Z/B Braiding

Finished up this cavesson this morning! First one I’ve made and I think it turned out pretty well.

Made a slit ear headstall the other day. hoping to have a few more coming along!

Finished up this mecate on an order recently! It is 23 feet long and 8 strands with a core. Thanks Caleb for the order!

Just finished this set of split reins up! They are an 8 strand square braid that are 8 feet long. They turned out great! Thank you Garrett for the order!

Little under bridle made from an olde rope with elkhide buttons and a get down rope I finished up!

Practicing nose buttons and heel knots has been pretty fun! I’m finally starting to figure it out. Bosal 3 is a 5/8 and turned out better than the second one. I also finished a small under bridle as well. It is made with an old rope and some elk rawhide. There’s a ton of room for improvement before I can offer any for sale, but there should be some rawhide products coming soon!

Finished up my second bosal this morning! It is 100% elk hide and finished at 1/2”. Really happy with how it turned out. Looking forward to the next one!

Always cool to see reins I have made being put to work! One set are coastal reins that are 30” long that I dyed dark with coffee and the other set are 42” with more of a natural color.

Finished my first bosal underbridle a few weeks ago and forgot to post about it! It turned out pretty well considering it's my first one. It was a great learning process. I can only go up from here. I hope to start selling bosals this summer, so stay tuned for orders and items I’ll have up for sale! I should have some coming soon. This was made with an elk hide that I was given by a friend.

Another couple projects finished up! Three neck ropes and a set of dark coffee dyed coastal romals with some conchos on the popper.

Since I have gotten quite a few new followers I thought I'd share some about myself. My name is Zane Bowey. I grew up in a small town in Montana called Sheridan. I learned to braid when I was about 10, and absolutely fell in love with the art. When I was a junior or senior in highschool, I had a goal to create a business out of my hobby that expanded beyond the few sets or reins I would sell to friends. I began Z/B braiding to create custom usable tack at an affordable price using primarily paracord. I have made almost every type of braided tack you can think of and have learned a lot over the last 12 years. I am now in my last semester of college at Montana State University, and I still enjoy braiding just as much as the day I started. I appreciate all of the support and hope that this helps put a face to the product.

Pictured: A set of romals I made recently from treated paracord. They are a 6 strand rein with an 8 strand romal. The buttons are dyed with coffee. The neck rope was made a few years back. The chains and S hooks are also made by me.

Finally got this set of reins and chains shipped. They are a 6 strand rein and 8 strand romal, with a tooled popper. They were a special set because they were traded for a custom bit to remember my grandma. The bit has a tulip on the cheek which is the parkinson's disease awareness symbol. One of the coolest opportunities I've gotten while braiding!