Jeff Sanders California Vaquero Horsemanship

09/08/2026

🧠This week's reflection…🧠

We spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve our horses.

Their balance.
Their posture.
Their movement.
Their collection.

But there's another part of that equation that's sometimes much easier to overlook:

➡️ US ⬅️

The moment we sit on a horse, we influence how that horse carries and balances itself.

That doesn't have to be a negative thing.

Jeff often talks about studying how horses naturally move and shift their weight when they are free—without a rider influencing them.

Because that gives us something important to work toward.

➡️ Our goal as riders isn't simply to stay out of the horse's way. We can learn to become a better part of the movement.

As our own balance, timing and body awareness improve, we can help the horse develop better habits of posture and balance too.

And perhaps that's worth reflecting on.

It's very easy to look for something external to change.

A different piece of equipment.
A different exercise.
A different technique.

Those things may have their place.

But sometimes the most useful question we can ask is:

❓“What could I change in myself that would make this easier for my horse?”❓

Not as criticism.

As horsemanship.

Because we're asking the horse to continually become stronger, more balanced, more coordinated and more educated.

Perhaps we owe it to them to keep working on those things in ourselves, too.

🤠 So this week's reflection is about the rider.

When you picture the rider you'd like to become, what are you working toward?

A quieter seat? Better balance? Better timing? Greater body awareness? Less unnecessary movement?

And what has your horse taught you about your own body and balance along the way?

⬇️ Let us know in the comments what you are working towards yourself as a rider

09/06/2026

🔍What is that extra piece of rope?🔍

If you've looked closely at old photographs of horses in the traditional California hackamore, you may have noticed an extra piece of cord running from beneath the hackamore and up over the poll.

It's called a “fiador”.

And like so many little details of traditional gear, it's there for a reason.

The fiador serves a simple but important safety function: ➡️ it helps keep the hackamore on the horse when things don't quite go according to plan.

Even a correctly fitted hackamore can be pulled off over the horse's chin if the horse is facing you and enough pressure is put on the mecate.

That matters when working a young or difficult horse from the ground. It matters with stallions. And it can matter enormously if you part company with your horse somewhere a long way from home. 😂

As Jeff rather practically discovered when he was younger, being bucked off is unfortunate.

Being bucked off and watching your horse leave without his hackamore makes for an even longer walk home.

Traditionally, the presence of a fiador could therefore tell you something about the horse wearing it and the circumstances in which he was being ridden or handled.

But there's an important detail:

🐴The fiador isn't there to hold the hackamore up.🐴

Properly adjusted, it should still allow the hackamore to release normally onto the horse's chin when the reins are released. That movement is part of the signaling process.

The fiador is simply there when you need a little insurance.

It's another one of those pieces of traditional equipment that can be easy to overlook—until you understand the problem it was designed to solve.

❓Had you seen a fiador before? And did you know what it was for?❓

For more information on the traditional approach to training horses used by the California Vaquero, resources can be found on Jeff’s websites 💻 and books 📚 and accessed no matter where you and your horse are in the world
Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsema
Jeff’s Hackamore and Two Rein & Bridle books on Amazon
📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author
YouTube

09/02/2026

⬇️This week's reflection…⬇️

The old Californios had a saying:

“If you have two good bridle horses in your life, consider yourself lucky. If you have one great one, consider it a gift from God.”

In a world that often measures horsemanship by how quickly we achieve the next milestone, perhaps it's worth asking:

🐴What are we actually working toward?🐴

For Jeff, making a bridle horse has never simply been about getting a horse into the bridle.

The real goal is something much harder to measure.

Those moments when horse and rider seem to work effortlessly together.

When you think about where you want to go and the horse seems to already be there.

When the communication becomes so quiet that, for a moment, his feet feel like your feet.

And then comes the real work:

➡️Making those moments the norm rather than the exception.

Whether the horse is in the hackamore, the two rein or the bridle becomes almost secondary.

The goal remains the same.

Not another piece of equipment.

Not another box ticked.

Not getting there faster.

➡️Understanding. Communication. Unity.

Perhaps that's something worth remembering in a world increasingly drawn to shortcuts and quick results.

Some things are valuable precisely because they take time.

So for this week's reflection, we'd love to ask you:

❓What does success with your horse look like to you?❓

Not the next piece of equipment.
Not the next competition result.
Not what anyone else says you should be achieving.

❓When it's just you and your horse, what are you ultimately working toward?❓

08/31/2026

❓Curious to go a little deeper? ❓

We've spent the last few weeks exploring some of the WHY behind the traditional California hackamore.

But sometimes you just need someone to show you the HOW

➡️ How do I choose the right hackamore for my horse?

And...

➡️ How do I tie the freaking mecate onto it? 😂

This month's focus takes us back to those foundations with two videos from a filmed Jeff Sanders clinic:

🐴Choosing a Hackamore
What should you actually be looking for when selecting one for your horse?

🪢Tying the Mecate
A practical demonstration of how to correctly attach and tie the mecate to the bosal.

These videos are already part of our Monthly Membership, where members receive unlimited , ongoing access as part of their membership.

But we know some of you have been following along and might simply be curious to see what Jeff's teaching is like before deciding whether membership is for you.

So for a limited time, we're opening this month's videos to everyone.

📺 $4.99 gives you one week's access to watch this month's focus.

No big commitment. Just an opportunity to pull up a chair, learn something useful and perhaps follow us a little further down the rabbit hole.

And if you decide you'd like to keep exploring, Monthly Members receive ongoing access to these videos as we continue opening more of Jeff's filmed clinic over the coming months.

Because sometimes centuries of California horsemanship begin with:

😂🐴 Okay… what do I do with all this freaking rope?” 😂🐴

➡️💻📲 www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com

08/27/2026

A wonderful opportunity for riding spots has come up in the upcoming Vaquero Horsemanship Weekend 3-4 October in Poprad, Slovakia 🇸🇰🌍 contact details in the attached flyer - don’t miss out 🐴🤠

08/26/2026

🔍Another small detail with an important purpose…🔍

We've been exploring some of the less obvious details of the traditional California bridle—rein chains, breakaway connectors and romal length.

So this week, let's look underneath the horse's jaw.

➡️ The curb strap

In the traditional California vaquero bridle, you'll usually find generally a flat or plaited leather curb strap rather than a curb chain.

But, as with so much of this equipment, simply having the right piece isn't enough. How it is fitted matters.

Jeff typically adjusts the curb strap to approximately one finger's width beneath the lower jaw.

Why?

Because the curb strap is not simply there for "control." ➡️ It is part of the signaling process.

If it is too loose, the bit can rotate farther than intended before the curb strap engages. This not only interferes with the signaling process, it can lead to pain and even injury to your horse depending on the bit being used.
The rider must also move the reins farther before the horse receives the signals the way the old California bits were designed to deliver them.

The traditional setup Jeff uses is simple:

• Flat leather
• Approximately one finger's width beneath the jaw
• Buckles on both sides
• Unbuckled each time the bit is put on or removed
• No chain

That last detail surprises some people, particularly because curb chains are common in many modern disciplines.

This isn't about saying that everyone using different equipment is doing something "wrong."

We're simply looking at the historically grounded California tradition and understanding why its equipment developed the way it did.

Because once again, the interesting part isn't just WHAT the old horsemen used.

➡️ It's understanding WHY

Jeff goes much deeper into curb straps, adjustment, signal and the traditional bridle in “The California Two Rein and Bridle — The Art and Science of the Traditional Bridle Horse”, with further teaching available through our Monthly Membership.

🐴 Sometimes an entire lesson in horsemanship is hiding in a little strip of leather 🐴

Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com
Online school
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com
Jeff’s Hackamore and Two Rein & Bridle books on Amazon
📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author

08/26/2026

Thank you 🙏 for capturing such great photos 📸🎞️

08/24/2026

Thanks Kaisa ! 🐴

https://www.instagram.com/stories/muuliprojekti/3970197127218492194?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsi=MXA5d2k2d2JnN3d2YQ==

11K Followers, 916 Following, 0 Posts

08/23/2026

🗓️ This Month's Focus: Back to the Beginning 🗓️

We've spent a lot of time lately exploring the “why” behind the traditional California hackamore.

But sometimes the questions are much more practical:

❓How do I choose the right hackamore for my horse?🐴

And...

❓How do I tie the freaking mecate onto it?😂

They're two of the questions Jeff gets asked most often—and they're good ones.

So this month we're beginning something a little different.

We have an entire Jeff Sanders clinic that was filmed as a course, and over the coming months we'll be gradually opening sections of it to our monthly members.

We're starting with two videos that take us right back to the foundations:

➡️Choosing a Hackamore
What should you actually be looking for when selecting one for your horse?

➡️Tying the Mecate
A practical look at how to correctly attach and tie your mecate to the bosal.

Both videos are now available to members as part of this month's focus, and they're just the beginning.

We'll continue opening more of the clinic as we work our way through the traditional California hackamore together—one question, one detail and, inevitably, one rabbit hole at a time.

Because sometimes understanding a centuries-old horsemanship tradition begins with a very simple question:

❓"How do I tie this thing on?”❓

Website
💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com
Online school (new cattle 🐄 sections are coming soon!)
💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com/p/monthly-membership

08/21/2026

❓Why 42 inches?❓

Our recent posts about romal reins and rein chains brought up another great question:

🙋‍♀️ How long should traditional romal reins be?

Jeff generally recommends around 42 inches (107 cm), with some variation depending on the size of the horse.
Today, it's common to see longer romal reins—often around 52 inches—particularly in the show arena. Different disciplines have their own requirements and traditions, but if we're looking specifically at the traditional California bridle horse, there's a reason for the shorter rein.
Traditionally, romal reins were used ➡️ with rein chains, and the length, weight and balance of the whole setup formed part of the communication between horse and rider.
As Jeff explained in our earlier post, on a highly educated bridle horse even the change in weight of the chains as the rider begins to pick up the reins can become a signal.

➡️ When we change the length and setup of the reins, we also change that signal.

That's why these seemingly small details of traditional equipment are worth understanding. They weren't simply choices of appearance or fashion—they were part of a system developed around increasingly subtle communication with the horse.
So if you've wondered why your traditional romals are shorter than many of the ones you see today:

➡️ 42 inches isn't just an old measurement. There's a reason behind it.

And understanding the WHY is where things get interesting.

Jeff goes much deeper into romal reins, rein chains, their balance, setup and use in *The California Two Rein and Bridle — The Art and Science of the Traditional Bridle Horse*, and we explore these subjects further through the California Bridle Horse monthly membership.

We'll keep answering some of the wonderful questions you've been sending us here, too.

❓❓❓What other little details of traditional California gear have you seen and wondered, "Why did they do it that way?" ❓❓❓

💻➡️ www.jeffsandershorsemanship.com 💻➡️ www.californiabridlehorse.teachable.com
Jeff’s books on Amazon 📚🚚 https://amazon.com/author/jeff_sanders_vaquero_author
YouTube 📺