Use the two-rein setup correctly—at home and in the show pen—to fully transition your horse to the bridle.
Traditional stock horse training methods dictate that you go from the snaffle to the hackamore to the two-rein and finally to the bridle. Two-rein classes at National Reined Cow Horse events and stock horse shows highlight this training phase, but many riders choose to skip it, especially if their horse isn’t responding great in the hackamore.
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If you choose to go through the two-rein phase, it’s critical that you do it correctly so your horse responds as he should once he’s in the bridle. Incorrect implementation of the two-rein can lead to undesirable responses such as head-tossing and mouth-gaping.
Equipment
The two-rein consists of a bosalito with a mecate and a bridle with a romal. The bosalito serves to remove some of the worry a horse might experience when first using a bridle.
✅ Do choose a pencil bosal—called a bosalito. It’s smaller in diameter than a traditional hackamore for a slightly smoother signal.
❌ Don’t choose a mecate that’s the same diameter as the cheek of the bosalito. This allows your headgear to stay balanced and keeps the mecate narrow enough to properly fit between your fingers.
❌ Don’t adjust it like a cavesson. The bosalito is used in the same way as a hackamore—not to keep your horse’s mouth from gaping. Keep it loose enough to move when you pull on it and fit two fingers between the horse’s nose and the bosalito. A little freedom allows your horse to get off the bit and learn to carry the bridle. Adjust it so it rides above the bridge of the nose, so the signal is on the bridge of the nose, not below it.
✅ Do check your bridle’s adjustment. You might need to loosen your cheek pieces a hole or two to accommodate the bulk of the bosalito underneath.
How to Use the Two-Rein
It can feel like a handful when you have two sets of reins. But with some slow practice, you’ll get the hang of it.
✅ Do experiment to figure out what works for you. You should be able to use both the mecate and the romal reins independently but also together when needed.
❌ Don’t worry about rules for rein-handling. While there are restrictions on how you can hold romal reins when using only a bridle, when using the two-rein, you can hold and use the reins however works for you, i.e., fingers between the reins.
✅ Do go slow to start. Slow work can teach you and your horse a lot. Do lots of walking and trotting without maneuvers or a cow to get a feel for your reins and how to use them, how much tension to use, and
to understand how your horse responds.
✅ Do use it to your advantage. On days when your horse isn’t responding well to the bridle, go to the two-rein. Go back to the basics he understands, and then return to teaching the proper response to the bridle. Additionally, if your horse is one-sided or struggles to stay straight, use the two rein to your advantage to help balance his body and keep him in correct alignment.
❌ Don’t worry if the first handful of times you pull on your horse his mouth gapes. His learning process starts at his mouth, but soon he’ll learn to give at the poll. Once he’s trained to give there, he won’t open his mouth and will remain soft.
—H&R—
