Hackamores

Glenatron said...
"I'd be interested to read a bit about your development with the Hackamore and where you are with it now."

I hope Glenatron's not the only one interested in this piece of the old west. I love the hackamore, it makes me train, there's no cheating in one of these bad boys, because a horse will run right through it if you hang on them, or hold too hard, for too long.

The hackamore I refer to is also known as a bosal. It is an indispensable part of the vaquero way of making a California reined horse.

The hackamore is in a teardrop shape and made of braided rawhide or leather over a rawhide core. The rounded top goes over the nose and the pointy end has a rawhide knot at the end which hangs below the jaw.

A single length of rein is knotted on the hackamore and called a mecate, (McCarty in hick speak). The knot is tied so there is a long, single rein, like a set of English reins, and a long free end that I use to lead my horse and for ground control. I keep the free end tucked into my belt. You'll see them tied to the horn, but that won't help much when I get tossed and don't have a hold of my horse. When the mecate is properly tied it adjusts the fit of the hackamore for proper communication between horse and rider.

My reins are made with braided horse hair, they are prickly and scratchy, but have a lovely feel after they've been broken in. Mecates are also made out of synthetic rope, but synthetics are not what I use by choice.

 The Persians in 500 BC were one of the first to use a thick plaited noseband to help the horse look and move in the same direction. This was called a Hakma. On this Hakma a third rein was added at the nose, which allowed the rider to achieve more power from the horse. Later the third rein moved from the top of the noseband to under the chin, and there it has stayed.

The hackamore used in the United States came from the Spanish vaqueros in California. From this, the American cowboy adopted two different uses, the "Buckaroo" tradition closely resembling that of the original Vaqueros and the "Texas" tradition which blended some Spanish techniques with methods from the eastern states. When it comes down to the hackamore itself, it is designed to make the horse look and guide in the same direction, same as back in the days of the Persians.

I'm more of a Texas tradition kind of trainer, I start my three-year-olds in a ring snaffle and don't move up to the hackamore until I am satisfied with my shoulder control.

Another reason to be riding a horse in a hackamore through his fourth and fifth year, is because of the dramatic changes happening with his teeth. The vaqueros didn't have any equine dentists available to grind all the enamel off their horse's teeth, so they simply stayed out of their mouths until they were able to carry a bit without pain. I love simple logic. 

Any collection during the snaffle bit phase comes laterally, I don't work on the nose or pushing my horse into the bridle with two legs and two hands, except for backing and stopping, until the horse is in the hackamore.

Once I'm in my hackamore and my horse is pretty soft, I feel I have control of his feet through my body language, and my hands have become a reminder rather than a control point.

The hackamore works on the nerves of the nose, sides of the face and chin. I'm sure there are those of you who have either seen raw, scraped skin on a horse in a hackamore.

Until you get the hang of the things it is easy enough to do, but I have found it's not necessary, as a matter of fact, if my snaffle bit work has been done properly, it never happens.

In the mean time, taping the hackamore with electrical tape will save your horse's face. Don't let anybody tell you, "it's a matter of toughening up the horse's face," if you use the damn thing right, nothing needs to be toughened up.

Don Murphy, the most knowledgeable and successful reined cowhorse trainer and hackamore man I know, gave me a very simple concept on hackamore use that structured my entire training method.

"Imagine the center of the nose piece is the only point of contact and it's very delicately balanced there. You can rattle it back and forth, pull back with one rein or the other, or very carefully hold it's position with two hands, but if you pull or yank you'll lose your balance point."

This comes from the same guy who told me he had known trainers who would push a screw through the middle of the nose piece, so the point was resting on the horse's nose, to show a horse which was pushing through the hackamore.

"After his ride he'll (the trainer) hop down and rub on his horse, then pull the screw before the bridle check. It sure makes the horse bridle up..."

I don't think he told me that story as a training tip, he was getting the point across that proper training creates a real hackamore horse, which is all about softness and suppleness.

Once I'm riding in the hackamore I begin working on collection and frame. Keep in my mind, my snaffle bitters are pretty darn handy. Before I even consider moving up my colts know where their feet are.

They can perform a solid reining pattern and are stood up between my reins on their circles, spins and stops. They can work a cow with confidence, out of the herd and down the fence.

Through each task my colts have their little nose sticking out and they aren't as underneath themselves as they will be, so I don't have the clean efficiency I'm building towards. They give their nose through their maneuvers as a result of raising their back when they deepen their stride through a turn.

They also travel often travel with their nose almost on the ground. This is the result of riding with a loose rein and their reaction to finding their own balance and drive from the hind legs. It is also how I develop a nice level head set without setting their head with my hands. This is a bit unnerving, it feels like riding a headless horse, but it's worth getting used to.

I now have a bold, willing horse who knows his job and likes it. These colts can generally place, often in the money, but I only win at the smaller venues or if everybody else falls of their horse.

Now I get to work on my favorite part. The hackamore.

There are varying sizes, from the big, heavy and stiff 7/8 hackamore on down to the soft and pliable 1/2 inch.

The bigger hackamores tend to be less "feely" but have more torque and clearer signals and the thinner, softer hackamores lend themselves to refining and cleaning up the more advanced maneuvers.

The 1/4 to 5/16 hackamores (sometimes called bosalitos, or bosal) are designed for the two-rein, when they are ridden in conjunction with a spade bit to aid the horse in learning to use the bit.

The tiniest of them all, the under bridle bosal, is never more than 1/4 inch and is used to tie the horse and the  sign of a finished bridle horse.

I work my horses with left, right pressure, urging them into the hackamore with my legs. The pressure points are opposite from the snaffle bit, when you guide to the left with your inside rein the pressure is on the outside of the colts face.While there is some initial confusion on the part of the colt, by the time you switch to a bridle your horse will neck rein beautifully

Always remembering the delicate balance between my horse's nose and the hackamore, I work on driving the legs underneath, rounding his back and picking up his shoulders. The low head set comes higher as he learns where to give at the poll (we don't all go for low heads) and he begins to "frame up" as he moves.

I ask for collection just a few strides at a time, then ask for more. I give a lot of pre-signals, so my hackamore horse eventually bridles or turns from hand position alone, with very minimal contact. This prepares him for the spade it. It also creates one helluva sweet ride.

So there you go. My hackamore talk....WAKE UP!!!