Pure Cowboy

Member: National Bit, Spur & Saddle Collector's Association and Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America

Item #HHB420 /    $5,700.

About This Horsehair Bridle Set:

This exquisite pony bridle, bit and reins set was acquired at a charity auction at the Presidio in Santa Barbara, California in the mid 1970's. The Presidio is a Santa Barbara landmark that once housed the studios of Ed Borein. 

The set represents a wonderful confluence of styles that are central to the American Indian horse culture of the early American Plains.

Beginning with the bridle, we have a distinctly unique pattern much different from those commonly seen in prison made horsehair creations.  All hitching is round and the zigzag (lightning) pattern is clearly created in bright orange-yellow which has been bordered by black on a natural background.  All workmanship is expert.  The tassels are full and well capped.  All the round hitched cords are bound by an artisan braid also executed from horsehair of the same dye batch.  There are only two conchos on this bridle (both 1 1/2 inches in diameter), they are flat metal attached by means of a leather strap laced through the back buckle piece.  The conchos have an interesting striation along the sides.  This is a very well-preserved piece that is soft to the touch and barely shows any use wear.  There are no areas of any damage.  Measurements: The bridle is 19 1/8" long from the top to the leather straps which attach to the bit.  These leather straps connect with a ball of leather made to catch in the 'button hole' fashioned at the other end and thereby function as a buckle.

The history of North American horse-hair bridles is one that begins with the Spanish arrival in Mexico.  The missionaries taught the indigenous peoples the art of braiding horsehair into serviceable ropes.  The knowledge spread to the Native Americans of the Southern Plains, as described in an 1880 publication by Richard Irving Dodge: "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  When finished, the stick is withdrawn.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." It was through contact with these Plains Indians that the skill was passed to the Cowboys.  After a time, prisoners in the West began to produce intricately braided hitched horsehair bridles in workshops.  These prison-made bridles were most-times quite uniform in pattern and use of color.  Later, presses were used to flatten braidings that were quite wide (up to 2 inches in diameter) and thereby dramatically and beautifully mimic the lay of a leather bridle.

The bit is extremely interesting - and early.  It is Native American-forged, constructed of iron and fashioned in the style of the Navajo.  It is of the diminutive size that would fit the now-extinct ponies of the original Indian pony herds.  The ring measures 4 inches wide and 5 inches long.  The mouth of the bit is fixed and has a 2" slide with a small striated cricket.  The bit has 3 holes in the 'slobber bar' for chain mail drops and has mounted on each cheek the characteristic hammered metal conchos that complete this awesome picture into the Southern Plains / Mexican metals trading patterns as well as the inter-tribal influence apparent in many bridles and bits within this early era.  Measurements: The bit is 5 5/8" long and 4 1/2" wide.

The maker of the reins has been suggested to be Luis Ortega.  Certainly, they were made by an expert craftsman - tightly and evenly woven and braided.  The color pattern is inspired and the knots are perfectly symmetrical.  The reins are square and delightfully adorned with exquisitely executed simple knots and gorgeous intricate lengths of braiding at the loops, these are tri-color braids of red/black/natural.  The braid is a combination of natural, dark and red rawhide, although age and use have rendered the red much worn away and faded.  Measurements: 39" long with a 3 1/4" connector to a 34" long romal and a 12" very supple leather popper.  The reins and the romal both are of the same pattern and each length of braided rawhide features nine knots (27 in all).  4 small knots on either side of a long knot feature that presents a zigzag pattern which mirrors the zigzag (lightening) pattern that is worked into the hitched horsehair of the bridle.  As the set was acquired at the Presidio Auction it is quite possible that the reins were made to go with what would have been an antique collectible bridle in the 1920's to 1940's, when Mr. Ortega would have braided them.

About Luis Ortega:

Born in 1885 on the Spade S Ranch near Santa Barbara, Luis Ortega was a living connection to the golden era of California ranching. He was taught to braid rawhide as a child by a 104-year-old Chumash vaquero, Fernando Librado, who had worked cattle at the Spanish California missions in the 1830s. Ortega continued to braid rawhide gear as a young vaquero on West Coast ranches.

Luis Bierbant Ortega was a direct descendant of José Francisco de Ortega (1734-1798), one of the most influential citizens of early California. Sergeant José Francisco de Ortega served as chief scout for Don Gaspar de Portolá’s Spanish expedition to present-day California in 1769. He was the first European to discover the San Francisco Bay by land. Sergeant Ortega also established the San Diego, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara presidios and was later commandante of the Loretto and Monterey settlements. In 1794, José Francisco de Ortega established the famed Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio near Santa Barbara.

The braiding traditions of early California vaqueros survived into the 20th century because many respected horsemen on the West Coast valued the subtle characteristics of braided rawhide gear.  Numerous braiders gained a reputation for the quality of their reins, hackamores and reatas.  They were careful to provide a core for the braiding with just the right amount of flexibility and for building reatas with no splices or weak spots in the rawhide strands.  They prided themselves on reliable gear with clean, straight braiding.

[This photograph was taken later in Mr. Ortega's life, in 1974]

In the late 1920's Luis Ortega began a relationship with the G.S. Garcia shop that lasted for many years.  At that time, and for the next 15 years or so, Ortega reins were not the fancy show work that one often sees as examples of his work.  However, it is well documented that he was charging a relatively high price for his work even during the early 1930's, as Les Garcia of the Garcia Saddlery in Elko, Nevada sent some reins back to Ortega, stating that they were not able to sell the pieces as such a high price, due to the depression.

Few braiders developed the clientele who would pay high prices for intricate and decorative braiding, which required triple or quadruple the number of hours to create.  In this regard, Luis Ortega was the exception.  His friendship with famed Western artist Ed Borein, who became his mentor and business advisor, exposed his work to the artistic and Western-oriented clientele who frequented Borein's studio and collected his work.

The two met in 1932, when Luis Ortega broke his arm in a horse corral. [In the photograph, the man on the left is Ed Borein and the man on the right is Luis Ortega.  The photo was taken outside Borein's studio in 1934]. While in Santa Barbara seeing the doctor, he showed Western artist Ed Borein his braiding. Borein advised him to quit the footloose life of the vaquero and braid horse equipment full time. The artist admired the quality of Ortega’s work and encouraged him to braid rawhide on a more artistic level. He invited Ortega to share his studio, an opportunity Ortega took advantage of for seven pivotal years. This encouragement from a respected member of Santa Barbara’s art community convinced Ortega to pursue a new goal in his braiding career—rawhide artist. During this period he started braiding with finer rawhide strands and may have been the first California braider to interweave colored strands into his hackamores, reins and quirts.

At 36, he pursued his rawhide braiding full time. In 1938, he married Rose Smith, and settled in Santa Barbara. Well-known for his ability to gentle and train horses with the California-style hackamore, Ortega also wrote magazine articles and books that inspired horse enthusiasts throughout America. These methods of horsemanship and style of equipment, a legacy of the 19th century California vaqueros, are still in evidence today.  Mr. Ortega passed away in 1999.

This is an incredibly preserved piece of Native American artistry - very early and extremely scarce.

Very Early Horsehair Bridle with Ring Bit and Expert Rawhide Reins / Item #HHB420 /  $5,700.

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