A Two Rein Horse

March 30, 2017 by ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ Leave a Comment

I thought I’d take a moment and share with you a quick video about the two-rein. I’ve just recently moved my horse Dino into this set-up. He is the first two-rein horse I’ve ever made, and so I’m watching a lot of DVDs on how to NOT mess this up!

I really enjoy the teachings of Martin Black. I follow him on Facebook and I read his articles whenever I can find one.

If you’re confused about the purpose of the two rein, I’m here and ready to give you the “short” story.

Depending upon who is starting a colt, future bridle horses are started in either the snaffle or the hackamore. Some folks will say a hackamore is the traditional gear of choice. Regardless, of whether they’re started in the hackamore or snaffle, they end up on a two-rein. If started in a snaffle, they progress to the hackamore, then the two-rein; if started in the hackamore, then two-two rein, and finally progress to the bridle. By using the two-rein set-up, you teach the horse how to carry the bridle bit, and get used to being ridden one-handed in something that is familiar to him — the hackamore. In this case the hackamore is smaller (a pencil hackamore, they’re called), so as to better fit under the bridle.

Many people find bridle bits to look menacing, and think they’re cruel, but if you’ve done your work in making a bridle horse, it truly acts as a signal bit, because by the time he’s in the bridle it takes so little to communicate with him, that people should be wondering what it is you did to get the horse to do any maneuver.

I hope you enjoy this quick glance at a two-rein horse.

If you’re interested in learning more, please let me know and I will do my best to keep you updated on my progress with my horse, Dino. I’m sure looking forward to continuing my progress with him.

About ~The South Dakota Cowgirl~

Jenn Zeller is the creative mind and boss lady behind The South Dakota Cowgirl. She is an aspiring horsewoman, photographer, brilliant social media strategist and lover of all things western.

After a brief career in the investment world to support her horse habit (and satisfy her mother, who told her she had to have a “real” job after graduating college), she finally took the leap and stepped away from a regular income; trading the business suit once and for all for cowgirl boots, a hat, and jeans. She has not looked back.

When Jenn first moved to The DX Ranch on the South Dakota plains, she never imagined she’d find herself behind a camera lens capturing an authentic perspective of ranching, and sharing it with others. Jenn has always been called to artistry, and uses music, writing, images, home improvement, and her first true love of horses to express her ranching passion.

Horses are the constant thread and much of her work centers around using her unique style of writing to share her horsemanship journey with others in publications such as CavvySavvy, the AQHA Ranching Blog, the West River Eagle, the family ranch website, and her own website.

Using photography to illustrate her stories has created other opportunities -- Jenn’s brand “The South Dakota Cowgirl” has grown to the level of social media “Influencer”. This notoriety has led to work with Duluth Trading Company, Budweiser, Wyoming Tourism, Vice, Circle Z Ranch and Art of the Cowgirl, to name a few. She also serves as a brand ambassador for Woodchuck USA, Arenus Equine Health, Triple Crown Feed and Just Strong fitness apparel. Her photography has been featured by Instagram, Apple, TIME Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Oprah Magazine. Jenn’s work has been published internationally, has been seen in several books and has graced the covers of several magazines.

Jenn became a social media influencer by accident when she started to explore Instagram as a way to share her life on the ranch with folks that don’t get to experience it. It’s grown into an incredible platform that she uses to empower women, create an environment for self improvement and share life on the ranch.

When she’s not working, she loves to drink coffee, play with her naughty border collie named Copper, start ranch colts, and run about the country chasing cans. Her mother still thinks she doesn’t have a “real” job.