Reining - Equipment and Attire

Equipment and Attire

Riders must use a western saddle. Spurs are allowed, but whips are not. Bridles are western-styled, without a noseband or cavesson. The bosal style hackamore is also allowed on "junior" horses. There are very strict rules about what types of bits and bosals are legal.

For protection, horses usually wear splint boots on the cannons of their lower front legs as well as skid boots on their hind fetlocks. Bell boots, which wrap around the pastern and protect the hoof and coronary band, are also usually seen, sometimes only on the front feet, other times on all four feet.

Reining horses are usually fitted with special horseshoes on the hind feet called slide plates. Slide plates have wider bar steel and are smoother than regular horseshoes, with even the nail heads filed to be flush with the shoe. When the horse plants its hind feet for a sliding stop, the shoes allow the hind legs to slide along the ground with less resistance. Slide plates often have long trailers to help the horse's hind legs slide in a straight path as well as a rolled toe so that the front of the hoof does not accidentally catch the ground.

Riders must wear a long-sleeved shirt, jeans, and cowboy boots. In most competitions, they also wear chaps. Gloves are optional. There has historically been less difference between men's and women's attire in reining than in most western events, though women's clothing is more influenced by fashion trends from Western pleasure competition, and thus women sometimes wear brighter colors, and are more apt to add a decorated jacket or vest, though usually not as flashy as in other horse show events. Wearing a certified equestrian helmet is permitted by some organizations, though not commonly used.