d.i.y.: reins

I love my orange beta reins. But they're slick when they're wet. Slippery reins and a strong horse are two things that don't mix. With summer and sweaty horse and hands, I needed an option.

I had ordered some nice beta grip reins. They were inexpensive and not custom. I really liked the feel, but when I'd need to really choke up on them (see strong horse referenced above) I kept grabbing the section where grip was sewn to regular. Not a fault of the reins, but of Major's disappearing neck, which goes from long and graceful to short and high-headed when anxious.

A friend tried my reins and loved them (her horse isn't an idiot). She kept them and I ordered some beta-by-the-foot and decided to try making my own. $20 to try versus $80+ for custom, my stubborn cheapness won out.

"They" (the internets) say you need an industrial sewing machine and fancy stuff. I say I have super strong outdoor thread, needles and my old Makita drill. This little old drill just keeps going. I have a more powerful one for "real" jobs, but for small things it's perfect.


Way better than a sewing machine. My sewing machine is old, from the 60s. It was my Grandmother's, and I've had it for 15 years, probably used it 5 times. Great machine, even if it takes me half an hour to remember how to thread it. I can paint, tile, do basic plumbing and electrical, use all forms of power tools, but a sewing machine just puts me in fits.


Beta is tough stuff. It has an internal core of something I'm too lazy to look up, so drilling with a tiny bit gets you through easier than just a tough needle. You probably could use just a needle, but pliers are your friend when sometimes the needle just gets stuck. I marked with a ruler and pen where I needed to drill. I did glue the two pieces with some super glue, figured it couldn't hurt. (anyone see the Mythbusters show with superglue recently? It was awesome! They suspended a station wagon with 7 drops of glue!)


I made my reins ten feet long, which I already know I like. The grip section is seven feet of that. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied. For a $20 experiment, not bad. Does it look like a drunk monkey sewed them? Yup. Do I care? Nope. Will they work? I'll see!