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Cowboy Draw Reins

Cowboy draw reins
An easy to make horse training device in Congress, Arizona horse trainer Twister Heller's bag of tricks is the "Cowboy Draw Rein." This device is especially useful on horses that want to whirl and run, such as "barn sour" horses, those who shy excessively, want to come off the ground with their front feet, or any other spoiled behavior where the horse is normally able to take its head (and control) away from the rider.  These draw reins help the trainer or horse owner to ride their horse correctly. They are used to get a horse to push its body forward, become collected, develop the correct head set, and stay soft in its mouth. If you lope a horse with draw reins, it is easier to set its head, put its body forward, and keep its neck down to turn around.

draw reins
The draw reins Twister uses are made from a set of 7' split reins riveted together in the middle and with snaps attached to the free ends. They can be made from 9' split reins, unattached in the middle, but since their use with another set of reins takes some getting used to, the rider who is not used to a two rein bridle will probably get along better with them attached in the center. Twister uses a bridle with a ring snaffle bit and an attached set of split reins. The draw rein is snapped to the front cinch ring on one side, run through that side's snaffle ring on the bit, back around the saddle horn, through the ring on the other side of the snaffle bit, and back to snap on the other front cinch ring.

Twister says that if you have too much trouble with all four reins, you can use just the draw reins. You may apply downward pressure using the draw reins to make the horse bend at the poll and maintain collection, or you may use them to snatch the horse if it tries to turn or flee inappropriately. Last winter Twister used the draw reins with amazing effectiveness on two separate horses who liked to whirl and flee, one when scared, the other, because he was barn sour.

draw reins
Problem horses usually learn after a number of rides using this device that they cannot resort to their favorite bad behavior and then a rider can graduate to the "Cowboy Martingale" and hopefully eventually won't need any aids. If the horse reverts to its bad habits, reride the horse for another period of time with the draw reins. One caution, however, even though a horse may overcome a bad problem in most circumstances, if something really scary happens it may temporarily revert to the behavior out of primitive reaction.

The draw reins are not used to overpower the horse, but to achieve correct head control with less effort from the rider.

Twister encourages a common sense approach to horse training. The aids mentioned here are neither elaborate or expensive. They do augment the rider's ability to control and to read the horse. As with any training advice, use them with care, and if you are not confident with them consult your horse trainer.


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  • Home
    • Web Site Design >
      • Privacy Policy
    • Links
  • Gear
    • Cowboy Gear - Tips and Tricks: >
      • Three-Way Hobbling
      • Piggin' String
      • Stirrup Hobbles
      • Tying Your Rope Up
      • Buckaroo Scarf Knot
      • Cowboy Night Latch
      • Cut-away saddle pad
      • Center-firing your Cinch
      • Pack Saddle Latigo Safety Knot
      • Quick Keeper
      • Tire Changer Aid
      • Safety Tie-Up
      • No Roll Saddle Stand
    • Saddle Makers >
      • Wade Saddle History
      • Don Howe Working Cowboy Saddle Maker
      • Hamley and Co.
      • Bill Maupin
    • Spurs >
      • E.F. Blanchard Spurs >
        • How to tell authentic Blanchard spurs.
        • More Blanchard Spurs
      • Garcia Bits and Spurs
      • Amozoc Spurs
      • Prison Made Spurs
      • Adolph Bayers Spurs
  • Arts
    • Poetry >
      • Cowboy Poetry by Gary Vorhes
      • Charlotte Thompson Poetry
      • Mike Meaux Poetry
      • Audrey Hankins Poetry
      • Carole Jarvis Poetry
    • Rodeo Photos
    • Cowboy Photos
    • Horse Photos
    • Cattle Photos
    • Gear Photos
    • Dogs and Animals Photos
    • Reminders of the Past Photos
    • Windmill Photos
    • People Photos
    • Ready to Rodeo
    • Books by Dale Woolley
  • Horses
    • Diamond Z English Shire Horses
    • 5 Tips for Traveling
    • Harnessing A Team
    • The Dameles and the Curly Horse
    • Rounding Up Wild Horses
    • Extreme Horse Camping
    • First Pull on the Latigo
    • Twister Heller Starts a Colt
    • Cowboy Martingale
    • Cowboy Training Halter
    • Cowboy & Colt Clinic
    • Using the McCarty
    • Teach a Horse to Stand
    • Cowboy Draw Reins
    • War Knots >
      • Tying War Knots
    • Tail Knot for Pack Horses
    • Cavvy Marks
    • Deworming Your Horse
    • Safe Fall Trail Riding
    • Horse Remedies
    • Hormone Implant
    • How to buy a mule
  • Brands
    • Brands II
  • Chuckwagon
    • Dutch Ovens
    • Recipes
    • Sourdough >
      • Grant's Sourdough
    • Cowboy Coffee
  • Articles
    • Grubbing Hoe Ranch
    • Trevor and Emily Fuhriman
    • Land of Extremes
    • Jersey Valley Cattle Co
    • Diamond Tail Ranch
    • Gang Ranch of British Columbia
    • TS Ranch of Nevada
    • When the TS Ran a Wagon
    • IL Ranch
    • Basque Ranching
    • Crystal Rose Cow Dog College
    • Wyoming Honor Farm Inmate/Wild-Horse Program
    • Cowboy Etiquette
    • Arizona Trigger
    • Longhorn Cattle
  • Stories
    • For the Love of a Horse
    • Breakheart Station Master
    • Freighters Outbound
    • DK Cowboy Stories: A Prophet With Antlers
    • Ben's Trail
    • Spendin’ Time at Cow Camps
    • Slewfoot The Black Bear
    • Orphan Boy
    • Mooney's Stories - The Circle A Ranch of Nevada >
      • Cotton the Horse
      • Wigwam, the Wrangle Horse
      • Spanish Ranch 1
      • Spanish Ranch 2
      • Spanish Ranch 3
      • Spanish Ranch 4
      • Miss Beymer’s Boyfriend by Bill Mooney
      • Recollections by Bill Mooney
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 1
      • Branding out of a Rodear on the Spanish Ranch, Part 2
      • C Ranch
    • Wild Horse Casey >
      • ​A Dirty Ole Mustanger Like Me
    • Hero Cattle Dogs
    • Ranching Traditions
    • Life Lessons
    • Dave’s Summer Adventure
    • Fire-Proofing the Range
    • Cowboy Superstitions
    • Cowboy Humor
    • Portrait of a Cowboy >
      • Cowboy Obstricition
    • Tons of Silver
  • History
    • Fort Worth Stockyards
    • Horseshoe Ranch
    • Andrae - Marvel Nevada Oral Histories
    • Texas 6666 Ranch Historical Photos
    • Gerlach Cattle Company 1906
    • Cattle Roundup Photos
    • Cowboy Historic Photos
    • Sheepcamp
    • Comstock Lode
    • Pony Express
    • Horn Iron
    • Historic Sites
  • Cowboy Profiles
    • Victoria Jackson
    • Flying M Ranch Women's Team
    • In the Big Nevada Desert
    • Mike Laughlin, Cowboy
    • Bob Tanner
    • Bill Kane
    • Wally Blossom
    • Ian Tyson The Legend
    • Allie Bear
    • Marge Prunty
    • Bryan Neubert Cowboy Clinician
    • Rex Blackwell
    • Wiley Carroll - Legendary Hunter
  • Glossary
    • Horse Terms
    • Cattle Terms
    • The People & The Land
    • Saddles and Gear
    • Personal Gear
  • Cowboys of the World
    • Cowboys of the Dark Continent
    • Scrubber Running
    • The Day it Nearly All Ended
    • The Goring
    • Horse Breaking
    • Honduras
    • Mexico