Rein check

Santana's bridle was fitted with a short set of roping reins.

I had mixed feeling about those reins.

On the one hand, they were just the right length for cruising along down the trail.

But if you wanted to take a picture - or do anything else that requires two hands - they were too short to loop around an arm. Similarly, if you wanted to let Santana graze or drink from the creek, you had to lean down with him. I found both of those things very annoying.

Olive's hackamore is fitted with a very long set of roping reins.

I have mixed feeling about these reins.

There are fabulous if you want to take a picture - or do anything else that requires two hands. You can just loop them around your elbow and do what you need to do. It's also very easy to let Olive reach down for food or water. I like all of that.

What I don't like is this: Even though the reins are knotted, they are still very long. It's a lot to deal with, and sometimes when we're cruising the knot gets wedged underneath my saddle pad. Olive and I both find this extremely annoying.

Emma Fail's sweet mare, Ember, has a short set of roping reins affixed to her bridle.

They are just the right length for cruising along the beach.

But also, they are perfect for taking photos.

Here's why. Rachel cleverly added a long leather strap to their midpoint.

I barely noticed it while I was riding, but when I needed two hands - or when Ember needed a bite to eat - I simply dropped the reins and held on to the strap.

This is such a simple and elegant solution to the trail reins length dilemma. Expect to see some upgrades to Olive's hackamore in the near future!