I’m thinking about buying some side reins, but was just wondering about synthetic vs. all leather with the donut vs. leather with elastic vs. no elastic. There’s also a “dog bone” version that has TWO donuts… Too many options!!
Isn’t it better to have the stretchiest material possible so that your horse can have a good amount of give in the contact? But are the synthetic ones like potentially more dangerous because they don’t break like leather maybe? Just wondering if it’s worth it to get the $50 ones when I could easily snag a $20 pair…
I’m partial to leather w/ elastic. I’ve never been a huge fan of the donuts because I don’t feel they have enough “give”, which is very much a personal preference. One of my dear friends hates my elastics because they have too much give.
Well, it’s even more complicated than that, if you want to throw sliding side reins (Lauffer reins or Vienna reins) into the discussion. Also, there are lots of opinions on this topic - and they are just that: opinions. You’re going to have sift through and see what makes the most sense to you.
Here is one opinion:
I own regular side reins with elastic inserts and sliding side reins.
Wow now I feel more confused!! I actually randomly found a pair of full leather with a donut side reins on Facebook for $15 so I snagged those, and hopefully they will serve my purpose.
My horse isn’t young per se but is just now starting to understand contact and is learning to love stretching into it. I figured now would be a better time to start thinking about trying side reins than when she first started and would just go around not touching the bit at all… but I still want them to be fairly loose.
That is a great article, thank you! After reading it, now I’m wondering if I need to also get a lunging cavesson… It’s been quite a few years since I’ve done any longeing with side reins and back in the day I always just did everything directly on the bridle.
Hijacking my own thread, what do y’all think about the assertion that “Longeing with only a bridle is not a good idea, as it’s almost impossible for a horse to understand “go lightly on contact” in side reins when the bit is being sawed back and forth by the longe line attached to either the inside bit ring or over-the-poll, outside bit ring.”
My horse is very lazy and the longe line is super loose more often than not the few times I’ve longed her… I definitely don’t think it was see-sawing her mouth? but maybe with a more focused longe session it would?
My opinion has evolved on this over the years. These days, I prefer not to lunge in a bridle if I plan to accomplish anything other than working the kinks out before getting on - and I now have access to a round pen, so rarely need a lunge line for that.
Not that my current horse requires it, anyway. You could lock him up for a week and I’m pretty sure his favorite gait would still be walk.
I think the ideal solution is a nice heavy lunging cavesson. I don’t have one of those, but I do have a Micklem bridle that has the D-ring in the middle of the noseband, like the one at this link, and I use that.
I would if I could. As I said controversial and you can only buy elasticised ones in the local tack shop.
I picked up some custom made ones really cheap 2nd hand. That was much cheaper, but they are sewn with no buckle, so it is easier to leave them on than taking them off for another horse.
I had to laugh at Hubby. I gave him the reins to cut the donut off. He has a tool shed. He said it was the hardest thing he has ever had to do. They looked new and pristine and it just seemed to be wrong to cut them.
When you lunge with the bridle, you put the clip in the circle of the bit, go over the poll to measure. Add a bit more. Come back and make a knot and go back over the poll and clip to the bit on the other side. This stops the bit being pulled through the mouth.
The rein is in the incorrect place. The same with the lunge line is in the incorrect place behind the head with a halter. The lunging cavesson has the lunge rein in the correct position on the centre ring of the nose.
With the bridle you have to unclip, undo the knot and redo the knot and clip every time you want to change direction. Changing direction is part of the reward and I do it often.
The rein in front of the nose on the cavesson is the correct place, you have more leverage to pull the horse’s head back towards you if it goes to leave in a 50 acre paddock!
The 2 side circles are to attach reins to if you have a rider. The original bitless bridle. Just kidding! As the reins and bit are still there, but not in the riders hand.
So for the cavesson. I remove the brow band. I remove the piece of leather attaching it together at the back, if it has one. The bridle goes on first. The reins go from the led position. Take both reins up the off side, come over the neck to the near side wrap around themselves under the neck and the throatlash secures it. That way if the horse puts its head down it is impossible to put its leg through the reins.
The lunging cavesson goes on on top. You put the straps under the bridle which you can not do if you have not cut off that strap as before mentioned.
Always wear gloves and a helmet.
After lunging you can take off the lunging cavesson and side reins and you are ready to ride.
I have a pair that are nylon with elastic, very adjustable, they were super cheap (like under $20) and they have a velcro part so if the horse panics, the velcro comes undone. They’re great, I can’t remember the brand or where I got them because I’ve had them for YEARS. It was somewhere like Big Dees or Jeffers or StateLineTack.
My set-up changes depending on who I’m lunging and what I’m doing. The only piece of equipment I refuse to use is a lunge line with a chain on the end.
I prefer to lunge babies in a caveson and educated horses in a bridle. None of mine lunge with slack in the line - they fill up the contact just as they would with reins.
I choose between two pairs of side reins depending on the horse: leather with elastic or solid leather sliding side reins. With the educated horses, I’m just as likely to choose long-lines and no side reins.
Often times I combine in-hand work with lunging, and I find the sliding side reins too clunky for that purpose, so the leather/elastic side reins get more use than the sliding ones.
I use these and they have no elastic or give. If you call they can custom size the length for the ponies and drafts of the world. They work great and easily adjustable, plus the leather is nice.
