In the beginning of their Western Horse and Rider series, Hartland opted to use brass colored bead chains for the reins on their horses. The noteworthy exception, of course, is the early style Chief Thunderbird set which received a twisted rope. In 1956, Turf King showed up on the brochures with a leatherette set of reins, and over a period of time, most of the sets except the Champ style versions were fitted with the new reins. By 1957, all new sets were introduced with the leatherette reins in either black, brown, or navy blue. I've never seen original scarlet red reins on vintage sets.

There were a few sets, introduced with chain reins, that had to make the transition. While this chart is less than scientific, you might see a pattern indicating that only the earlier Wavy Tailed Walkng horses would have had the beaded chains. The Slender Tailed Walking horses were introduced at a time when they had made the full switch. Some of the later style Chubby style horses with molded on bridles could have had a short period of time with the beaded chain reins. All Semi-Rearing, Rearing, and Prancing horses were shipped with leatherette reins. All Champ style horses were shipped with chain reins.