California Martingale #CM5
$48.00
Description: This California Martingale is made entirely of 1/4 inch solid braid nylon cord. The rein rings and cinch snap are stainless steel. The rein rings are tied with bowline knots directly into the neck strap. This makes it easy to change their position higher and lower on the neck strap for different horses or different levels of training. The neck strap and the cord running to the cinch are also adjustable. Simply let out or take up cord and re-tie the overhand knot.
This martingale is made with a 1/2 inch latigo safety hobble strap. This strap slides under your saddle’s gullet and up over the horn. It prevents the martingale from slipping up the neck if your horse lowers its head.
How it works: Unlike a running martingale, the rings on the California Martingale are tied on the neck strap and lay right on the neck. This gives you a real good, straight line from the bit to your hands. This line, or angle, will not only help your horse keep its head in position during more advanced training for collection, but it also helps your horse keep its shoulders up. This is a great aid to use on horses that want to drop their shoulders.
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String Cavesson w/ Rawhide Knots #CA3
$70.00Description: The String Cavesson with Rawhide Knots #CA3 has a noseband made of tan 1/8 inch solid braid nylon cord. The adjustment knots at the bottom of the noseband are covered with handbraided rawhide pineapple knots. These knots allow the noseband to be quickly and easily adjusted to 19, 21 and 23 inches. This is nice if you have a number of horses to ride. The headstall is made of 1/2 inch burgundy latigo leather that has been edged and hand-rubbed. The buckle is beveled stainless steel with a leather loop keeper. The headstall leather under the buckle is hand sewn together to prevent the buckle from slipping when the headstall is adjusted. This cavesson lays so flat under your bridle you won’t know it is there!
Size Measurement: An easy way to be certain this cavesson will fit is to wrap a leadrope around the nose where the cavesson will lay, mark the leadrope with a magic marker, straighten it and then measure the leadrope. When measuring, be sure to wrap the leadrope loosely enough that the horse will have enough room between his nose and the cavesson to be comfortable and to be able to hold the bit. A good rule of thumb is 2 fingers width between the nose and cavesson (which is the diameter of most leadropes) if the horse is trained to a cavesson. This will fit any nose between approximately 19 and 23 inches.
This cavesson is a good all-around cavesson and can be used on colts if adjusted loosely when starting them in it.
For more information on cavesson fit and use visit: There’s More to a Cavesson than Meets the Eye: How and Why to Use Cavessons
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Nylon Rope Cavesson w/Rawhide Braided Nose #CA1
$155.00Description: The noseband on this 3/16″ Nylon Rope Cavesson w/Rawhide Braided Nose #CA1 is made of round 3/16 inch rope. The nose button and heel knot are covered in hand braided rawhide. The headstall is made of 1/2 inch burgundy latigo leather with a leather loop keeper. The buckle is beveled stainless steel. The headstall leather just below the buckle is handsewn together to prevent the buckle from slipping when the headstall is adjusted. There are hand braided rawhide ring knots on the noseband to hold the headstall in place.
This cavesson comes in small (19 in.), medium (21 in.), large (23 in.) and extra large (25 in.) (see dropdown). In general a small will fit a horse under 14.2 hands and 900 lbs., a medium will fit a horse between 14.2 and 15 hands, a large will fit most horses between 15.1 and 16 hands and the extra large is for those over 16 hands.
Size Measurement: An easy way to be certain to get the correct cavesson size is to wrap a leadrope around the nose where the cavesson will lay, mark the leadrope with a magic marker, straighten it and then measure the leadrope. When measuring, be sure to wrap the leadrope loosely enough that the horse will have enough room between his nose and the cavesson to be comfortable and to be able to hold the bit. A good rule of thumb is 2 fingers width between the nose and cavesson (which is the diameter of most leadropes) if the horse is trained to a cavesson.
This is our favorite for a horse that has advanced beyond the leather and string cavessons. It gives the strongest signal of any of our cavessons. It looks good on a horse.
For more information on cavesson fit and use visit: There’s More to a Cavesson than Meets the Eye: How and Why to Use Cavessons
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Easy Stop #ES1
$229.00Description: The Easy Stop #ES1 is a very good piece of tack to use when you want to teach your horse to stop correctly when cued, without having to put pressure on the mouth. Often a horse will show a lot of improvement in it’s stop with just a few rides in the Easy Stop.
The noseband is made of 3/8 inch nylon rope that is specially designed to lay right from the first ride. The headstall is made of 3/4 inch dense, tight-fibered harness leather. The leather has been edged, hand-rubbed, oiled with Neatsfoot Oil and hand-rubbed again. The buckles are stainless steel and the leather beneath the buckles is hand stitched together to prevent the buckles from sliding down as you’re adjusting the headstall. This Easy Stop includes a hand-tied tan 1/4 inch nylon fiador tied to the top of the spoon so it won’t interfere with the reins.
Choice of Reins: Almost any of the reins we make will work well. If you don’t see what you need here, please see the rein category These reins can be purchased separately.
How it works: The Easy Stop noseband will apply pressure on the nose just like a hackamore or bosal. Additionally, the stainless steel Easy Stop spoon will come forward as the reins are pulled and make contact with the horse’s chin, in the space between the 2 jawbones (the intermandibular space). I carefully designed the angle of the Easy Stop spoon to function correctly and lay close enough to the horse’s intermandibular space that it doesn’t apply pressure until the reins are pulled. The edges of the spoon are smooth and have a gentle bevel so there’s nothing sharp touching your horse. This Easy Stop is designed so the spoon doesn’t flip over when there’s not any pressure on the reins.
This is used by top professional cutting, cow horse, reining and barrel horse trainers, among others, and will last through years of use. This is a real good tool to have in your tack room for those times when a horse is not responding as soon as he is being asked to stop. Your horse should be broke to give at the poll and should be flexible both laterally and longitudinally before being ridden with an easy stop.
Shown on the horse with the Easy Stop are a pair of XX Harness Leather Split Reins #ASR3.
If you are unfamiliar with the use of an Easy Stop, seek professional help before using it on your horse.
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German Martingale with Roping Rein #CM1D
$126.00Description: The German Martingale with Roping Rein #CM1D is the same as the German #CM1A but comes with a roping rein instead of split reins. This martingale has no headstall or bit so you can add your own. The martingale is made of 1/4 inch tan nylon cord with a 1/2 inch latigo safety hobble strap. The roping rein has been edged, hand rubbed, oiled with Neatsfoot Oil and hand rubbed again.
How it Works: The key to the German martingale is the long neck strap giving a good line from the bit to the cinch. This allows the neck to lower from the withers before flexing at the poll. The 1/8 inch solid braid cord that runs through the bit to the reins has a high quality hard finish so slides very easily allowing a quick release. The release is more important than the pull but you have to pull to get the release. A horse learns from the release.
Assistance from a professional is necessary to learn safe use of a German martingale.
The martingale is a very useful tool to aid a horse in learning proper head position as he learns collection. If adjusted correctly a martingale does not force the head to stay in any given position but allows the horse a guide for head placement through automatic release of pressure on the reins when correct head placement is achieved. This can make it easier for a horse to reach a more collected frame over time by allowing assistance with head position as the rider teaches the horse to drive from behind.
The diagram shows the Complete German Martingale #CM1A. This German Martingale #CM1D comes with a roping rein and without headstall or bit.
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Dog Bone Rawhide Noseband/Tiedown #T2
Price range: $121.00 through $193.00Description: This Dog Bone Rawhide Noseband/Tiedown #T2 is made of 3/8 inch nylon rope with handbraided rawhide nose. The leather hanger has been edged, hand rubbed, treated with Neatsfoot Oil and hand rubbed again. The buckle is stainless steel with a hand braided rawhide keeper. The leather beneath the buckle is stitched together to keep the buckle in place when you adjust it between horses. The dog-bone is also stainless steel. Shown without a tiedown strap but available with your choice of a #ZG 1 inch or a 3/4 inch Leather Tie Down Strap or a #ZH Nylon Tie Down Strap (see dropdown to order).
How it works: You will like the way the rawhide feels on your horse’s nose and how much better your horse will respond to the rawhide if he’s been pushing on a leather tiedown. This tiedown will hold up to years of hard use.
