From: Elizabeth
Dear Jessica,
First, I really enjoy Horse-Sense. I always enjoy the questions/answers, have learned lots from you and from perusing the archives.
I have a question about beetle hackamores. I bought an Arab mare whom I was told was trained to ride in a beetle hackamore and to drive in a snaffle, but since I didn't have a beetle hackamore, that I could just ride her in a snaffle. But she made it quite plain the day I attempted to bridle her with the snaffle that she really wanted no part of that metal thing in her mouth! So I decided I'd just get the hackamore and searched a couple of places for prices/info on it. Other than riding this mare in the hackamore when I went to buy her, I know absolutely nothing about hackamores. When I asked the previous owner exactly what type of hackamore, she told me the "beetle" and to definitely not get anything with shanks on it. So my question is, what do you know/think/advise about beetle hackamores. My concern is that both locations where I've found one the product description clearly states for a horse that needs light control and great for a ride around the "pasture". It is specifically this "ride around the pasture" thing that is making me wonder - am I going to have any control over this horse on the trail or just be hanging on for the duration...? Light control is fine if that is all I need; I don't want anything more in my horse's mouth than necessary. I know too that this owner/trainer trains all of her horses in hackamores and rides them, even her stallions, everywhere in hackamores. I don't know a lot about the owner, but everything she has told me and everything I see from her website indicate that she is completely ethical and truthful. I'm just interested in finding out more about hackamores, this one in particular.
Thanks so much!
Elizabeth
"Light" is a relative term. The "light control" offered by some short-shanked mechanical hackamores is only "light" when you compare it with the jaw-breaking power of long-shanked mechanical hackamores.
The "beetle" hackamore falls into the category of mechanical hackamores, ALL of which are leverage bits. Mechanical hackamores offer strong control, but no finesse. They're designed to force the horse to lift its neck and tuck its head - some people regard them as "brakes". For trail-riding, the "beetle" is better than most, because the short shanks limit the amount of leverage created, but it still features a thin, hard noseband, shanks, and a chain under the jaw. Pressure on the reins puts pressure on your horse's head in three areas: the nose and the underside of the jaw (two very sensitive areas) and the poll. If you ride Western and prefer to do your trail riding on a LOOSE rein, this may work for you. Other, similar short-shank mechanical hacks would include the "S-hackamore" (so-called because it has short, s-shaped shanks. Another short-shanked hackamore is often called an "English hackamore in catalogues - for no apparent reason, as it's nothing to do with English riding - features a fleece-lined leather noseband, a curb chain, and short, swept-back shanks. All of these, if properly adjusted, will allow your horse to eat and drink whilst on the trail - the short shanks don't get in the way as badly as long shanks would. There are various ways to make these hackamores less uncomfortable for the horse - you can wrap the rope nosebands or cover them with sheepskin, and you can subsitute a soft leather strap for the curb chain. Still, the point of all of these hackamores is CONTROL, and ONLY control. If what you want is a steady, two-way flow of communication, you'll be better off leaving all of them in the tackroom.
I've worked with hundreds of Arabians, and almost all of them showed a decided preference for certain types of bits. Arabians typically have a small and shallow mouth, with a low palate; many also have a thick tongue. For a sensitive animal with this type of mouth conformation, a single-joint snaffle can be an extremely painful bit. When the rider puts pressure on both reins, the horse often ends up with its tongue being pinched and the center joint of the snaffle digging into the roof of its mouth. Many of the riders who've brought Arabians to my clinics on tack selection and fitting have discovered that what they previously thought was "Arabian attitude" was nothing more than a horse saying "Ow, that hurts!" or "I already know that's going to hurt, so don't put it in my mouth!". Quite a few people who ride, breed, and train Arabians don't want to get into arguments with their horses about bits, and don't know how to select an appropriate bit, so, probably very sensibly, put all of their horses into short-shanked mechanical hackamores instead. And if all you want to do is meander around the pasture or do some casual trail-riding, this can work. People like this generally ride on a loose rein, neck-rein their horses for turns, and use direct pressure only when they feel that they need to "hit the brakes".
The problem arises if and when the rider wants more communication with the horse, wants to ride on contact, and wants to sustain a dialogue through the reins. At that point, a tack change will be needed, because mechanical hackamores simply aren't suited for any of those purposes. So...
If you want to ride on contact, in a snaffle, the simplest solution will be for you to take a close look at your horse's mouth, measure it for a bit, and buy a suitable mullen-mouth snaffle (for a horse with a thinner tongue) or a French-link snaffle (for a horse with a thicker tongue), or a French-link Baucher (for a horse that finds it difficult to tolerate ANY tongue pressure). If you want to ride Western, in a curb, look for a simple "colt bit" with short, swept-back shanks and a solid, mullen-mouth or medium port mouthpiece (depending, again, on the thickness of the horse's tongue).
If you prefer to go without a bit entirely, I would suggest the Bitless Bridle (www.bitlessbridle.com) for the best combination of control and communication. There are other bitless options out there - one of the least expensive would be an English hackamore noseband, which fastens to your horse's headstall. It's basically just a thick, wide noseband (rope covered with leather) that fastens under the horse's jaw with a strap (like an ordinary noseband), and has rings for your reins.
Many endurance riders ride Arabians, and many of them like either the Bitless Bridle or a vosal, which is a different sort of mechanical hackamore - it's something like a mechanical version of a traditional rawhide bosal (although some look more like an "S-hackamore"). Vosals are made from many different materials - leather over rope, leather over steel, etc. - and can be used with leather or biothane headstalls. A vosal's main points of control are the nose and the soft area under the horse's jaw, so if you find that a conventional mechanical hack, even a short-shanked one, interferes too much with your horse's ability to eat and drink on the trail, a vosal might be a good solution, as it can give you strong control without the inconvenience of shanks. The riders I've seen do well with vosals all have steady seats and quiet hands - they use the reins lightly, and their horses usually neck-rein very well. And even then, some of them use sheepskin covers on the noseband, just because it's so very easy to remove hair from a horse's nose with a hard pull or a steady pull on the reins, especially over the course of a ride lasting several hours.
Whatever you do, be sure to take a close look at your horse's mouth, to note its conformation AND condition. Ask your vet to check your mare's teeth and float them if necessary. A horse with wolf teeth will be uncomfortable in ANY bit, and if the horse's molars have sharp edges, any pressure from a noseband or even from the cheeks of the Bitless Bridle can cause those edges to dig into - even cut - the insides of the horse's cheeks.
It sounds to me as though your mare was lucky enough to have a previous owner who knew to avoid long shanks on mechanical hackamores, and is now lucky for a second time, because her new owner cares about her comfort and wants to ensure good two-way communication through the reins. I'd like to advise you to take things slowly, though, and NEVER assume that your mare knows or understands or has been trained to do anything, on the ground or under saddle that you haven't actually seen her DO on the ground or under saddle. Treat her as if she knows nothing at all, and teach her everything you want her to know.
If there are things that your mare doesn't know, or doesn't know as well as you think she should (and there always ARE such things), you'll have the chance to teach her in a quiet, calm environment at home - as opposed to needing to do sudden remedial work because you discover an important hole in her training when you're on the trail, ten miles from home, and the weather has just become nasty. If you find that your mare already knows everything, hurrah, your work will be easy and brief - but it won't be a waste of your time. Just as no two horses are precisely alike, no two humans are precisely alike, and even if you and your mare's previous owner were the products of the same riding school and had been taught by the same instructor for ten years, there would still be a little bit of a learning curve whilst your mare adjusted to YOUR movements and tempo and personal style.
(Note to Elizabeth: Since HORSE-SENSE messages are archived and searchable for reader convenience, I encourage people with multiple questions to send each one separately. It's much easier for readers to find what they're looking for when each article involves only ONE specific question and answer. That's why your second question isn't here - I'll answer it separately.)
Jessica
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