Natural Training with Farah DeJohnette and Bridleless riding with Liberty Reins

A How to Video by Natural Horsemanship Trainer Farah DeJohnette on how to use Liberty Reins from Buckaroo Leather. Watch this very instructional video and see how with extensive training and dedication your horse can be bridleless.

"Just got my new Liberty reins from Buckaroo Leather. This is my first time trying out the two different styles. Half yacht rope and leather and all leather. It was fun as always and the horses were AWESOME!"- Farah DeJohnette

Liberty Reins

The Buckaroo Bridleless Neck Rein Liberty Collar (Cordero) allows you to train your horse to ride without a bridle. Great for relief from the bit! This collar is made from premium Hermann Oak Harness leather for a smooth, rich, "broke in" feel. The rein upper hand part is 5/8" wide and bottom neck part is 1 1/4" wide with just the correct weight. It is very adjustable to fit most any horse. Longest at 79" to shortest at 55". Choice of Plain working Harness (pictured) or Black Leather. And Plain or with engraved antique silver conchas. Horses do require extensive training before the Buckaroo Bridleless Rein Tack Collar should be used alone.

Liberty Yacht Rope Rein

The Buckaroo Bridleless Neck Yacht Rope Rein Liberty Collar (Cordero) allows you to train your horse to ride without a bridle. Great for relief from the bit! This collar is made from premium Hermann Oak Harness leather for a smooth, rich, "broke in" feel. The rein upper hand part is 5/8" wide and bottom neck part is 5/8" marine/yacht with just the correct weight. It is very adjustable to fit most any horse. Longest at 79" to shortest at 55". Choice of Plain working Harness (pictured) or Black Leather.

Bridleless Neck Rein Tack Collar

The Buckaroo Bridleless Neck Rein Tack Collar allows you to train your horse to ride without a bridle. Great for relief from the bit! This collar is made from premium Hermann Oak Harness leather for a smooth, rich, "broke in" feel. The rein upper hand part is 5/8" wide and bottom neck part is 1 1/4" wide with just the correct weight. It is very adjustable to fit most any horse. Longest at 79" to shortest at 55". Has studs or no studs on the inside of the collar that kindly encourage your horse to neck rein, turn and stop. They are soft blunt end copper studs, 3 lengths available. OR plain smooth lining or extra soft chap rolled lining. Horses do require extensive training before the Buckaroo Bridleless Rein Tack Collar should be used alone. Choice of Plain working or with engraved antique silver conchas.



Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

For the Love of Horses......

For the Love of Horses................

posted by Shenyse M.

Horse owners all have their different reasons for why they love their horse. Horses make them laugh, lifts their spirits on bad days, teach them important life lessons and give their love unconditionally.

On Buckaroo Leather Facebook Fan page we often receive photos from our fans/horse owners of just these moments.

I have picked out just a few of the photos to share here........the photo below was posted by Amanda C. W. her horse Banner.

Buckaroo Leather appreciates all the horse owners who have posted these photos and we encourage you to post your horse photos.............click here

Remember too that Buckaroo Leather is having a contest where you could win a $250 gift certificate to Buckaroo Leather. Here is the contest information and prizes.

Exciting contest to let our fans help us grow our page to 10,000 fan milestone.

-We are asking YOU to post a comment on the Buckaroo Leather fan page wall about what YOU feel the strengths of Buckaroo Leather.

-Then ask YOUR HORSE friends to come to the Buckaroo Leather Facebook Fan page, "LIKE IT" and leave a comment on YOUR POST on the fan page wall.

Of course that NEW friend can also leave a post and ask their friends to comment and on and on......

We will choose three of our loyal FANS with the most NEW friends commenting on their post as our Winners.

Prizes:
All amounts are for a Buckaroo Leather Gift Certificate
1st Place $250.00
2nd Place $150.00
3rd Place $75.00

Any questions on the details of the contest or any other horse tack questions please call me at 530-545-0139

Pictures from left to right-

first picture posted by Angela R. her horse Sassafrass

second posted by Caren M. her horse Journey

third posted by Eva B.

fourth this is Ket Chup!!!!!

fifth posted by Rae C.

sixth posted by Shannan M.W. her horse Lots Olena Playboy



Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Old West Visalia Style Headstall....Rival of the Visalia Saddle Design

Old West Visalia Style Headstall.......
Rival of the Visalia Saddle Design

The Old West Visalia style for horse tack started with the Visalia Saddle Co in 1869. The Visalia Saddle Company was started by Juan Martarell and his two associates, Alsalio Herrera and Ricardo Mattley. Mattley was a specialist in carving saddle trees from native oak and Herrera was an expert silversmith.


Their first store was in the community of Visalia. Juan and his associates started making his famous saddles for the vaqueros and herdsmen in the surrounding ranches.


The three men came from the Mexico state of Sonora during the gold rush in California. The famous signature style of the Visalia Saddle Company began. Juan Martarell called this style the Vaquero Saddle. This Vaquero saddle was lighter, stronger, and more comfortable for both horse and rider than the Spanish saddle that was used during this time. The Vaquero Style saddle quickly gained fame for Martarell and his associates.

The Visalia design idea came when a Vaquero asked Martarell to repair his worn Spanish saddle. Instead of repairs, Martarell completely converted the Vaquero's saddle. The new version lacked the high horn and long stirrups of the classic Spanish saddle. Martarell added a skirt to protect the horse rider's legs.

The Visalia Saddle Company also manufactured hand-braided riatas and jaquimas, conchas, quirts, tapaderos, stirrups and harnesses.

Buckaroo Leather has revived the classic Old West Visalia style.......

Old West Visalia Headstall

The Old west Visalia Leather Headstall is made with Genuine Hermann Oak Golden Bridle, oiled to a medium Honey color or Black, then rubbed from the finest heavy weight stitched leather for a smooth, rich, "broke in" feel. It is hand carved in the old Visalia designs, Wild Weeds or Old Basket stamp. This Headstall is a Double ear style or one ear. 1" width for the wide old tyme Visalia look but can be ordered in 3/4". Has easy change Buckles at the bit ends and has all engraved Stainless Steel buckles. Available in Regular horse, Large horse/mule and Draft.

also available is the Gag/Saddle Old Visalia Headstall

This headstall is made special with short cheeks to fit GAG bits properly! It is hand carved in the old Visalia designs, Wild Weeds or Old Basket stamp. This Headstall is a Double ear style. In 1" width for the wide old tyme Visalia look but can be ordered in 3/4". Has easy change 5/8" Buckles at the bit ends and has all engraved Stainless Steel buckles. Available in Regular horse, Large horse/mule and Draft.



Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Trail Drives of the 1800's- Cowboys, Horses, Longhorns, hardships, and stories

Trail Drives of the 1800's-
Cowboys, Horses, Longhorns, hardships, and stories

The trail drives of the 1800s were necessary to move the longhorn cattle from Texas to the north. In Texas a 4 year old longhorn was worth about $3 or $4. Up north, though, the same animal was worth $40. There were no railroads leading to Texas so the cattle had to be driven up on the trail.

The drive took 2 or 3 months from Texas to railroad shipping points in Kansas. It also took 6 months to drive the cattle to ranches in Wyoming, Montana, or the Dakotas where the cattle would fatten on the rich grasses of the northern plains before being sent to the slaughterhouse.

The Texas longhorns required more men than some of the other tamer breeds. There were 8-20 cowboys to trail a herd of 2,000 to 3,000 cattle. All trail drives included a cook, the trail boss, some even added an assistant called the foreman, and a horse wrangler (generally a young boy).

The trail boss is the man in charge of the outfit and was hired by the owner of the cattle to drive the herd to market. The trail boss had to make sure the longhorns got enough grass and water and did not lose weight during the drive. He decided how far the outfit would travel each day and where it would stop to bed down for the night. He also negotiated with the Indians and with the white settlers who objected to the herds crossing their land. A trail boss earned about $100 a month.

The horse wrangler was in charge of the remuda ( from the Spanish word "remudar" meaning to exchange or change). The remuda was a band of saddle ponies. As mentioned above, the horse wrangler usually was the youngest member of the outfit. He was a boy who was old enough to do a man's work. The wrangler handled the 6-8 mounts needed for each cowboy, between 60-70 horses. He drove the horses by day, found a pasture for them at night and rounded them up several times a day so the cowboys could change mounts. The wrangler also worked as the cook's helper and clean up boy. The wrangler earned $25 a month.


The cowboys on the trail drives had very specific jobs. The 2 men or "pointers" at the
head of the herd pointed the steers in the right direction and set the pace of the drive.

In the middle of the herd were the "swing" and "flank" riders. These cowboys watched the middle of the herd.














The swing and flank riders rode on either side of the herd and patrolled the line to keep the cattle from wandering too far out from the herd. At the back of the herd was the hardest position- the "drag" riders. These cowboys rode at the end of the line and they caught all the dust from the whole herd. They also kept the slowest of the cattle from straggling to far behind. The trail boss would rotate this position because of all the dust-

" I have seen drag riders come off herd with the dust half an inch deep on their hats and thick as fur in their eyebrows" said Teddy Blue Abbott


The trail boss would move a herd 12 to 16 miles a day. If the animals were permitted to graze and gain some weight en-route, the pace would be 10 to 12 miles per day. The drive would cost the owner of the herd about $500 per month, so there was no dawdling.

The cowboys would supply their own gear and earned $25 to $40 dollars per month.

There were many dangers on the trail, stampedes, rivers, bad weather, and Indians.

The cowboys feared river crossings because they generally could not swim. Swollen rivers would also delay a herd for days and result in injured and lost animals.

Stampedes were dangerous to both the cattle, horses and the cowboy. A witness to an Idaho stampede in 1889 reported the grisly details.

"The stampede killed 341-cattle, 2 horses, and 1 cowboy. Several men suffered broken legs. The dead cowboy was literally mangled to sausage meat. His horse was little better."

Another danger was gopher holes. Horses could step into the holes and throw their riders. A foot tangled in a stirrup meant death or injury as the cowboy was dragged across the ground.

Information for this blog cam from the book "Cowboy's of the America's by Richard Slatta and from the book "Cowboys of the Wild West" by Russell Freedman




Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Californio Vaquero Horse Training in the Old West

Californio Vaquero Horse Training in the Old West

The Californio Vaquero's prided themselves on their horsemanship and horse tack. They took great care too hand braid their horse hair mecates and romel reins. The Vaquero hand braiding techniques are still used today.
The rawhide bosals, riatas and quirts, headstalls, hackamores, are all part of the Vaquero "tool box" to train their horses.

The Vaqueros trained their horses for 7-10 years, starting at 4 years old, to react with very little pressure from the rider. At the end of training, the horse and rider would be one.

The 3 stages of the Vaquero horse training....

The 1st stage - starts with a hackamore bitless braided rawhide headstall to teach the horse to yield to pressure. The reins were long hand braided horse hair mecates.

The 2nd stage - called "Two Rein". The Vaquero would use a thinner simpler version of the hackamore nose piece, the bosal. This bosal was lighter for this part of the stage. The mecate bridle had a spade bit and a braided rawhide romel rein. During this stage of the training the Vaquero would hold both sets of reins and the horse would be controlled with mostly the bosal and light on the bit. Then the Vaquero would transition to only using the bit and would then get rid of the bosal all together.

The 3rd stage- is called the "Straight upon the Bridle". The Vaquero handles the horse with just the spade bit. The Bit is connected with romel reins. The bosal and mecate are used under the bridle to lead the horse.

This extensive training enabled the Vaquero to control the horse with little pressure. The Vaquero's horse was a skilled cattle horse and would be tested....

The Vaquero use to test their horses skills by tying a thread to the links section of the chain part of the romel reins. The Vaquero would then bring the horse to a stop with a "light" pull of the reins. If the thread broke- the Vaquero needed to pull to hard.



Another way to show off their skills.....trying to rope Grizzlies!!!

Can you imagine the horsemanship skills and the communication of the horse and rider to stop and move in an instant to rope a Grizzly!!!!!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the
Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site