hackamores

[mmmcrae@juno.com (Marie M McRae)]

 L Eisele wrote:
>   I recently bought the "S" shaped hackamore.....none of my horses neck
rein......
>question is, how is it different?  Plenty of english riders direct
>rein with curb bits and the one rein direct pull does engage the curb,
>does it not?   Why then can one not use direct rein with a mechanical
>hackamore?  It is only different in that it has a noseband instead of a
>mouthpiece, pressure to the nose instead of bars of the mouth.
 Linda
>
Chris Paus wrote:
>>. You just have to remember to have light hands.

Good comment Chris!  
All of the bitless bridles were designed to be ridden with a slack rein. 
Ideally the horse that wears one listens to the rider's body signals so
that the reins are used only as a whisper  -  the rider raises the hand
and changes the weight of the rein to signal a change of pace, or ever so
softly lays the rein against one side of the neck to reinforce a turn
signal given with the body and legs.  
A mechanical hackamore gives you *power brakes* because of the force you
can exert.  The less you use it the more effective it is.  Deaden the
touch with constant contact and you lose the effect.   I might add that
the nose piece should be adjusted high enough on the horse's face to be
on bone, not on cartilage.
Neck reining gets it's start in direct reining, and IMHO is best taught
with a snaffle bit.
It integrates with the dressage technique of riding a circle on the
outside rein.  The short version is that when your horse will give to
either side quietly with a direct rein you start adding the weight of the
opposite rein on the neck and then gradually fade the direct signal.
Snaffle bits (defined by having the rein attached at the level of the
mouthpiece), especially a double jointed snaffle,  give the rider the
best opportunity to communicate clear signals to the horse via the bars
of the mouth because each side of the mouth can be *tickled* separately. 
A light signal from the right hand goes directly to the right side of the
jaw as the bit bends at its joints.  It is true that some riders use a
curb (leverage) bit with direct reining, but the effect is clearly
different.
Get a friend to play a game with you: one person is the horse and
balances the bit gently in cupped hands.  The other person is the rider
and uses reins to give signals. Use several different types of bits and
switch roles. Which bit allows you to detect the rein signals easily? 
Which gives the gentlest feel?  What happens when the *rider* gets
somewhat rough with her hands?  Try the hackamore.  How does the signal
get translated?  etc.
Experiment.
Have fun!

Marie McRae
still in snowbanks in upstate NY

When using a bit in the horse's mouth












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