Re: hackamores

[Lif Strand <fasterhorses@gilanet.com>]

Yeah, she was using a mechanical hackamore, but you know, I have to
disagree about relegating them to the trash pile.  I have found that I
can ride with a loose rein, where you just barely feel the weight of the
shanks, and then it takes the teensiest wiggle to communicate to the
horse what you want.  A well trained (mechanical) hackamore horse is a
delight to ride, and nobody is forcing anybody to inflict pain on a
horse when using a hackamore (or any other equipment).

I  have found that those of my horses that will go in a riding halter
(which is just about all of them) and who are caught up in the spirit of
the start of a ride, if you know what I mean, benefit from my using a
mechanical hackamore till the first vet check.  By the way, I use
leather chin straps or wrap a chain in vet wrap, and use the shortest
shanks I can find.  But even with longer shanks, the idea when using one
is to use the least amount of rein as possible.  I use this particular
tool as a form of communication, not control.

Good bosals are expensive & unfortunately puppies & foals will chew them
up if their owner is stupid enough to leave them where they can be
reached.  Another problem with bosals:  When you first use them, it is
usually painful because of the rubbing/pressure on the jaw bones and
nasal bones, till the horse gets used to it.  That's why we ride our
horses, including our stallion, in a riding halter.

(Note for people who will object:  When racing our  stallion, we didn't
use a riding halter!  He was extremely well behaved, but other people
would get nervous about seeing what they perceived as a "lack of
control" situation.  So for their sakes, we always raced him in a
hackamore.)

                                    ____________
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