Koper Equine Easy On Rein Stop Review

I liked that these were leather, easy to use and that Koper Equine Easy On Rein Stops are available in four different bridle leather colors with a multitude of screw head colors. As of May 1, 2011 Koper reduced the price to $19.95 MSRP.

Rein stoppers are a good idea when riding with a running martingale. Most often rein stops are made of rubber and are a closed "O" or diamond shape. You'll see leather rein stops, but these are normally sewn around the reins. The function of rein stops is to prevent the rings of the martingale from sliding down and catching on the horse's bit, curb strap hooks, buckles or other gear. The difficulty with most rein stops is that they are difficult to squeeze on the reins and inconvenient if you have to do a quick tack change, or want to take your bridle apart to clean it. Like bit guards, you need to have strong hands to put them on or remove them easily!

If you hate struggling with traditional rein stops Koper Equine Easy on Rein Stops may be the solution. The Koper Equine Easy On Rein Stop is made of two pieces of leather sandwiched together with two Chicago screws. Instead of struggling to pull the rein stops off over rein buckles, you simply remove the screws and reattach the stops around the reins.

When using these rein stops on, you will require a screwdriver to put them on and re-tighten them if necessary. You also need to check these rein stops daily. We (my daughter rides her horse in a running martingale occasionally) didn't notice the screws coming loose, but it is possible. Chicago screws are used on a lot of tack, so I've posted a quick tip on how to prevent Chicago Screws from coming loose during use.

While I think these are definitely nicer looking than rubber rein stops the leather will require more care when they get wet or muddy. I also felt the price of these rein stops was a bit high. They are, however, only a few dollars more than traditional sewn leather rein stops.

I liked that you could order different colors of both leather and 'dots' as they call the screw heads. Extra dots can be ordered in a multitude of colors, including metallic and four different hues of Swarovski Crystals.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.