I need help please....hackamore questions

[PaintedHearts]

I was wondering if you can tell me...is there a difference between these 2 hackamores? When I bought Angel her old owner was using the purple one on her. I changed her to a bit (curb, as she told me that Angel likes curb or hack, not snaffles) as I wasn't comfortable to ride a new horse in a hack, but now that I know her I want to give it a try. To me they look about the same. :huh:

I was also wondering are these good hackamores to use? I have seen different kinds and I really don't know anything about them. I just got these with Angel. And if these are good/ok to use can someone tell me how to put it on the headstall? I feel like a dork having to ask but I just want to make sure I do it right. And if they are not a good kind to use...what kind is?

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff105/dtjoseph95/cid_00D16C2CDED211DD993EBEF7CFF086B.jpg

[luckydoublesranch]

I was wondering if you can tell me...is there a difference between these 2 hackamores? When I bought Angel her old owner was using the purple one on her. I changed her to a bit (curb, as she told me that Angel likes curb or hack, not snaffles) as I wasn't comfortable to ride a new horse in a hack, but now that I know her I want to give it a try. To me they look about the same. :huh:

I was also wondering are these good hackamores to use? I have seen different kinds and I really don't know anything about them. I just got these with Angel. And if these are good/ok to use can someone tell me how to put it on the headstall? I feel like a dork having to ask but I just want to make sure I do it right. And if they are not a good kind to use...what kind is?

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff105/dtjoseph95/cid_00D16C2CDED211DD993EBEF7CFF086B.jpg

The one on the left will probably have bicycle chain under the wrap whereas the one on the right looks like leather. The chain type put more direct pressure on the nose of the horse and the leather one will distribute the pressure a little more. There are MANY different hacks to try. IMO, I would see how she goes on one with less shank to it. There's A LOT of shank on both of those which results in a ton of leverage and makes them a much more severe hack. I'm also a bigger fan of the padded leather type than the chain type. I'll look for a good image of a proper fitted hackamore and post it if someone doesn't beat me to it. ;)

[luvs2ride1979]

The leather strap has a long straight shank, which will give her "quicker" cues and you'll need to be a lot easier with your hands. I would try a Little S or Beetle Hack on her first. Both have plenty of stop, but are much less severe.
http://www.rods.com/p/7218,237_Leather-Nose-Little-S-Hackamore.html
http://www.rods.com/p/4969,237_Reinsman-Bettle-Hackamore.html

Heck, I ride my mare on the trail with just a flat leather halter and two lead ropes sometimes, lol. If a horse is really determined, they can take you for a ride no matter WHAT you have in their mouth or on their face... Why not use the most gentle thing you can? :cool:

[luckydoublesranch]

... Why not use the most gentle thing you can? :cool:

Yup, I really like the little S Hacks too...they can definitely be "overused", but can be a nice hack in the right hands. We used to send some of our camp horses in a hack like this...
http://images.auctionants.com/25131.jpg
We wanted to keep the kids "out of" some of the horses mouths, so we liked this hack to put on our horses that didn't need a whole lot of whoa and turn. It was really padded with a wider nose piece to distribute pressure and had short shanks. The one's we used also had shanks that had less movement though so the metal didn't turn into the horses face if the kid pulled too hard. You can adjust it's severity via the curb strap too. :)

[WashingtonBay]

Both of the ones you have are fairly equivalent, and both are fairly severe as far as hacks go - IF they are adjusted tight. The severity in hackamores is all in the positioning on the nose and the tightness of the chin chain. Put it on the horse and adjust the chain and you can see how they work. They tighten like a vice around the horse's face and with the long shanks, just a little bit of pressure can cause a lot of tightening. Used harshly, I've heard these can break a horse's face, but I'd imagine most horses would just choose to dump you before that happened. In my experience, horses tell you when you're abusing them with a hackamore, but you have to listen. You have to have gentle and fair hands with them, and you have to adjust them right for your horse. I'd put them on and then apply pressure on the ground. Ask the horse to back up. You want good response with the chain making contact, but not too much response that indicates you've got it too tight.

Here's a picture of our horses in the hacks we use a lot on trail. They've got a little less shank than yours, and a flat leather nosepiece.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=117&pictureid=751


Below, we've got one of the others that have been posted... we used this the first year we had Cyn. It was OK, but it's a rather flimsy and cheap piece of equipment, and what I really didnt' like about it is instead of a hinge, the whole thing rotates when you add pressure to it... moving the nosepiece down further on the nose, while bringing the bridle leather very close to the horse's eye. This one is often called an English Hackamore because it does give a better direct rein cue than the hinge kind, but I like the hinged kind better for how they fit and work.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/picture.php?albumid=117&pictureid=1555

[PaintedHearts]

The one on the left will probably have bicycle chain under the wrap whereas the one on the right looks like leather. The chain type put more direct pressure on the nose of the horse and the leather one will distribute the pressure a little more.

The one with the vet wrap doesn't have a chain. It has a piece of rubber that has just gotten old so she wrapped it to make it look nicer. They both have a slight curve in the shank, the purple one a little more then the leather. For the most part she's good with listening but sometimes there is a little bit of a fight. I want to make sure that she's going to listen to me like in a bit but I don't want anything to harsh.

[WashingtonBay]

Here's a picture that shows how to put them on a bridle. You'd hook to the slot that is above the hinge on both of them. Both need a chin chain added to work properly.

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1744&stc=1&d=1231608641

[natisha]

You can use a leather chin strap too. Hacks should be ridden with a loose rein, much like a curb bit

[Kowgirlkate]

Typically hackamores with rubber noses have a chain inside the rubber. Is there any way you can see under the wrap?

[PaintedHearts]

You guys where right. I looked under the wrap and the rubber and sure enough it's a bike chain. I so don't like that. LOL I'm going to try to look for a little s or the other kind. Anyone have one they would sell cheap?

[WashingtonBay]

Nothing particularly wrong with there being a chain inside as long as it's wrapped. It's just a little more flexible than the flat leather and can be more severe... it's the diameter of it more than the construction of it that is the important factor.

[luvs2ride1979]

Here are a couple for you.
http://www.horseloverz.com/Kelly-Silver-Star-Fleece-Lined-Hackamore-Chrome-Plated-Horse-pr-295933.html
http://www.horseloverz.com/Kelly-Silver-Star-Fleece-Lined-Silver-Hackamore-Assorted-Light-Dark-Oils-Horse-pr-295919.html

[PaintedHearts]

Thanks L2R. Those look nice.

[WashingtonBay]

Just my two cents on those.... They are just like one that we used for awhile that I posted about above, and while some may like them, we didn't. I found them flimsy in their construction, and the way they rotate around is rather clumsy. On our mare, it would cause the nose piece to slide down low on the nose, and actually interfered with her eyes to the point where she'd blink and close them when you pulled the rein back.

Here's a pic of it in action so you can see this. See how it raises the cheek piece on the bridle when you apply it?

http://www.baywindfarm.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1763&stc=1&d=1231784716

[PaintedHearts]

Yeah I do see that WB. That's not good. Angel is so picky with stuff something like that I'm sure she'll hate. Can you tell me what you would recommend? I like hearing what people think and about their experiences using stuff.

[WashingtonBay]

Have you tried the leather one in your picture? I'd try that first. While the long shanks can be severe, they don't have to be, you can adjust that severity by placing it comfortably high on the nose, and using a fairly loose curb chain or strap. See how you like it. If you do like it but the shanks are in the way or seem too long, you can get a shorter shank leather noseband hackamore like the ones on our horses in the water picture above (the right one having a bit shorter shank than Bay's on the left) that are nice quality hackamores that will last forever.

[luvs2ride1979]

I agree with WB, try the leather nose one you have. Just get a leather curb strap to use on it instead of a chain.

The short shanked ones work better if you have them a little higher up on the nose and the curb strap tight. If you leave it loose, it will shift like WB's photo, but if you keep it snug, more like an English noseband, it won't shift much at all and since you're using a leatehr curb strap, it doesn't bother the horse to keep it that way.

[Miracle Whip]

I used a hackamore with long shanks much like that and you learned to have decent hands with them. In fact, the last instructor that I had complimented me on my hands...even though I now ride with a snaffle bit and ride English.
Lord knows Dad chewed me out and said to never jerk on the reins with a hackamore. He was strict on that. So much so I am a bit scared to try his hackamore on my own horse now.
His horse neckreined. I don't think I'd ever want to direct rein with a hackamore even though Washington Bay says she does.
To me, its fine with a well broke horse but in the wrong hands it can cause trouble. Just take it slow and work in the arena at first. Others will say they threw on a hackamore and life was good, but I am a bit more cautious than that. Blame my Dad.

[dustys_girlly]

one thing you can do if you are not sure how your horse is going to react but the hack on with you normal bridle so if things do get out of control you still have you bit. but most horses do really good stopping in hackamore, it the turning you have to work on if you horse does not listen to you body very well. but as miracle whip said, NEVER JERK with a hackamore. you will do more damage than anything.