The Horsepower Homestead

 I purchased these reins on Amazon for $12. Tractor supply sells the same brand for a similar price in a variety of colors as well. The online listing describes the item as: "Exciting color combinations give this poly roper rein a fashionable look you'll love! This quality roper rein features durable, weather resistant russet harness leather water loops at both ends with alum tanned leather laces and nickel plated scissor snaps. You'll appreciate the great feel this rein has in your hands. Measures 3/8" x 8'."   Roper reins     I purchased these reins after watching a string of training videos by Little Red Cowgirl . She uses a very similar set when she is colt starting. She also appears to have a set that she uses on her horse, Chobit, on occasion. These reins, despite being made out of what appears to be colorful rope, are quite soft. They are also durable and effective. I like the length of these reins, not too short and not too long....

I obtained this saddle from a Flea Market for $45. It came without stirrup leathers, and it was quite dry. But after some oil and TLC, this saddle looked quite nice. I purchased this saddle for riding saddle seat. I was quite involved in Saddlebred shows at the time. It got a few good years of use and now sits in the guest bedroom on a saddle rack until I find my way back to saddle seat later in life. This saddle is quite old and still maintains its use. There's not much to it, but it's a flat saddle, so that's kind of the point. My mom calls it the pancake saddle, since it's so flat. Used Borelli saddles can be found rather cheap. Borelli makes AP and jumper saddles as well. All of them tend to range from $100 to $350 when purchased used. I've never come across any new Borelli saddles, so I suspect that they aren't made anymore. Not really sure about that though. They are an Argentinian brand, and the leather is medium quality. It isn't particularly s...

Let me preface this by saying I've had this saddle since I was 14 years old. If I didn't absolutely love this saddle, I would have sold it years ago because I primarily ride English. It's a 15 1/2 inch seat with a 7 inch gullet, high wither clearance, and full QH bars. I barrel raced in it for a few years but now it mostly gets used for cattle work and trails. This saddle is about 30 years old, but it's been meticulously cared for. Stored indoors on a stand for 100% of its life. Also, I got this saddle 100% for free. It was a gift from my riding instructor after I won my first barrel competition. New, these saddles cost upwards of $1000 depending on how "pretty" they are. Mine is fairly simply: no metal décor, some tooled leather, and minimal conchos. There are used TexTans floating around on Ebay that often run $300 to $800. In my opinion, they are very nice saddles. Sturdy, with high quality leather. My TexTan after a recent cleaning. Summary: ...

I purchased this item off of Amazon.com for $27.90. Dover, and StateLineTack also sell similar extenders. Mine is Havana color. The online listing: Perri's Is Best Known For The Most Complete Line Of The Finest Amish Made Products Available Anywhere. Adds Up To 7 Inches To Girth. Stainless Steel Roller Buckles. Girth extender I purchased this girth extender so that I could use my English saddle on Sonny. When I first started riding him, he was kind of chunky. I was using a 56 inch girth and couldn't get it around his hay belly! I purchased this extender, which if you notice from the picture, adds 4 additional holes. I would attach it to my Wintec at the last billet and I was able to get the girth on Sonny. As he lost weight, I got to a point where I no longer needed the girth extender. I have been using my girth extender on the OTTBs I take lessons on, they're so tall, I often need an extra few inches of girth to strap the saddle down. The elastic on t...

I purchased this rope halter off of Amazon.com. Tractor Supply sells similar ones as well. The online listing describes it as: Thin stiff rope halter has twisted crown and knots at pressure points on nose for better control during training. Includes 14ft lead. $14 Rope halter featured on Sonny   This rope halter is made from quality rope. It has held up for over a year, shows minimal wear and tear, and still retains its vibrant color. Sonny has a large head/stocky build, he is 16.1 hands. This rope halter fits him very well. The 14 foot lead rope can be used for lunging and ground work, if desired. This halter and lead set is very similar to the one Clinton Anderson sells on his site, but for a fraction of the cost. There are other colors available as well.   Rope halters are not recommended to be left on without supervision, so they are not good for turning out horses in. They make great training aids.  Rope halter, with lead line being used as reins. ...

I, at one point, owned 2 Wintec 2000 AP saddles with the Easy change system. I now, I just have one, but I still find myself using this gullet system. The description as given by Wintec: Easy-Change™ Gullet System Easy-to-use set contains all you need to change gullets, including 5 spring steel gullets, screws and gullet gauge. Note: Medium plate not included in set, due to it being included with the purchase of saddle equipped with the replacement gullet technology. I paid: $105 for the complete set. I purchased mine on Amazon.com. The price ranges from $99 to $110 depending on where you shop. This item can be used in any saddle with the Easy change system which can include: Collegiate, Bates, and Wintec. The measuring tool and instructions are included, which makes selection of the appropriate plate quite easy.   At present, the blue gullet, which is one step up (i.e. wider) than the standard medium (black) plate, is in my saddle. I'm primarily riding a large sho...

I purchased my Collegiate Hunt Seat saddle through a Craigslist ad. I paid $120 dollars for it. I then paid $70 to have the Billet straps replaced, as they were very well worn. I had an extra set of stirrups and leathers on hand. The knee rolls are a little worn, but I will likely replace those down the road as well. Collegiate saddles, in my opinion, are a step up from the synthetic and other "cheaper" saddles. But they are not quite as popular as the higher end brands like Stubben and Pessoa. Overall, I quite like this saddle. It is comfortable, and the leather is already supple. It had been stored inside for most of it's life and was in great condition. It's a large seat size, 19 inches. I prefer a larger seat size than most. It has foam panels which still have a good amount of give to them despite their age. The new Collegiate Hunt Seat saddles range from $1000 to $1400. A quick online search shows used Collegiate saddles available ranging from $200 to...

I have Two versions of this saddle. The first version of this saddle was purchased in 2005. It was a gift from my parents, ordered from StateLineTack.com in bulk, so I got it at a discounted price of around $600. I bought the "package", Stirrups, girth, and leathers included. It was a black Wintec 2000 AP with the Cair cushions and easy change gullet system. Seat size 17 inches. I rode in this saddle religiously from 2005 until 2009. When this saddle was not in use, it was stored inside my house on a saddle stand. When I picked up riding again in May 2016, I began to use this saddle again quite regularly until I cracked the tree in late May of 2017. The saddle was 12 years old at this point, and therefore past its warranty. The Wintec range of saddles for a period of two years against faulty materials, or workmanship. Further, the Elastiflex tree in the saddle is guaranteed against breakage for the lifetime of the saddle deemed to be 10 years* (5 years for the Wint...