Quik links! How could I forget quik links? Great substitute for curbchain hooks. Why, with TWO quik links and a toy dog size choke chain you could craft a really trashy curb chain! Speaking of curbchains, I have a biothane curb strap that I substitute for a slobber bar for a bit my gelding likes to flip the shanks on. This is because I’m too sorry to take the slobber bar off the hackamore I dont use or just make one out of a piece of old coathanger…
I paid $$ for Mylar quik links then saw them in Home Depot. What a rip.
Yep, brand name anything that can possibly be used for equestrian pursuits will cost you.
Back in the day, a friend and I had a get rich quick scheme involving paper clips and tiny beads. We figured if you put a bead on a paper clip you could sell it to a hippie as a hand crafted roach clip and they would fork over a couple of bucks for it. Feathers would make it Native American inspired and worth 5 bucks.
It is especially irritating to me to see cowboy “power curbs” (a length of chain, a little narrow metal tube bent just so, and two quick links for fifteen bucks, or without the little tube for 10 bucks. I mean, wtf? An “english” curb chain with hooks is about 4 dollars including hooks… makes no sense. I guess its not manly to use a prissy chain with hooks.
You MUST show pictures! The thread is not complete without them. PLEASE??
I don’t really use many of these “innovative” tools that y’all do on the trail, but, around the barn, carbiners are my friend and so is bailing twine. That being said, I ride all summer long in shorts a tank top, paddock boots, sunglasses and a helmet. Quite the stylish rider. I had to take my mare to MSU this summer for an eval and arrived in the aforementioned get-up, relatively clean but certainly not DQ dressed, … a woman comes in with her horsey just dressed to the nines and shiney, oooohhh boy, her tall boots were spit-shined to a high gloss, her breeches were in perfect order, not a hair out of place, absolutely no dirt, sweat, hay, horse/dog gunk, anywhere on her. I don’t know how she did it. I honeslty don’t. She was very nice, but it was such an opposite in horsey outfits … kinda funny.
I put extra links on my saddle and use a cabiner to hold my crop to the links so that I don’t have to carry it in my hand all the time. Just use it when I have to (makes a great web whacker) I also bought some rope at Home Depot and fixed it to rein snaps and wrap it around my horse’s chest and hook it to the saddle, Can grab it if needed or makes great spare reins if one of mine should break. The other thing that I did was go to the $ store, bought 2 -18 inch dog collars, snapped them together, adjusted to my horse’s neck, hung a dog tag with my name and phone number. I put this on my horse’s neck when trail riding in case she dumps me or just gets away from me while tacking up at the trailer. She now has an I.D. on her
LOVE that idea for dogcollars! I have all kinds of crap including a crop scissor-snapped to the breastcollar ring, handy in case I have to administer the Stick of Death.
I should be ashamed of my Lowe’s rope reins but I dont want to spend 30 freaking dollars for closed nine foot reins when rope is, what, 89 cents a foot? And rope clamps aint terribly expensive. I think I’ve made several trail reins and lead ropes for less than 10 bucks per.
okay all you creative people, I need help fixing something cheap.
I bought on clearance a beta biothane halter with an add on bridle that goes over it. Halter is plenty big, even have it set on more medium settings. oddly, the “add on” bridle isn’t quite long enough - i guess I now know why it was on clearance! I need to extend it by about an inch on each side!! do you think quick links will be comfy against his face? any other suggestions to connect the headstall to the bit and gain a few inches?
You have essentially a strap with snaps at each end, right? with an adjustment do-hickey in the middle? One strap for each side?
Quik links would turn 90 degrees to what you need.
I think you can buy those side pieces separately. Measure what you have and check with anything you find in catalogs.
Check on Ebay too for just the bit straps.
OR… take them to a Shoe Repair shop and have new ones made using the hardware from the ones that are too short.
Or buy some of the brass snaps (some come with a screw in link to repair halters) and either English spur straps or leather curb strap and make your own bit holders. All you need is a loop of leather and snaps at each end.
Ok, ditto on the dog collars, bailing twine, but who rides with an Ipod and external speakers with Hank Williams Jr rattling through the woods? The local hunters just shake their heads and listen to me pass. Hee hee…
[QUOTE=jeano;3608903]
Being a trail rider means you can feel free to ride your gaited horse with your dog collared Western saddle while wearing your white full seat breeches with black half chaps and babycrap yellow Blundstones and a T shirt, all beneath the floppy cashel sunbonnet brim smooshed over your Tipperary helmet and secured with one wrap Velcro. Sandwich case and flask are optional.[/QUOTE]
I completely disagree. The flask is not optional. :winkgrin: I also think the floppy sunbonnet is taking it to an extreme. Perhaps you could post a picture of you in it to convince me otherwise? Please? :lol:
I’m not going to pretend to have any white trash ideas (cause I don’t 
) but I’m intrigued by the alternative curb chain ideas, since I hate dealing with the curb chain I have for my TWH right now. Thanks for the great ideas!
I have used bailing twine in lieu of d-ring savers on my english saddle when I wanted to attach a breastplate for trail riding.
I did just dust off my Marciante endurance saddle today. I am going to try it again on the Arab tomorrow, since it’s more comfortable for longer rides than my Stubben AP. I never liked how the billet strap rings did not have any “cushioning”… so, today, I cut up an old neoprene Professional Choice dressage girth and vet wrapped/duct taped the pieces to the rings for some extra cushion. We’ll see how well it works.
Ok, I read this on another board. Ladies, I read that duct tape, placed on the outside of underwear, can prevent wrinkling and chafing in those delicate parts.
I never would have thought of that! :lol: Don’t know if I’m brave enough to try it, either. 
I spent several hours tonight modifying a waffle-weave pad I bought from Tractor Supply. I like it because it is contored, has wither and gullet relief, removable pads, and doesn’t absorb sweat. I can probably even insert the pads designed for my treeless saddle in there. The problem is that it is designed for square skirts and hits the horse’s hips. The first time I used it on Butch he bucked when he felt the edges of the pad rub on his hips as he walked. (He really needed very little excuse to buck.) It was so large that it swallowed my little Arab.
So I opened up the binding, cut it to match a worn out contoured barrel pad I have, and sewed the binding back on by hand. Tedious, but hopefully more comfy for the horse. It does not look professionally done, so I’m thinking it still qualifies as a “white trash” mod.
[QUOTE=GallopingGrape;3614112]
Ok, ditto on the dog collars, bailing twine, but who rides with an Ipod and external speakers with Hank Williams Jr rattling through the woods? The local hunters just shake their heads and listen to me pass. Hee hee…[/QUOTE]
Havent done THAT, but was horse camping once in the middle of nowhere (Tar Hollow, in SE Ohio) and the worlds best Hank Jr impersonater happened to be a few sites away in the campground–at first we thought it had to be a really good sound system (in a primitive campground, way before Ipods) but it dawned on us this was live, just a hillbilly playing git-tar and singin’ away. I mean, this guy was GOOD.
RE: sunbonnets–its a cashel foam visor extender, basically. Sort of gives your mushroom head look a Darth Vaderish flair. Since they dont stay on very well when youre flailing through the deep woods, mine is secured with Onewrap velcro to the helmet harness, which morphs the whole thing into a darth meets snowy river, if you can picture that. I sunburn easily and need more shade on my face than wimpy helmet visors provide. It does look awful, having big rips in it from bull briers hasnt helped the appearance, either.
I will try the duct tape coochie cushion and get back to y’all. I have been known to layer sheepskin OVER a cashel tush cush in an effort to avoid the Inverness problem.
If it works, we will then need to market equestrienne duct tape with some variant on the Smartpak plaid in pink for 19.99 a short roll. Girls, we’ll be zillionaires.
[QUOTE=CowboysRMyWeakness;3613759]
okay all you creative people, I need help fixing something cheap.
I bought on clearance a beta biothane halter with an add on bridle that goes over it. Halter is plenty big, even have it set on more medium settings. oddly, the “add on” bridle isn’t quite long enough - i guess I now know why it was on clearance! I need to extend it by about an inch on each side!! do you think quick links will be comfy against his face? any other suggestions to connect the headstall to the bit and gain a few inches?[/QUOTE]
I would have to see just how this add on works, but I’m thinking onewrap velcro could help–some varieties are scratchier than others, though. Having said that, I have used various snaps and links on and around horsie faces and other body parts with no apparent discomfort, but since one of my horses likes to scrape her face raw against rusty tposts, dont take my word for what constitutes discomfort for a horse…
I’ve done the traveling-music while on the trails. My cell is an MP3 player too. Fat pony and I sung Carrie Underwood, while phone was on speaker in the water bottle holder.
Also, at work we do Card Access with printed photos on the cards. I made an ID for Fat Pony on a dummy card and clip it to his D ring. States his name, age, breed, any medical issues (none) his address, his barn phone # and my/my hubbys cell. It also has his photo on it. In case he gets stopped for speeding.
Hi Littleblackmorgan
Hi LBM, this is MBM!
We braid ID like that into tails when a hurricane is coming through. Also tape it to a breakaway halter during those emergencies. Excellent idea to have it permanently attached to the saddle.
By the way, what western saddle do you have for yours? I just got a Dixieland Endurance with modified Arab tree - waiting for stirrup turners to fully test it out (my first Western). If the turners poke me in the shins, I am going with dog collars!
Love this thread - I’m all for home fix-it ideas but must admit I am getting a tad tired of constantly patching and sewing - but leaves money for other things like a new saddle! Right now it looks pristine but will be full of carribiners (sp??) in no time!
I used to live in Alaska - we used duct tape on EVERYTHING!
Am I the only one here that thinks this is NOT a good idea? I’m concerned the horse might get that all-nylon collar hooked onto something while it’s running around a strange place possibly in panic mode. Does it have the plastic snaps or metal buckles? If plastic, do you think they will break when pressure is applied??
