Rubber Reins melting?

[JoshuaR97]

Brought a bridle off eBay and came with some good quality reins to the eye but haven't used the reins and I got them out of a boxed I stored them in and they have melted in a part and been really sticky? Nothing else in my box has melted just this reins? I've put them in the freezer and it's dried them up but don't wanna use them if they start melting on a warm day? Any idea what might be happening as they have been out of the heat?

 

[Red-1]

I have had this happen with either older reins or those exposed to oil. I have not found a cure and have binned them. Had the same with old overreach boots, exposed to hoof oil. Sorry.

 

[iconique]

I've had this on some older or cheaper ones when they've been exposed to heat before. Not found a solution and one pair went a little sticky, tried taping over and eventually just gave up and binned them :-( Think its the rubber breaking down. Don't think mine were exposed to oil but Red-1 could be right?

 

[Jo1987]

My favourite pair of reins do this - they are cheap but strong, but the rubber has worn smooth now after many melts and re-sets and are quite slippery in the rain. Good job my horse has good brakes and steering so it doesn't matter too much!

 

[LilacWillow]

Omg my rubber reins have done this too. They were super cheap ones off eBay and I had them for 6 years, and they started melting and going all sticky, it wore right down to the material underneath so I threw them out.

 

[Cortez]

You can strip the rubber off and have them recovered, or just use them as plain leather reins, but once the rubber goes it's gone :-(

 

[Tnavas]

Rubber exposed to sweat, oil and saddle soap will eventually break down. As Cortez says your reins can be be rerubbered, there is a downside to this though, every hole made by the needle weakens the leather and makes the reins less safe.

Consider cost as well, may be cheaper to just buy a new set of reins.

To help reins last longer, wash the rubber clean of sweat and grease after EVERY use.