Help with Hackamores...

Hello all,

I've got a gorgeous 13.2 hh pony who I love very much. I am working on retraining her, and she does have some trust issues*. I would like to try a hackamore with her, but I have very little knowledge as to whether there's any particular sizing that I need to worry about etc. I'd like to get a hackamore off of statelinetack.com as I've got a gift card there... but they may or may not have anything suitable for her. The two I'm looking at are:

http://www.statelinetack.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=SLT734956

http://www.statelinetack.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=SLT731326

I am fairly clueless as to whether either would be suitable for my pony. I know pretty well how they work, but I'm wondering if things like shank length and whether or not there's a chain under the chin will make a huge difference.

*To get into more detail: Her previous rider kept a near constant death-grip on the reins. When she started rearing in protest, she was offered for sale. I bought her and have never had difficulty with her rearing because of my natural tendency to be far softer on the reins, but she is stiff and unwilling to give on the left side in particular and she rushes the jumps because she fears that the rider will lock down on her head and hamper her ability to get over the jump.

The hackamoor in the first pic is what I used to brake my mare abby and like it a lot, I love it a lot but came up with a delema when it came down to braking her for driving and had to train her with a snaffle, the other one in the other pic is more of a western hackamore (we have both hack's) and I didn't like that one too much, but the girls at state line are really nice and can answer any qustions you have!!! Have you been to state line tack it's self? It's like a walmart for horses...lol

Every horse I've had was Hackamore "trained". Actually, I just rode them with a halter most of the time! Since having so many halter/bit/hackamore horses, I have taken the time to do some research.

If your horse needs a tougher bit, it needs a tougher Hack, therefore, probably without padding underneath.

I am pretty much going to say all I know.

The Hackamore is meant as a...no-air stop...so to speak. The bosal or noseband is placed above the nostrils, but still on the soft track of them. Does that make sense? So when stopping or slowing with a hackamore, a pull-and-release motion is required.

This is the hackamore type I have...see the padding? That is important.

This is a mechanical hackamore for those medium horses.


And here's the heavy hackamore for those tougher horses. And I think this is an older pic.


There are also rope-noseband hackamores. Do you have any other questions??? Hope this helps! Guys....I am sooooo sorry for such long posts!!!!!!!!!!

I like you Blu magic you really go a long way to help people out, with pictures and everything-give yourself a pat on your back!! I don't like hackamores at all. I suppose cause I don't do that kind of riding. The old snaffle does me quite fine!

Why don't you like the hackamoor?

Thanks for your input everyone. Particularly yours, BluMagic. Pictures are good for my simple mind. ;) Like I said, I had a vague idea of how they worked, but I wasn't 100% sure. Your explanation helped 'cement' things. I'll probably end up getting the first one. My pony's pretty good about stopping. (I can get a halt using purely my seat... when she's in the mood )

I don't like mechanical hackamores. Used one before on not-mine horse, but after reading a lot about them never ever used one on my own horse (and will not). They can be very harsh and if one try to stop hard it can hurt the horse's nose pretty badly. Better to go with bosal or sidepull then (or even rope halter). Or with gentle snaffle.

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm glad that I'm helping! Actually, I'm not a real big fan of Hackamores. Every horse I've had but Boo used some kind of snaffle. That's not Blu. Like I said I practically had to rebreak him and boy can he ignore bits. I have him on a Wonder Bit. We have tried literally almost every standard bit and he always has something that just won't work. He does really nice with the Wonder Bit's twisted wire snaffle but its the gag part that helps a lot. I know that gag bits arent very good but you've gotta do what you've gotta do! I know people that will strictly only use hackamores. But hey, sometimes you have those horses that need a little more. I've never used a bosal. I know a lot of people that use those, too. Most horseman here like me a lot. I think its because I am only thirteen and I've taken so much time to learn about horses! I can't help but love them!!! Thanks again...

I'd read Wikipedia's entry on hackamores if you are looking into one. Its an accurate article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackamore

That is a very interesting article. It makes sense that there is a whole spectrum of 'harshness' that they can have, just like bits. Sad that some are considered abusive, but I know that I have very soft (almost wimpy) hands when it comes to riding... so no worries about breaking facial bones -shudder-. My instructor often needs to tell me to be a little firmer... :roll:

In any case, I do intend to consult my instructor at length about the whole matter. I do know of another instance in which the simple fact that a horse was switched from bit to hackamore allowed her to become far more supple than she had previously been.

If you think about it, just about anything can be used incorrectly (whips, spurs, martingales etc.) But when used appropriately and with a good amount of knowledge, these things are not tools of abuse.