A mechanical hackamore is a piece of horse tack that is a type of bitless headgear for horses where the reins connect to shanks placed between a noseband and a curb chain. [1] Other names include "hackamore bit", [2] "brockamore", "English hackamore", [3] "nose bridle" and "German hackamore". Certain designs have been called "Blair's Pattern" and the "W. S. Bitless Pelham". [4]
A mechanical hackamore has a partial noseband, usually of leather, sometimes covered with fleece for extra comfort. However, the noseband can also be very harsh; some are made of rubber-covered cable, stiff metal, or even bicycle chain (though usually covered in plastic). The curb chain is usually a flat-linked chain, though it may be made of anything from a relatively mild flat leather strap to very severe designs with heavy chain or even solid metal bars. The noseband and curb chain are connected by a metal link that also includes the long shank that applies pressure to the nose, chin groove and poll when the reins are tightened.
The mechanical hackamore is unrelated to a hackamore except to the extent that both are headgear that control a horse with some form of noseband rather than a bit in the horse's mouth. [5] Because the mechanical hackamore uses shanks and leverage, it is not a hackamore. A mechanical hackamore works similarly to a curb bit. The shanks and curb chain serve to increase pressure on the nose, jaw, and poll [4]
The mechanical hackamore may be a relatively modern invention. In the United States, a device with shanks and a noseband, called a "hackamore bit" was mentioned in at least one western riding-based horse training book by the late 1930s. [6] Early patent applications were filed in 1940 for a "Hackamore bit" [2] and a "leverage hackamore bridle". [7] Additional patent applications were filed during the 1940s, and a significant increase in patent applications for various mechanical hackamore designs occurred from the 1950s forward. [8] Descriptions of the mechanical hackamore appeared in general interest books on horses during that decade. [8]
Mechanical hackamores often used in competitions where there are no specific bitting rules, such as rodeo and O-Mok-See events, and in the show jumping arena. They are seen in endurance riding and competitive trail riding because they allow a horse to easily eat and drink without removing headgear. They are not permitted in most other horse show disciplines. [4] [9] They are also used by casual riders, especially for trail riding, and are particularly popular with hunters who must ride and camp in freezing weather where a frozen bit can injure the horse's tongue.
Mechanical hackamores lack the sophistication of bits or a bosal, cannot turn a horse easily with direct reining, and are primarily used for their considerable stopping power. [10] Horses ridden in these devices quite often develop a bad habit of head-tossing. [11] The longer the shanks, the more severe the action. Similarly, a thinner noseband is also more severe. [12] Occasionally it is used for a horse that has learned to ignore bit pressure on the mouth, or for horses with an injured mouth. [12]
It is incorrect to assume that a mechanical hackamore is milder than a bitted bridle, it is not. The device has potential for abuse at the hands of a rough rider, similar to that of a curb bit. [13] While mechanical hackamores made entirely of leather with short shanks can be relatively mild, the addition of a longer shank and chain or metal under the jaw or over the nose can make this device a very severe piece of equipment that borders on animal abuse, thus making the device quite controversial in some equestrian circles. If adjusted too low, it can also put excessive pressure on the horse's nose cartilage, possibly even breaking it, and low placement may also obstruct the horse's breathing. In cases of a severe mechanical hackamore with long shanks, abusive use has been claimed to risk breaking the horse's jaw. [14] For example, a 20 lb. pull on the reins of a mechanical hackamore with 8-inch shanks will result in 160 pounds of force applied across the bridge of the horse's nose. [15]
Tack is equipment or accessories equipped on horses and other equines in the course of their use as domesticated animals. This equipment includes such items as saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, and harnesses. Equipping a horse is often referred to as tacking up, and involves putting the tack equipment on the horse. A room to store such equipment, usually near or in a stable, is a tack room.
A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. It provides additional control and communication through rein pressure.
A halter or headcollar is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears, and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. On smaller animals, such as dogs, a leash is attached to the halter.
Longeing or lungeing is a technique for training and exercising horses. It is also a critical component of the sport of equestrian vaulting.
A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson or caveson noseband. In other styles of riding, a simple noseband is sometimes attached directly to the same headstall as the bit.
A pelham bit is a type of bit used when riding a horse. It has elements of both a curb bit and a snaffle bit. In this respect a pelham bit functions similar to a double bridle, and like a double bridle it normally has "double" reins: a set of curb reins and a set of snaffle reins. Because it has a bit shank and can exert curb-style pressure on the horse, it is considered a curb bit. Like all curb bits, a pelham bit has a mouthpiece, shanks with both purchase and lever arms, a ring for rein attachment at the bottom of the shank, and a curb chain. But like a snaffle bit, a pelham bit also has a bit ring on either side of the mouthpiece. Like some curb bits, a pelham bit usually has "loose" shanks - hinged at the mouthpiece in the same way that the rings of a snaffle bit are hinged. When two sets of reins are used, the snaffle rein generally is wider, to help distinguish it from the curb. A "cowboy pelham" is a western style of loose-jawed curb bit with additional rings at the mouthpiece allowing a second set of reins to be added.
A curb chain, or curb strap, is a piece of horse tack required for proper use on any type of curb bit. It is a flat linked chain or flat strap that runs under the chin groove of the horse, between the bit shank's purchase arms. It has a buckle or hook attachment and English designs have a "fly link" in the middle to hold a lip strap. On English bridles the horse is bridled with the curb chain undone on one side, then connected once on the horse. On western bridles, the curb chain is kept buckled to both sides of the bit.
A snaffle bit is the most common type of bit used while riding horses. It consists of a bit mouthpiece with a ring on each side and acts with direct pressure. A bridle utilizing only a snaffle bit is often called a "snaffle bridle", particularly in the English riding disciplines. A bridle that carries two bits, a curb bit and a snaffle, or "bradoon", is called a double bridle.
A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders.
A double bridle, also called a full bridle or Weymouth bridle, is a bridle that has two bits and four reins. One bit is the bradoon, is a modified snaffle bit that is smaller in diameter and has smaller bit rings than a traditional snaffle, and it is adjusted so that it sits above and behind the other bit, a curb bit. Another term for this combination of curb and snaffle bit is a "bit and bradoon", where the word "bit" in this particular context refers to the curb.
A martingale is any of several designs of tack that are used on horses to control head carriage. Martingales may be seen in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, both riding and driving. Rules for their use vary widely; in some disciplines they are never used, others allow them for schooling but not in judged performance, and some organizations allow certain designs in competition.
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.
A hackamorejáquima is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of riding derived from Spanish traditions, and are occasionally seen in some English riding disciplines such as show jumping and the stadium phase of eventing. Various hackamore designs are also popular for endurance riding. While usually used to start young horses, they are often seen on mature horses with dental issues that make bit use painful, and on horses with mouth or tongue injuries that would be aggravated by a bit. Some riders also like to use them in the winter to avoid putting a frozen metal bit into a horse's mouth.
The bit shank is the side piece or cheekpiece of a curb bit, part of the bridle, used when riding on horses. The bit shank allows leverage to be added to the pressure of the rider's hands on the bit. Shanks are usually made of metal, may be straight or curved, and may be decorated in some disciplines. The headstall and curb chain or curb strap of the bridle is attached to the top of the shank, and the reins are attached at the bottom. Shanked curb bits are used in western riding for nearly all adult horses, and are seen in English riding disciplines primarily as part of the double bridle used by advanced dressage riders, and on the hybrid pelham bit that includes a ring for a second rein attached at the bit mouthpiece.
Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West. At the time, American cowboys had to work long hours in the saddle and often over rough terrain, sometimes having to rope a cattle using a lariat, also known as a lasso. Because of the necessity to control the horse with one hand and use a lariat with the other, western horses were trained to neck rein, that is, to change direction with light pressure of a rein against the horse's neck. Horses were also trained to exercise a certain degree of independence in using their natural instincts to follow the movements of a cow, thus a riding style developed that emphasized a deep, secure seat, and training methods encouraged a horse to be responsive on very light rein contact.
The bit is an item of a horse's tack. It usually refers to the assembly of components that contacts and controls the horse's mouth, and includes the shanks, rings, cheekpads and mullen, all described here below, but it also sometimes simply refers to the mullen, the piece that fits inside the horse's mouth. The mullen extends across the horse's mouth and rests on the bars, the region between the incisors and molars where there are no teeth. The bit is located on the horse's head by the headstall, and which has itself several components to allow the most comfortable adjustment of bit location and control.
A bosal is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the vaquero tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to give a signal. It acts upon the horse's nose and jaw. Though seen in both the "Texas" and the "California" cowboy traditions, it is most closely associated with the "California" style of western riding. Sometimes the term bosal is used to describe the entire classic hackamore or jaquima. Technically, however, the term refers only to the noseband portion of the equipment.
A bitless bridle is a general term describing a wide range of headgear for horses or other animals that controls the animal without using a bit. Direction control may also be via a noseband or cavesson, if one is used. The term hackamore is the most historically accurate word for most common forms of bitless headgear. However, some modern bitless designs of horse headgear lack the heavy noseband of a true hackamore and instead use straps that tighten around a horse's head to apply pressure in various ways. These are often specifically patented and marketed as "bitless bridles", usually referencing a particular type of headgear known as the cross-under, though other designs are sometimes also given similar names.
A fiador term of Spanish colonial origin referring to a hackamore component used principally in the Americas. In English-speaking North America, the fiador is known principally as a type of throatlatch used on the bosal-style hackamore. Its purpose is to stabilize a heavy noseband or bosal and prevent the bridle from shifting. It is not used for tying the horse.
The spade bit is a historic vaquero design for a type of curb bit with straight, highly decorated shanks and a mouthpiece that includes a straight bar, a narrow port with a cricket, and a "spoon," a flat, partly rounded plate affixed above the port, supported by braces on either side. Considered a highly technical piece of equipment to be used only on a finished horse, the spade bit is a refined tool that experts compare to driving a sports car in its ability to convey precise commands to the horse. Not all horses have the conformation or temperament to become a finished spade bit horse, a process that takes a number of years and is seldom complete until a horse has at least five years of training under saddle.