Handed Down - Nevada Arts Council

1989–1990
Horsehair Hitching:
Doug Krause and Toni Schutte
Horsehair hitching is an intricate, beautiful and
time-consuming cowboy craft that was almost
lost but is making a comeback. In the early part of the
century a great deal of hitched gear was produced by
prisoners, who had plenty of time to make headstalls,
reins, belts and the like from strands of horsehair
hitched one stitch at a time, but because it was
associated with prisons few other people wanted to be
known as hitchers and the art was rare. Doug Krause of
Cheyenne, Wyoming, is one of the new breed of young
craftspeople who have relearned the art and taken it to
new heights. Doug was raised in Colorado and spent
some time rodeoing, then got training as a saddle maker.
Along the way he got interested in braiding bull ropes
for rodeo cowboys, and from there took up rawhide
braiding. When he saw old hitched horsehair pieces in
museums, he was immediately fascinated, but because
he didn’t know anyone doing hitching, he had to teach
himself the techniques by taking apart old work.
Doug is constantly looking for new designs and
ideas, as well as improving his technical skill, but it is
the trip as much as the destination that fascinates him.
“Hopefully I’ll get better, that’s always a goal,” he says.
“But one of the things I get asked a lot is, ‘Well, how
long does it take you to get good?’ I don’t know what
good is because it’s not…the process isn’t the ending
point, it’s the journey that’s the important thing. I
mean, as long as you’re getting better then the art form
is a journey. It’s not, ‘I want to get this good’ and then
when you get there, well then, what do you do? You
enjoy the journey, you don’t enjoy just the end result.”
Doug Krause and
Toni Schutte on
Toni’s front porch.
Toni Schutte watches as Doug Krause shows her some of
the finer points of hitching.
Toni Schutte, who lives in Tuscarora, got interested
in hitching about five years ago when she wanted
something to do with the leftover tail hair that came
from the sacks of mane hair her husband Larry used
to make ropes. She practiced with yarn, learned a little
from a book, and got enough help from another hitcher
in Elko to get started making key chains and buttons
for braided reins. The she saw Doug’s work at the
Cowboy Poetry Gathering and cornered him for advice
that turned out to be so helpful they set up an apprenticeship.
Toni really appreciated Doug’s willingness
to share his knowledge, and is actively using what she
learned to create her own new designs.
Hitching is done with bundles of from six to ten tail
hairs twisted together. The strand is hitched around a
core string that is wound around a dowel, so the finished
product is in the shape of a tube after it is slipped
off the dowel. The basic design element is a diamond,
and everything else is a variation of that. Doug likes to
dye his horsehair in bright colors, although much of the
older work is done in natural shades of black, brown,
gray and white.
“I think there’s different levels of the hitching ability,”
Doug says, “but kind of the way I look at it is anybody
that’s taken the time to hitch, it doesn’t matter how crude
it is, you know, that’s kind of exceptional, just…there’s
not many hitchers around, so any work is sure better than
nothing. That’s pretty commendable, I think.”
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