09/03/2025
๐จ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฉ๐ง...๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐๐๐ง
๐ด๐๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ด
๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ (5 or Younger)
๐ฆ๐ป๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐๐ should be rigged with full browband/throatlatch bridles and should have a bit hobble/leather curb under the chin. Closed reins are allowed in some associations but split reins are by far the dominant rein used with snaffles. Find a set with water loops that is free of any buttons, decor, tassels, or otherwise. And that little knot on many headstalls in the forehead, its called a futurity knot. Its meant for young horses.
Usually when using split reins, folks will hold them both with the tail ends on either side. This is great and easily adjustable. Little tip, when doing a rope/gate/any other one handed obstacle, have your reins prepared with all the slack in one hand, that way you can easily switch to a โreinerโ hand hold and perform the one handed obstacle with style.
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐
๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ should be rigged with proper hangers. These hangers should be of pliable leather, allowing the hackamoreโs heelknot to fall properly. Three piece headstalls look stupid and interfere with proper hackamore function. The only exception to this is a hanger/browband/fiador combination. That style of setup is old school and not often seen in the show pen these days. A cheater string is a common addition to hackamores to tie the hanger back from the eye, dont do it too tight of youโll dull signals. And it looks funny.
Hackamores should be tied properly with mecate reins. Its obvious when the hackamore has been left tied for three years in your trailer, and it looks sloppy. Fix it. Horsehair mecates are the most common and best looking in the showpen, though alpaca, cotton, and other materials are common. The reins should be a good length with an appropriate sized coil in one of the riderโs hands. When switching to one hand, the coil should be held with the riderโs hand sideways. This is called โsquaw reiningโ and has roots with the old vaquero training style.
The lead should come up and be fastened someway to the rider/horse. In the old days, green horses had their leads tucked under the riderโs belt, further along c**ts had it tied to the saddle via saddlestrings. Its an option to tie is to the horn, but that gets in the way of dally obstacles, and looks less โRanchyโ. Saddle string is cheap and easy to find on amazon, buy some and put it on your saddle or learn to tuck the mecate under your belt. Some chaps have โmecate loopsโ in them, although thats rare in โshowโ chaps. Youโd be better off finding those on some rough and tumble using chaps.
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ (6 or Older)
๐ง๐๐ผ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป rigs should be even, it's common to see the bosalita get all wonky and off center. That looks stupid. Find a bit that is flared out at the purchase to accommodate the bosalita. Find a sleek headstall that will not rub against the bosalita too much. And use a small bosalita that will fit, rigged with a flat leather hanger. Center tie bosalitas fix the problem of shifting off center, but they are uncommon. Its a popular sentiment in the show world to show off the horseโs face, this means using split ear headstalls on bridles as opposed to browbands, sidestrung bosalitas instead of centerstrung ones. To each their own I suppose.
The mecates and romals should be held in one hand and the romal/excess mecate held in the other hand. The benefit to the two rein is sticking fingers between the romals, many take advantage of this but forget their bosalita exists. Its fine to use the two rein as a gimmick to help their horse along in the bridle, but it looks dumb when the mecates are hanging five inches below the romals. Hold both reins, they are there for a reason. And find a bit that looks good in a two rein. Using a short shank correctional looks odd, and romals prevent the rider from taking full advantage of that rig.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ
The bridle should be rigged with a nice, sleek headstall. In the old days, spade bits were usually rigged up with browband/throatlatch headstalls to keep the big port square in the horseโs mouth. Other bits did not have this historical โruleโ and therefore are more commonly seen rigged with single ear, split ear, or crown piece headstalls. Leather curb straps were always used for spade and other signal bits while curb chains were used for leverage bits. There is some overlap, but that was and is generally the case, even today.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐?
Ranch Riders love romals, but many purchase faux leather, synthetic rawhide, or nylon cored romals that are really only fit for the trash. The reins should be made of authentic material, something that lived and breathed too. Leather romals, braided with cow or kangaroo leather should have a heavy leather core (for a floppy feel) or a reatta core (for a springy feel). Rawhide romals can have either core or be coreless because they have inherently more โlifeโ than leather. This feel and weight cannot be replicated with synthetic material. Iโve made quite a few sets of romals, using nylon/lariat as cores and they simply do not compare to that of heavy leather or reatta core. The feel of leather or lariat cores are consistent, they ripples nicely like a set of well oiled split reins. It's more consistent, easily identifiable for the horse, and works with the bridle to balance the horse, not throw them off.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐
These arenโt super common in the showpen, but when rigged correctly, they can create a wonderful balanced bridlehorse and picture for the judge. Rein chains vary 6-16 inches. 10-11 inches is most common. When using rein chains, they only really look good on spanish bits with pins. They do not look good on reiner bits with loomis shanks and big rein rings. It looks odd. Furthermore, they should be connected with proper rein connectors, not two. Its common to see folks put a leather connector between their rein chain and rawhide connector. Just cut off the rawhide connector. It will look better, I promise. Rein chains should connect directly to the bit, or fastened with clips. Clip/snaps should not be used to connect the reins to the chains, they create a weight and bob around too much. This usually messes up the horseโs frame. Finally, get a set of costal romal reins to use rein chains on. Show romal reins are 45-60 inches long. Real working romals are about 30 inches long, give or take. Those fit rein chains nicely without giving the rider spools of slack!
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๐ฆ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ are not quite as common in romals in the ranch horse classes, but they really ought to be. The average person can afford a top notch set of nice splits, while most cannot pay the hundreds of dollars for a truly nice set of romals that will last years. Split reins work better on leverage bits and correctionals. They donโt work too well on Spanish bits because of the disparity of weight. Splits are rather light, compared to romals and/or rein chains. Splits allow the rider to pull the horse down a bit easier than romals. Historically, romals pulled up and elevated spanish horses, splits do not do this. That can be taken advantage of. And correctionals can be more easily manipulated because you can slip your rein. Romals can't do that.
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The saddle should look real. In a perfect world, use a saddle that can safely dally and pull a coupe hundred pounds. Wrap your horn to protect it, for saddles that aren't technically roping saddles, mule hide wrap looks a lot better than rubber. Rubber only looks good on roping saddles for its gritty appearance. Cowhorse saddles and Ranch cutters are the most common type of saddle in the Ranch classes for their versatility and lightweight, close contact feel. Wades and Roping saddles are less common. Non Roping saddles can absolutely be used, but if you choose to do so, it's best to โranchifyโ them just a bit.
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โฆ๏ธPut a rear cinch on your barrel saddle and take off the breast collar with a metallic fringe
โฆ๏ธTake some of the excess silver out of your one โflamboyantโ show saddle
โฆ๏ธPut a rope strap on your saddle and maybe a set of saddle string
โฆ๏ธPut a small shoo-fly on your cinch
โฆ๏ธTake your pommel f***y pack off and green sequin water bottle holder off the cinch
โฆ๏ธOil it well, some veg tan saddles look too pretty and inauthentic. Get em oiled nicely.
โฆ๏ธFind a pad that fits the saddle well. Some pads are big and make nice saddles look like toy saddles for children. Some poor quality pads make the whole picture look odd. A nice square pad (THAT DOESN'T CURL UP) can help an okay saddle look great.
๐ช๐ณ๐ถ๐บ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ
The biggest pieces of advice I can give is to find a rig that
๐ธIs well made
๐ธWorks for your horse
๐ธLooks legit
๐ธFeels good to your style of riding
๐ธIs Universally, or almost universally agreed upon LEGAL
(no need to catch the judge's eye for the wrong reasons lol)
โWe all start somewhere, lord knows I did not have the nicest tack when I started. But if all youโve got is an older leather headstall and one good pair of splits, use them. Donโt get the faux leather "pretty" little headstall off amazon and/or China-romals.
Save up for a truly nice set.
Honor your horse with quality tack.
