the chain and the reins.

Why?

Because traditional equipment isn't just about how something looks.
It should also be thoughtfully designed for the horse.

If something goes wrong, like a cow getting her horn through the reins or a horse stumbling and stepping through them - that small piece of leather provides a point that can give way rather than leaving the horse attached through an unbroken chain-and-rein connection.

It's one of those little details that might be easy to miss when looking at a traditional bridle—but once you understand whyit's there, you start seeing the equipment differently.

Thank you to everyone who asked questions and shared their own knowledge on our rein-chain post. These conversations are exactly why we enjoy sharing this information ☺️

There is much more to rein chains—their length, weight, movement, attachment and how they function as part of the finished bridle horse—and we'll explore some of those questions in future posts.
For those who want to go deeper, Jeff covers rein chains and the traditional bridle setup in much greater detail in The California Two Rein and Bridle, 📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author

…. as well as through the California Bridle Horse online school - where Jeff discusses these connectors in detail and even shows you how to economically make your own at home 🏠
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com/p/monthly-membership