BrushyHillGuide Report post Posted October 3, 2011 So, I was reading in Grant's book, "How To Make Cowboy Horse Gear" because I'm interested in braiding a set of reins for myself. I had planned to use kangaroo hide (with rawhide decorative knots) but Grant was also talking about rawhide reins. What I'm wondering is, how are rawhide reins made soft? I mean, I always thought that rawhide dried out hard and that this stiffness was sort of the point of using it! So, how is it that a set of rawhide reins can be braided so that they are supple enough - is the rawhide treated with something before braiding? Nick Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
curlyjo Report post Posted October 4, 2011 Rawhide is stiff but using kidney fat or other grease options softens the reins or riatas or everything else. Years ago the crew I worked with would use white Vaseline to grease rawhide. It worked good and slowed the dogs from chewing on the good stuff. Brad Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
