20 year anniversary of Darin's first public cinch
demonstration is July 4, 2012... Read More
We Ship International!
[Added at noon on July 29, 2011]
Be sure to tell your friends around the world about this site and watch the numbers multiply!
Be sure to check out the images and articles highlighting details of cinch making at it's finest
artcords.org
Reviving the Art of Cord cinchmaking with real mohair fiber from young angora goats for the health and comfort of Equine's around the world. Darin individually makes each of these cinches by personally hand-twisting the cords here in the ArtCords' fiber studio. ArtCords is located near Fayetteville, Arkansas, on the western edge of the Ozark Mountains - the heart of USA.
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Folks have been sharing with us how amazed they are of improvements in equine behavior as they find ways to increase the comfort level of their horse or mule. Trainers in Austrailia have shared with us how the cords we hand-make are being appreciated,"We get many comments on how beautiful our horses look and how nicely they move (the connection between that and our student’s email... Read the full story!
Please remember that some cheap copies of Darin's cinches have been found with hang-tags suggesting an ongoing connection with ArtCords. We invite you to contact us directly to verify claims of association with Darin and the ArtCords business name.
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Click Image for Buckle Details
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You are invited to join in the fun of mohair cinch making as well! Several avenues of introduction to the skills are now being provided through Workshops, Demonstrations, Personal Training, DVDs and the new Online Video Education as part of our expanding efforts to help Equine enthusiasts meet the needs of those furry friends! By extending the educational horizons for the custom cinch making community, we desire to provide an environment of growth and understanding for public interaction and member collaboration on Equine related gear-making and skills.
Be sure to visit our FaceBook photo galleries for posting of images by our students, customers and various items from the ArtCords' studio provided with helpful descriptions.
Shop with us in confidence!
Feel free to verify our Authorize.Net listing by clicking the seal.
A note about the Search feature within our online store:
Key-word search also returns results for articles at the bottom of the page following the product listings...
Original articles will eventually include photographic illustrations such as the page on our Educational efforts.
Learn more about our cinch cord making and why we publish the percentage of fiber content in all the cords we offer. Just scroll on down, past the photo collage...
Scenes from the streets of Bakersville near Mansfield, Missouri. One of the 'near-by' places where the Alexanders occasionaly demonstrate rope-making and cinch making during the monthly Heritage Day Festival.
Photos by Darin Alexander
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Please note that we promote and are dedicated to use of 100% animal fiber for saddle cinch use in contact with animals. To this end we choose to list the specific cord and yarn fiber content according to Federal Trade Commission tolerance guidelines for "Protecting America's Consumers." The following provides a sampling of known cinches in-use:
- 100% Alpaca
- 70% Kid Mohair/30% low-crimp Wool
- 96% Mohair, 4% Wool
- 100% Mohair (Adult)
- 100% Horse Hair (Mane)
Consider this:
While the "softness" of cordage is often spoken of in terms of individual fibers, the size and twist of a group of fibers making up the yarn-ply, can even cause the softest fiber feel quite stiff. Our standard cinch cord is uniquely balanced to provide a soft feel while holding together as the cinch maker works with it. Custom twist, such as for period authentic projects, can be provided for an additional fee.
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Cords shown as listed to left
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It is our hope that you learn to identify fibers and avoid questionable sources which largely include "so-called bargains". The cashmere and camel hair industry has addressed the issue of deceptive advertising to raise public awareness of consumer rights. We encourage you to visit their site to see that we are not the only ones concerned with this "fleecing" of consumers. Remember that the ability to substantiate fiber content is not simply a suggestion, it is a requirement, especially when a specific fiber is mentioned anywhere in promotional materials.
When it comes to mohair, we realize there are many who are casting doubt on the value or benefit of pure mohair by use of marketing blurbs boasting "increased strength" contributed by synthetics while failing to mention the lack of airflow, difficulty cleaning, and resulting discomfort to animals. Other claims that have surfaced include the definition of mohair as "a combination of sheeps wool and angora goat hair" or that mohair requires 30% or more of another fiber to be spun into yarn. Both are very much myths! Mohair, is only the name given to hair from an angora goat. {Not to be confussed with the "angora hair" from the angora rabbit} Easy to remeber when you consideer the goat has more(mo) hair than the rabbit. It is worth noting that 100% Mohair has been machine processed into yarns suitable for cinch cordage here in the United States since the 1840's.
The idea that mohair, traditionally spoken of as one of the strongest and most durable natural fibers available, would "gain strenth" from blending with large quantities of inferior fiber, seems rather odd. Could it be that the goal has been to convince people of a price that profits the 'pusher' who knowingly provides a product which will need to be replaced in a relatively short time-frame. Such an approach is in direct contrast to the experience of those who have used a cinch of real mohair for many years with little, if any, evidence of wear.
Cinch made by Darin Alexander in 1999 of 100% Mohair on customer specified, brass plated, buckles.
Note the embedded horsehair which serves to smooth out some depressions in the cinch.
Photos taken in 2006 at the Cowboy Songs event in Cody, Wyoming
For instance, in 2006 Darin had the pleasure of inspecting the 33 strand cutter cinch he had made for a working cowboy of Powell, Wyoming. Tony Lehman had used the cinch for seven years(five of them heavy ranch work, "dawn till dark, five days a week"with two of the years loaning it out to his sons since he'd shifted to more time in his music instrument repair buiness). Tony indicated he would brush or shake the dirt and grit out of the cinch before and after each use allowing the horsehair to work into the mohair, filling in depressions naturally. The fact that he had been wearing through a blend cinch, with no more than 25% mohair, every one to one-and-a-half years at near $25.00 a pop, and then had the all mohair cinch of $75.00 that exhibitted slight wear on the cord at the edge of the buckles following the seven years, provides you with a pretty clear calculation of savings!
Another fellow, Mr. Bell, a saddle maker in Missouri, asked Darin to teach him to make a tied 100% Mohair cinch. Mr. Bell explained that his wife had reminded him that the pure mohair cinch on his riding saddle had been purchased over 50 years earlier. By keeping it clean and unmolested by pests he had been able to maintain it through heavy ranch work and general rides for half-a-century! Just remember that with real mohair cord, dirt and grit is easily shaken out, rinsed or brushed off making it the most durable and healthiest choice for use, when due dilligence is taken in strand tension. The less your horse or mule is distracted by discomfort, the more responsive they will be... consider it in terms of "Safety First!"
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click the cinch image above for details and to purchase
the ArtCords style Vaqueros
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"When making a cinch, I believe it is possible, and even the cinch maker's responsibility, to keep the comfort of the horse or mule in mind. Thus I pay special attention to strand tension, keeping the side toward the animal as smooth as possible, and producing a fine work of art that will endure for years to come!" - Darin Alexander
- 96% mohair, 4% wool cord & yarns
- Traditional Tied-style Western Cinch
- Aligns with buckle edge
- Three color center Diamond
- Stainless Steel hardware
- Flat-style #9 buckles
- Braided mohair over center-Web
(lays flat against animals hide)
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Feel free to browse our short customer list for an idea where some of Mr. Alexander's cinches and mecates are being used.
We are listed in many web directories as well as on the Made in the USA search engine: 
It is our sincerest desire that you will find what works best for your horse or mule... whether from us, our dealers, or another source!
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