1800s PLAINS INDIAN HORSEHAIR BRIDLE with HAND FORGED NAVAJO RING BIT and 1930s RAWHIDE REINS!

How is it that a piece of authentic Cowboy Western history can be made up of so many seemingly disparate parts and still be considered original?

These bridles were used and kept through generations. As parts and pieces wore out, additional parts were added to maintain the integrity and usefulness of a piece. Sometimes this practice drops the value of the piece to ‘wall-hanger’ status. Other times, the curious and rare combination of origin and workmanship can impact the value of such a piece in quite a pos-itive fashion, making a rare and beautiful example of many styles and different peoples come together to show the similarities be-tween all peoples of this great country—and how we all learn from each oth-er.

A case in point is the 1800’s Plains Indian hitched horsehair bridle with the fantastic hallmarks associated with such a piece. The bridle pieces are all round not pressed in a prison workshop, which was done to replicate the flatness of the more tradi-tional leather bridles. The lightening zig-zag design so deeply engrained into the Northern Plains culture is intricately woven in all parts and the only conchos present are simple trade pieces. Even though the bridle dates from the mid 1800’s, the Native Americans of the Northern Plains learned this art from the Southern Plains Tribes much earlier.

This brings our story to the Navajo ring bit, which was made in a Navajo forge prior to the 1850’s. The most skilled of metal smiths, the Navajos were taught their craft by their neigh-bors, the Mexicans and the influx of Spanish Missions. As evidenced from the writings of Richard Irving Dodge in 1880,

This art was then spread across the Western landscape by many means, but the hitching of horsehair more than any other art was passed through the prison system where time and materials were available to inmates who created beautiful pieces, some of which have been preserved and can be seen in the Pure Cowboy Collection of Bridles.

The Spanish influence described here not only made its way to the Native Americans through the Southern border, it also was the catalyst for all the Vaquero and California style spurs, bits and saddles—as well as bridles and reins.

The reins that are on this venerable bridle were braided by a first generation Californian Cowboy, the son of a Mexican-Spanish nobleman who brought the art of rawhide braiding to an exquisite level: Luis B. Ortega.

This piece carries within it the story of the American West—and, perhaps a bit of the story of America herself, the best of what the world has to offer, brought by hard-working people who share their knowledge with those they meet and end up with a result that is so much more than the sum of each part.

The bridle set that is the subject of this article, and other Hitched Horsehair Bridles, can be found at Pure Cowboy. (http://www.purecowboy.us/)

"The Southern Indians have learned from the Mexicans the art of plaiting horsehair, and much of their work is very artistic and beautiful, besides being wonderfully serviceable. A small smooth stick of one-fourth of an inch in diameter is the mould over which the hair is plaited. When finished, the stick is withdrawn. The hair used is previously dyed of different colors, and it is so woven as to present pretty patterns. This hair, not being very strong, is used for the headstall. The reins, which require strength, are plaited solid, but in the same pattern, showing both skill, taste and fitness."