I’m not sure if this is in the right category but I was at a consignment shop and found myself some really neat reins. They’re leather but they’re not your traditional feel thick reins. Instead, it’s very flat and thin, I found it super comfortable to hold and grip with my hands since I have small hands. It is not a curb reins as they’re made very much like a snaffle reins. Do anyone know what kind of reins this would be??
I’m not sure but I am following with interest. For you, what about them made them feel more like a snaffle rein? Was it the width of the leather?
The width of the leather yes but not in thickness.
If they have a buckle they are snaffle reins, sewn closed is curb reins. Snaffle reins tend to be wider and are wider than the curb reins on a double bridle but obviously you could put curb reins on a snaffle bridle if that suited your hands and riding style better.
That said snaffle reins could be any thickness or weight. I would say in general more recent reins tend to be heavier or grippier.
In a consignment store they could be anything from any era or even custom made.
Do you know if there’s a true reason behind this or just one of those “it is what it is” type of things? I’ve wondered on and off but never really come to a conclusion that made sense.
If I provide a picture of the reins, will this help?
A picture would help.
Various companies that do a nice job with their bridle leather (Stubben or just about any Walsall-based company for black; Edgewood for brown) is likely to have plain snaffle reins (with a buckle in them, not sewn ends). I have seen reins like these from both those companies. If you know your tack manufacturers and how to judge from pictures (from good sellers), you can usually find these for cheap on Ebay. I’m a fan of plain reins for my dressage mare, so I keep my eyes peeled.
My hands are pretty small and I LOVE thin flat leather reins (1/2" wide). I have a collection of them.
To get my reins super supple I condition with LARD, like one can get in the grocery store. Usually before first use I lard them three times, working the lard into the leather, and again the next day or so if I want the reins more supple (WARNING–avoid all rubber (melting) or metal (green gunk corrosion), wipe it off immediately).
Working in the lard makes the less expensive reins feel much more like reins from top saddlers. When my riding teacher rides with them she always tells me how much she loves my reins.
Even with a buckle I can use them as curb reins since they are nice and narrow.
The reason for no buckle on the curb reins is that traditionally, in this country at least, curb reins are never used with a running martingale, thus there was no need for a buckle in the center. (For a while some English equestrian writers pushed the idea that a running martingale should go on the curb rein, which I do NOT recommend.)
Enjoy your new reins!
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I have short fingers, and I choose the same reins for all of my bridles. I order them from companies that supply the arabian and saddleseat markets. Schneider’s had some good ones for a while. In fact, I have 1/2" snaffle reins and 3/8" curb reins on one of my bridles.
That was surely a recipe for disaster!
Running martingale ONLY on the snaffle rein for as long as I’ve been reading my Pony Club Handbook, the fount of all knowledge.
I am sorry I do not remember the authors, but the rationale of putting the running martingale (with rein stops on the curb rein) on the curb rein was to reserve all the flexing/lowering bit actions to the curb rein. The rationale was that the running martingale and the curb bit had relatively similar effects on the horse’s head carriage.
With the running martingale on the curb rein, then the snaffle bit could be reserved for raising the horse’s head and turning aids, and the curb for bringing the head down/flexing the head joints.
I have not seen this idea in any book that has been published in the last 40-50 years so I assume that this ended up being an experiment that went wrong, but I really do not know.
Yes! I also have short fingers, and use 1/2" reins in order to be able to ride easily with a closed hand. Anything wider + thickness of gloves = difficult to close the hand. I got them from Jerry’s. Bought a lifetime supply (I hope) of his before he retired.
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I bought a set of PS of Sweden thin reins and for the first time I could close my hands and keep them closed.
Normal reins are too wide that they don’t fit in the groves of my fingers. I subconsciously would open my hands the reins just did not fit me. Truly made a big difference for me.
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