I was just thinking about it, and isn’t the romal actually just the long quirty part that attaches onto the rawhide reins and the rider holds in the right hand? Somehow the idea of rawhide reins plus romal sticks with me after all these years.
And yes, I have always seen it referred to as a romal, never romel.
[QUOTE=betonbill;6520506]
I was just thinking about it, and isn’t the romal actually just the long quirty part that attaches onto the rawhide reins and the rider holds in the right hand? Somehow the idea of rawhide reins plus romal sticks with me after all these years.
And yes, I have always seen it referred to as a romal, never romel.[/QUOTE]
Yes, the romal is the quirt at the end of the reins, but those kinds of reins with a romal at the end are also called romal reins.
Guess that some just never learned how to spell romal correctly.
That doesn’t make their misspelling right, no matter what else they do right.
Here is another of many I found just googling that has it right:
I know, it doesn’t matter how people choose to spell, but here, where some do care and the audience of lurkers is much larger than posters, it is good to explain what we know, either way.
Wow! I didn’t know there were that many rules regarding romals. LOL Thanks for the help - I am excited to get a pair and see how Remy and I like them. Pretty much just intend to use them to show. Everything else will be in the splits.
Figured too for those open shows, they’ll help say “Hey, this isn’t a stock horse!”. Never hurts to have a little visual reminder for some judges.
If you intend to show in romel reins i suggest you alsway school holding your reins correctly, as if they are romel reins, even if you use split reins to school in. Don’t confuse yourself by schooling your horse holding the reins one way and then get to the show and have to change because you have to follow the rules at the show.
[QUOTE=betonbill;6520441]
During the 1970s and early 1980s when I was on the west coast (CA, OR, WA) EVERYONE rode in a collected frame with a curb bit and romAl. Moving east and seeing everyone riding in a longer, muuuuuch lower, doggier frame with split reins looked very, very strange.
So, yes, definitely a regional thing.[/QUOTE]
Yes, quite a visual shock. LOVE that bridled look, but perhaps because I grew up on the east coast in hunt seat, with a bit of dressage thrown in. The reins & romal felt very normal to me.
I was, however, taught that the rein came straight out of the hole in your hand, with your thumb around your fingers, down through your right hand with perhaps a curve, but NEVER looped (full circle so it passed through your right hand twice).
Carol
[QUOTE=Tee;6522786]
Wow! I didn’t know there were that many rules regarding romals. LOL Thanks for the help - I am excited to get a pair and see how Remy and I like them. Pretty much just intend to use them to show. Everything else will be in the splits.
Figured too for those open shows, they’ll help say “Hey, this isn’t a stock horse!”. Never hurts to have a little visual reminder for some judges. :-)[/QUOTE]
Agree with Renae. If you’re going to show in romal, you should school in them. Not necessarily go off on a trailride in them, but if you’re practicing for the showring, then you’d want your aides to be the same as you will be using in the showring, and the difference in hand position affects the bit position and therefore the action.
Also, you wouldn’t (well, I wouldn’t) use a romal-appropriate bit (read’ heavy’, ‘ported’) with split reins. That whole bridle is for a collected ride, while the split reins and ‘grazing bit’ lighter curb is for a longer, lower approach.
Good luck!
Carol
I actually rode in romals tonight and that is definately going to take some getting used to. But I really did like them and Remy seemed to like them as well. We’re going to need a bit more finishing before we show in them, but the next show isn’t til Feb or so there’s lots of time.
Right now I’m riding him in what I think is called a California pleasure bit. As long as he’s happy in it I don’t plan to change anything. I do have a riding instructor so fortunately we’ll have lots of help getting it figured out.
Romals are a West Coast/Californio tradition. The closed rein and way of holding the reins does seem to help a horse stay more square and upright in their shoulders. They are, traditionally, used on a true bridle bit as the last stage of progressive bridle-horse training. They are also used in modern cow horse, trail and sometimes reining competitions among stock horses, and are commonly seen on western show horses in the Arabian and Morgan breeds.
You want your romal reins to have some weight and “life” to them. The weight is because they are designed to allow the horse to work off of a signal rather than an actual pull on the bit. The horse can feel you lift the reins before you ever make contact with the bit. Lightweight romals are pretty worthless, as they don’t work as intended.
For regular showing, your romal reins are held in the left hand, thumb up. Quirt is held in your right hand. Different associations have different rules regarding the amount of space/slack that must be between your rein hand and the hand holding the quirt, and whether or not the free hand can be used to help adjust your rein length by pulling or feeding rein through the rein hand (generally, no for pleasure and reining, but okay for working cow horse and trail, always check rules, though).
If you’re doing a right hand trail gate, or roping with romals, the proper way to handle them is to pass the quirt over to the left side of the neck, so that it’s out of the way. You hold both reins and quirt in your left hand (doubled at the connection, so both reins and end the quirt are coming out the bottom of your hand. Your right hand is then free to work the gate, rope, pony a youngster, or whatever. This is also the proper way to hold the reins for mounting and dismounting-- gather reins in left hand, mount, then pass the quirt over to the right side before riding off-- reverse to dismount.
I really like riding with a good set of romals, but I first learned to ride with them as a kid, before going to splits for quite some time. I’ve been quite happy to see the Neo-Californio movement take hold, and I’m happily showing trail horses and riding in romals again.
or all kinds of spelling, try finding them on Ebay…
Romal
Romel
Rommel
Rumme
Roamall
etc…
I used unweighted romel reins for a while and it was just a nightmare…he was used to the weight and for him is was totally confusing…where’s the bit mom, I can’t find it.
So it depends on what your horse is used to. I weighed my show bit and show reins; then came up with a similar weight total for my work bit. I have cheaper silver (weighted) reins for every day. They are split reins that I punched holes in a insert two chicago screws for a romel effect. You can convert any split reins that way…saves some money on the everday stuff.
Also, the reins come in different lengths depending on how you want to hold them. Longer is you want to hold them in a loop; shorter if you want to just hold the rein. I opted for the shorter ones because the loop kept sliding closed around my hand. I don’t like holding the longer ones and having it all hang down. Really gets to swinging under the boy’s belly and can be distracting for the judge in a class. You want everything to be as quiet as possible, showing a smooth ride.
btw, mine is a Morgan too! :winkgrin:
Speaking of roping with romal reins:
http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/63364_10150090717887004_3895876_n.jpg
Hubby roping with my boy last fall. I prefer less “clutter” in my hands - but then, my hands are much smaller! LOL I do like the feel of a nice set of romals. I much prefer them to split reins. I don’t show, though, so I shall refrain from giving any advice!
Great picture!!! Thanks for posting.
Now I have another question and you guys are a great resource.
Is there a certain way the excess rein should lay? I ask because the barn owner that loaned me her romals said that it can lay forward over the top of my hand and that was pretty comfortable. Kind of creates a half loop to the quirt. It isn’t a lot of excess with these reins - maybe 5" or so?
My trainer today said no, it needs to lay back (so sort of back over the thumb) to be correct. BO looked it up in the APHA rule book and it doesn’t specify one way or the other.
BUT, even if it isn’t written, I know some judges have their preference. I ride right handed (for now) and I’m sure that’s been discussed a time or two even tho nothing is set in stone as far as which hand you ride with.
Typically when you ride western you rein with your non-dominant hand because in the traditional sense you would want your dominant hand free for roping. In the show ring it does not matter.
Either way of holding them is acceptable and as long as you are staying legal (no fingers between the reins!) in a pleasure class the judge should not care.
Go here and you can find proofs to look and see what others do http://www.howardschatzberg.com/
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