rawhide1 Report post Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) Howdy all I just finished these reins for my 9y/o. They are seven feet long without the rein connectors and braided over a 3/16 leather core. I should of cut my strings a hair bigger. I was pretty happy with how they turned out. My daughter was tickled to death with them and so was the wife. With that being said I know there is room for a lot of improvement. I would greatly appreciate any pointers on what I could do for a better looking job.Thanks Mike Edited September 4, 2008 by rawhide1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Opagon Report post Posted September 5, 2008 Thats one lucky little girl - nice job Heather Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rgerbitz Report post Posted September 5, 2008 Very nice job Mike. I had the similar thing happen the other day with the strings being a bit thinner than desired and found that if I grabbed the core and pushed up everytime I pulled a string around that it would tighten up a little better. Don't know if that works every time, but it worked that time. What did you do to get that brown color? Rob Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted September 5, 2008 Heather,Rob Thanks for the compliments. Rob if I have that happen again I'll have to give your suggestion a whirl. As to the color of the rawhide when I ordered it I asked Bill Confer to send me some dark stuff if he had it and thats what he sent. I'm fixing to order some more so I can build a headstall to match so I hope he has some on hand. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steveh Report post Posted September 5, 2008 great job, looks very refined and balanced,professional work. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted September 8, 2008 steveh Thank you . She hasn't had a chance to try them yet due to the weather. But they feel good just holding them so hopefully they work. If not the dog will have a chew toy that took me a lot of hours to build. LOL Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorsehairBraider Report post Posted September 8, 2008 Wow - those are really beautiful! Your knots are great and I love the way you did your wear leathers. If they feel good just holding them, I bet they'll work a treat! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hedge Report post Posted September 8, 2008 Heather,RobThanks for the compliments. Rob if I have that happen again I'll have to give your suggestion a whirl. As to the color of the rawhide when I ordered it I asked Bill Confer to send me some dark stuff if he had it and thats what he sent. I'm fixing to order some more so I can build a headstall to match so I hope he has some on hand. Mike Mike, If you want darker rawhide, try soaking it in coffee. (good reason to save coffee grounds) By varying the strength of the mix you can get a wide variety of tones. It stains the rawhide and doesn't bleed. Hedge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rawhide1 Report post Posted September 9, 2008 HorsehairBraider Thanks I had to do the wear leathers that way because I didn't have any pieces of rawhide to use. So I'm glad it worked out. I'm just not to sure how long they will last. Hedge Thanks for the tip I'll have to give it a whirl in the future. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
