 |
Re: [RC] Bitless Bridle/Mech Hack - agilbxrFor several years, I rode Alpine in a mechanical hackamore, the rubber wrapped bicycle chain 8 inch shank kind. And yes, they can run through them. Quite well as a matter of fact. I had the bleeding hands to prove it.
Alpine is one of those horses that just likes to go FAST. He will stop in a halter if I sit down and say "whoa", but he won't slow down. He walks fast, corto's fast, and canters fast. I've worked for 6 years putting a medium speed on him. Just recently, we found out he can go slow. It was a shock. It was also 95 degrees out. Hmm.....
I now ride him in a Myler combination bit, it has a hard rubber wrapped bicycle chain hackamore piece with the comfort snaffle for the bit, and about 2 inch shanks. I'll have to take a picture of it...it's custom ordered. That's been the best thing I ever got for him. He can go through any bit, any hack. But he respects the myler combo, and goes along at a very relaxed easy pace with it. For the first time, I can ride him in gait or at a canter on a loose rein, and he's not constantly speeding up. What a pleasure!!!! For both of us.
Now, I if I could just figure out how to keep Spot from bucking, we'd be fine.
Juli and the crew
Alpine (on vacation!!!)
Spot (never buck when it's 98 degrees out and mom has access to a round pen. She'll make you work VERY hard in the heat) -----Original Message----- From: Zephyr Arabians <z_arabs@xxxxxxxxx> To: Kristen A Fisher <kskf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Fri, 8 Jul 2005 10:51:49 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: [RC] Bitless Bridle/Mech Hack --- Kristen A Fisher <kskf@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > So can you explain why the mechanical hackamore give > more control? I have > seen a lot of people use them and know they have > some leverage, but don't > have a good idea of how they work. It has the leverage & "nutcracker" action of a curb bit, just without the bit through the mouth. Like curb bits, the amount of pressure is determined by the length of the shanks; mechanical hackamores are available in a wide variety of styles and levels of severity. The degree of "whoa" can also be altered by the material across the nose (wide, skinny, soft, hard) and the choice of curb chain or curb strap. But, even a mild mechanical hack -- like the "Little S" or the "Beetle" or the "jumping hackamore" -- can have quite a "whoa" on them in comparison to a non-shanked bit. Here's a Little S: http://www.sportack.com/images/ASH04.jpg As you can see, the shanks are quite short, so this is about as mild as mechanical hackamore leverage gets. However, most Little S hackamores are made with that stiff nose, which does offer some "bite" across the nose (some sellers do offer them with softer/milder materials as well). The Little S works well for endurance because of the design the shanks don't hang below the mouth and make it really easy for the horse to eat & drink while wearing it. Here's a Beetle: http://www.barrelracer.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/hackbeetl.jpg It has a tad longer shanks than the Little S, and I've never seen one without the stiff single rawhide nose. Here's the one that used to be called a "jumping hackamore" or "English hackamore" but I rarely see it called that anymore (and is always sold in the "western bits" sections of catalogs not English anymore): http://images.auctionants.com/5-105278.jpg It's got 6" cheeks, so similiar leverage to the Little S, but this one always has that wide, padded nose. This is the mechanical hackamore that I've used the most & use on my gelding (I also wrap the chain in vetwrap to help prevent pinching). Then, on the other end of the spectrum from those three relatively mild hackamores, you have this: http://www.moonrakerqh.com/tack/gfx/bit-25-1000.jpg That one has 8" to 9" shanks (lots of leverage) and a rubber wrapped bike chain nose (lots of bite). You won't find many horses that will run through a hackamore like that (I'm sure they exist, but I wouldn't want to ride them!). There are a WIDE variety of mechanical hackamores out there. And, like any bit, they are really only as harsh or as mild as the hands they're in. ~Nicole Zephyr Arabians http://www.zephyrarabians.com KattWmn Web Design http://www.kattwmn.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|