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fishebone — Hackamoores Bosals and Bitless Bridles
Published: 2013-01-29 22:38:18 +0000 UTC; Views: 9136; Favourites: 78; Downloads: 43
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STOP! before you say anything understand this! I never learned how to ride with a bit. I grew up with Bosals, Hackamoores and Side Pulls long before I learned to use a bit! I know from experience how these things work as well as from research!STOP!. I know what you want to say 'a bitless bridle is a bitless bridle!' uhm; no, hunnie, it's not. Bitless Bridle is actually the name of an entirely different type of headstall! Calling everything that doesn't use a bit a Bitless Bridle is the same thing as calling a Halter a Figure 8 Bridle (or w/e that one's really called.) Bitless Bridles are completely different. The only thing similar to them is the Side Pull.
Hackamoores and Mechanical Hackamoores are the baby-sister and big-brother (respectively) of each other. A regular Hackamoore is just as dangerous as a Mechanical Hackamoore- the pressure it applies and the pressure points applied to are just slightly altered due to the lack of long, metal shanks.
If you've never used a Bitless, Side Pull or Bosal before the please ask saddlers, Trainers/Instructors, or Tack Shop Managers in your area what they are and how they work. As soon as I find my Side Pull I'll do an Educational Video - BUT! I'll be damned if I do an educational video on Mechanial Hackamoores/Hackamoores on my horse! So please don't ask - I will buy a Bosal (again) and do a video on that one, as well, if it's requested.
DO NOT simply buy something because everyone claims it's 'gentler' than a bit! THIS IS A LIE! even my Side Pull is no gentler than a bit in the wrong hands! It can, and will, rub the face raw and irritate the horse in the wrong hands! (i've witness this and treated the raw spots accordingly). always, always, ALWAYS do your research before investing in a new means of riding!
Now then I never want to see ANYONE call a Hackamoore a Bitless Bridle in the same sentence again! they are not the same thing. Thank you
// sorry to those of you who already knew the differences. but I was royal peeved when I saw how many people call these things one and the same! \
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Comments: 23
Thankyou So much!this is helping alot!
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Thank you very much for this work. And as in my country it's almost impossible to find someone who ever used anything except english bridle this was REALLY informative and useful for me.
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no problem
yeah I can completely understand it being difficult to find
anyone local to ask about these things when there's more
english riding then anything going on ;-;
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THANK YOU!!! I've been going frikkin insane watching people call these the same things!! Thank you for setting them straight!
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Ikr!?!? it was driving me NUTS because if they are all treated as the same thing the imense amounts of damage to all those horses irl would have me crying D8 i can understand if ppl dont use these or even own a horse mixes them up but....sooo many ppl that mix them up claik to USE these and that scared me bc if they dont know what its called how can they know how to use it?
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Exactly! I feel so terrible for all of their horses if they're using these on them and not knowing JACK about them. I mean, seriously?!?!
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* required the severity and sold it. even the mustangs igl grew up around had very short shanks and as un-severe hacks as possible (they were used alot in the territories they were captured in and its hard to manage them there when they used to be herd stallions)
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even when i was six i was fully educated on the mechanical hack (its what was used by my neighbor on his mustangs) before i was allowed to ride by myself. and the bosal and the side pull BOTH i was educated on. and i dont have a trainer to tell me squawt . so those that do and remain ignorant drive me nuts ;-; urh the poor ponies D8
tbh i used to own an M.H. nose band but never had a horse that
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(in reply to both comments)
My point exactly. I had a M.H. that my mother gave me for my stallion, but even he didn't require it, and he was a straight up asshole(pardon my french). I used it once, and then said no way and never used it again. I'd rather ride in a halter then a M.H. of any kind. And that's saying alot, considering the throws I got from that stallion and his attitude when I was on him. Point is, M.H. shouldn't be used on any horse. I can't think of a single horse that would need that kind of severity.
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the only thing I can think of for 'justifying' an M.H. now that I'm actually older and have a say in how I ride is a well trained neck reining horse. Like a Reining horse. I've seen them ridden in M.H.'s all the time, but the M.H. is never given enough pressure to cause the leverage action and pinch their faces because, technically, the riders never 'move the reins' on the horse. It's a flinch one way or the other that translates through legs and hands (as vibrations down the reins) and reining horses are actually ridden in crazy heavy leather reins so that the minor flinch of a rider isn't lost in the movement of the wind carrying the reins (I have a set of just such reins and they make my bridle twice as heavy lol)
but other then that I can't 'justify' it and even then I can't 'justify' it because an M.H. is still harsh and anything can happen to cause it to crush the poor horses face - even on a well trained reining horse! I definitely do not see it ending well for any one with a horse the, say, head tosses, bolts, bucks, jumps, etc. and especially not in the hands of someone learning how to ride. That's worse than green on green rider/horse! D8 IMHO anyway.
I actually ride in a halter more than I do in a bit. It's when my mare gets extra frisky that I put her back in her bit to exercise her (and then we go back to the halter when she's gotten her run out of her lol) but she's still learning the 'whoa' on loose reins and needs all the help she can get so a light snaffle is fine for her. I did have her in a curb (I think is what it's called? it's the 'official' bit mandated as required if you use a bit on an AQHA horse over 3 years old in AQHA sanctioned shows so, w/e it's called lol) but she did terrible in it because the bit itself was designed for light pressure and minimal hand contact and she still too un-trained for that (not that she's not trained! she was a heeling horse when I got her and ready for her first 'official' rodeo xD )
but yeah, IMHO Mechanicals should not exist any more ;-;
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Exactly..you just put every one of my thoughts into words.. O.o
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lol scary how people do that xD
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The mare I lease has a bitless of some sort, and I have been trying like no other to figure out how to classify it. I will be switching her to a bit here soon when 4H starts if I decide to use her as my project horse, but am just curious. I know it sounds stupid that I don't know, but it's not built like any MH I've seen before! I have asked a few horsey people what they think it is, but none have been able to offer a straight answer. She had suffered from mouth abuse, from what I hear from her owner, when she was being trained. The trainer was suppose to be good... and was not and had her mouth bleeding and tender. In result, her owners switched her to bitless and she seemed to do much better then with a bit. Anyway, do you think you can help? (: ---> Picture here: [link]
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that's another form of Bosal. The action is a mixture between a short-shank Mechanical hackamore and a traditional bosal. The pressure is applied back and down with a slight 'up' when the chin strap/chain is raised in the leverage motion (caused by the slight rotation of the metal "shank" when you move left, right or back). In general this is a gentle Hackamore (provided everyone using it at least is aware of how to move it). With how low the Chain appears to be and how small the 'shanks' of that one are I don't see it ever really causing pain to her face unless you jerk hard back and up and sit all your weight behind the pull.
Unless she responds poorly in it I don't see any need to switch her to a bit. Does 4H require bits on horses of certain ages? I know a lot of western organizations accept Bosals and various Bitless and Side Pull styles on older horses or young horses with older riders. I've just never been a part of 4H. The bosal she's in is actually an expensive one and favored by western riders that opt out of using bits in my area.
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She's never shown any discomfort in it that I have seen. I had only ridden with bits until I started leasing Val. Her owner assisted me in the change over on my end since it was something new, and it wasn't really all that hard to adjust to. From what I had been told, it was gentle, gentle.
I had been considering switching her to a traditional bosal because of her past mouth issues and because it was permitted in most shows, but I just recently found out that 4H doesn't permit it for horses over four years of age, and Val will be... nine I think by the time the project starts. If I could, I'd like to keep her in this piece, but sadly it's not looking possible. I have checked with local open shows also, but none of the pleasure shows permit bitless or hackamores which seems to be beyond me.
Thank you so much for your input! This has been bothering me for the last few months or so!
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aaah shame they don't let you use that bosal on them at shows. Out here it's the opposite. Horses under 4 have to have a bit unless the rider is over 18 or something like that. If she'll transition alright to one of the gentler bits out there use it just for the shows and stick to bosals at home/trails? It's what I would do. I've actually been working on getting my mare to neck rein so I can take her off the bit. She doesn't have any problems with it but I hate wrestling with her when she gets it in her head to charge after the cattle regardless of the fences in between them and us ;-;
I do wish you the best of luck getting her and her tack figured out <3 and no problem
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This is very informative thank you for making it
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OMG Thanks so much for making this. XD I knew a Hackamoore and Bitless Bridle were different but. lol This helped me more. 
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no problem
accurate references on dA because everyone calls them
the wrong things o-O
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