Bridle and Reins

[TomE]

This is bridle #3 for me and I am enjoying the learning process.  At this stage, I give away everything I make to people who use it and give me feedback to improve my craft.

[Thescandall]

That is really nice. I hope to do that soon for my horses. 

[Bert03241]

very nice work

[Klara]

Beautiful! The reins are rubber-coated, aren't they?  How did you do that? 

[TomE]

12 hours ago, Thescandall said:

That is really nice. I hope to do that soon for my horses. 

Thanks.  I guess I should learn something else to use the remainders of several hides.

10 hours ago, Bert03241 said:

very nice work

Thank you.

4 hours ago, Klara said:

Beautiful! The reins are rubber-coated, aren't they?  How did you do that? 

Yes, these are Equus rubber grips from Abbey England.  I worked on a pair of Antares reins that had nylon webbing under the grips, stitched to leather pieces on the billets and buckle ends.  I made mine from a single leather strap.  These are 3/4" reins (grips are about 1-1/8" wide) and I plan to make 5/8" reins for our petite horse trainer.  The grips come with either small pips (very grippy) or large pips (smoother).  It takes enough force to pull them over the strap that the strap stretches a bit, so I put the grips on before sizing the length.  I placed a line of machine stitching down the center to secure the grips.  Some of the Equus grips have rubber cuffs on the ends, which I left exposed.  The traditional style is to cover the ends of the grips with a leather cuff made of 3-4 oz chrome tanned leather.

[chuck123wapati]

those are nice indeed!! 

[TomE]

Thanks, @chuck123wapati!

[jcuk]

Nice work there, when i use the rubber grips which need leather added to the ends i use a off cut of the Bridle Butt that i have used to make the Bridle from about a inch wide,  split it down to where it's light enough and pliable enough to use for the rubber grip ends. I think it finishes it off nicely, i don't do this when i am recovering worn rubber grips i may have not made the the reins in the first place (do you know the rule of thumb how many times you can recover reins). Can i ask how you are pulling the grips over the leather because i have never had it stretch i have made a lot of reins.

Hope this helps

JCUK 

 

[Backwoodsman]

Very nice!

[TomE]

6 hours ago, jcuk said:

Nice work there, when i use the rubber grips which need leather added to the ends i use a off cut of the Bridle Butt that i have used to make the Bridle from about a inch wide,  split it down to where it's light enough and pliable enough to use for the rubber grip ends. I think it finishes it off nicely, i don't do this when i am recovering worn rubber grips i may have not made the the reins in the first place (do you know the rule of thumb how many times you can recover reins). Can i ask how you are pulling the grips over the leather because i have never had it stretch i have made a lot of reins.

Hope this helps

JCUK 

 

Well, you probably can't see it in the pictures but all the buckles are sewn with the fixed loop tight to the buckle and with side stitches to gather the buckle turn, as you recommended.  My process for the rubber reins is to bevel the edges of the strap, punch a hole near the best end (to become the billet end), loop parachute cord through the hole, fish the cords through the grip, tie the cords to my workbench, and milk the grip onto the strap.  I trim and finish the ends, crease the strap, etc. after the grips are in place.  The 3/4" grips with rubber cuffs were a struggle to get on.  I just received 5/8" Equus grips without rubber cuffs and they went on snugly without any problem.  I need to make cuffs for the 5/8" reins on my bench now, so I'll try splitting some bridle leather for the cuffs.

How many times can you recover reins? Wondering how the small pips will hold up in comparison to large pips.  

1 hour ago, Backwoodsman said:

Very nice!

Thanks, @Backwoodsman.

[Klara]

Thanks for the explanation,  TomE

5 hours ago, TomE said:

How many times can you recover reins?

I'm surprised that it is even an issue for individuals. I believe the only smooth rubber grips I've seen were in riding schools...

[jcuk]

On 10/12/2022 at 1:47 AM, TomE said:

Well, you probably can't see it in the pictures but all the buckles are sewn with the fixed loop tight to the buckle and with side stitches to gather the buckle turn, as you recommended.  My process for the rubber reins is to bevel the edges of the strap, punch a hole near the best end (to become the billet end), loop parachute cord through the hole, fish the cords through the grip, tie the cords to my workbench, and milk the grip onto the strap.  I trim and finish the ends, crease the strap, etc. after the grips are in place.  The 3/4" grips with rubber cuffs were a struggle to get on.  I just received 5/8" Equus grips without rubber cuffs and they went on snugly without any problem.  I need to make cuffs for the 5/8" reins on my bench now, so I'll try splitting some bridle leather for the cuffs.

How many times can you recover reins? Wondering how the small pips will hold up in comparison to large pips.

Yes i can see the fixed loop. I slide the the rubber grips on using a old wire coat hook loop it around a fixed nail i slide the grips on but i was thought to slide them on using the Point and Buckle end on the reins i do this little by little holding the rein down against my bench i have never had any stretch just remember little by little also make sure there is no stress put on the crew punch hole on your Buckle rein and your buckle hole hole your Point rein. The rule of thumb this side of the pond is twice, for the reins. The reins i recover in the Racing industry i will only recover once because there is a lot more stress and abuse put on Racing tack.

Hope this helps 

JCUK

On 10/12/2022 at 7:48 AM, Klara said:

How many times can you recover reins?

On 10/12/2022 at 7:48 AM, Klara said:

Thanks for the explanation,  TomE

I'm surprised that it is even an issue for individuals. I believe the only smooth rubber grips I've seen were in riding schools...

The reason for this is from a safety aspect the more holes you put in leather the weaker it becomes especially if the rubber rein grips have been machine  stitched which will become a lot more perforated if you do this to many times, the chances of hitting the previous holes every time is pretty remote to say the least.

Hope this helps

JCUK

 

[TomE]

On 10/13/2022 at 2:45 PM, jcuk said:

Yes i can see the fixed loop. I slide the the rubber grips on using a old wire coat hook loop it around a fixed nail i slide the grips on but i was thought to slide them on using the Point and Buckle end on the reins i do this little by little holding the rein down against my bench i have never had any stretch just remember little by little also make sure there is no stress put on the crew punch hole on your Buckle rein and your buckle hole hole your Point rein. The rule of thumb this side of the pond is twice, for the reins. The reins i recover in the Racing industry i will only recover once because there is a lot more stress and abuse put on Racing tack.

Thanks for the additional info. I really appreciate learning from your experience.  Here's a picture of the 5/8" grips without the thick rubber cuff seen on the 3/4" reins above.  I did split some bridle leather to make cuffs for these grips.  Is it necessary to sew along the length of the grip to secure it?  These grips fit snugly on the strap but I suppose they might stretch if someone cranks on the reins.  Steinke recommends using a single needle pop stitch.  I previously used a machine because that's how the Antares reins are constructed.  What do you do?

[charlottecharlbobou2739]

Awesome

[jcuk]

21 hours ago, TomE said:

Thanks for the additional info. I really appreciate learning from your experience.  Here's a picture of the 5/8" grips without the thick rubber cuff seen on the 3/4" reins above.  I did split some bridle leather to make cuffs for these grips.  Is it necessary to sew along the length of the grip to secure it?  These grips fit snugly on the strap but I suppose they might stretch if someone cranks on the reins.  Steinke recommends using a single needle pop stitch.  I previously used a machine because that's how the Antares reins are constructed.  What do you do?

I have used both methods, what you have remember time is money doing one or two by hand might be okay but if you have few to do it will take up your time. When i pop stitch the ones with the rubber ends on, i start with a back stitch over the end at the bit end of the grips once i have stitched over the ends i start to pop stitch until i reach the other of the grip and then back stitch again over the other end. And yes i much prefer hand stitched work most of my work is hand stitched i like hand stitching. The two machines i am using at the moment are manual a Tippman Boss not a fan of nylon thread at all, must try polyester to see if it works, the other is a Pearson #6 a German version which i got from a member here, he done a fantastic job of the restoration he offered it for sale on here but just the head only i thought he made such a great job of restoration it was a shame to split the head from the treadle and he agreed to sell it as one wow what a machine. I also have a Singer 45k in storage that a good machine too.

Hope this helps

JCUK 

[TomE]

Thanks once again, @jcuk!  I will use a machine on these reins and practice pop stitching on some scrap.  Finding my groove as I make more pairs of reins.  I appreciate your help.

[jcuk]

You do know the there is a way to speed up the process of pop stitching the rein grips use a slightly larger Awl and angle the Awl towards you and away from you as you go, when i do them on large pimple grips i stitch every two pimples my guide, try to keep the stitches as even as you can because you will be stitching free hand. Also practice on an old pair thats past its sell date, the other thing is you don't have to  hold the Awl at an angle hold it as if you are doing a straight stitch with no slant to it.

 

Hope this helps

JCUK

Edited October 18, 2022 by jcuk

[Hags]

Very nice! I would love to add tack such as this to my shop.

[TomE]

Finished the 5/8" reins and used a pop stitch to secure the rubber grips, per @jcuk's advice.  This running stitch is done by angling the awl to separate the stitches and minimize the number of holes in the leather reins.  For reins I made previously, I sewed along the length of the grips using a machine.

These reins were made for the winning bidder of a silent auction to support educational programs of the American Hanoverian Society breed registry.

[jcuk]

Nice can i ask how long did take to do it by hand. And is there a reason you don't stitch over the leather cuff from the rein leather and over the rubber rein grip.

Not a great pic but hope you can see.

https://www.gibsonsaddlers.com/product/gibson-leather-buckle-billet-reins-gold-range-102n/

Hope this helps 

JCUK

 

[TomE]

9 hours ago, jcuk said:

Nice can i ask how long did take to do it by hand. And is there a reason you don't stitch over the leather cuff from the rein leather and over the rubber rein grip.

 

Thanks.  I think I spent about 30 min pop stitching each rein.  I see it would be better to include a stitch over each end of the cuff to secure the edge.  Learn something with each one I make.  

[jcuk]

On 10/26/2022 at 4:06 AM, TomE said:

Thanks.  I think I spent about 30 min pop stitching each rein.  I see it would be better to include a stitch over each end of the cuff to secure the edge.  Learn something with each one I make.  

Sorry meant to ask were they 24'' or 30'' replacement grips and how many would you do machine stitching in that time.

[TomE]

9 hours ago, jcuk said:

Sorry meant to ask were they 24'' or 30'' replacement grips and how many would you do machine stitching in that time.

These are 30 in. grips on reins that are 55-60 in. long, for Warmblood jumpers.  I haven't replaced grips, only made new reins.

[Mulryan]

Hi,

can I ask?

did you hand stitch the bridle or machine. If machine what type did you use especially for the billet cheeks ( stud) 

your bridle looks really nice! 

[TomE]

3 hours ago, Mulryan said:

Hi,

can I ask?

did you hand stitch the bridle or machine. If machine what type did you use especially for the billet cheeks ( stud) 

your bridle looks really nice! 

Thank you for your kind remarks.  It is hand stitching.  I too am curious what type of machine is used for commercially available bridles and reins.  Can't compete with them on price.