February Tack and Training Tips
Vol 4 2009
Welcome to my tack and training tip of the month!
(Please keep in mind that these are methods I use most everyday and have worked for me in the past. However all horses are different as well as peoples feel and timing are different from my own. Please exercise safety first for both horse and handler.)
With the air less chill and the sun lingering in the sky more each day our minds turn to spring and riding. We find ourselves putting off house cleaning to clean our saddles and tack or taking more time to clean the mud out of our horse's mane and tail. Weather it's our imagination or there really is a touch of green to the pastures it simply means that riding season is just around the corner.
With that riding season comes questions. Is the bit I'm using right? Would my horse do better in a hackamore? What exactly is a hackamore and how do find the right one? Have you ever thought this? Well if you have then you will like this month's tack tip. If you have ever looked into getting a Bosal then you know there are a lot of choices out there and a lot of terms that you might not understand. This month I hope to shed some light on those questions.
The
Bosal is made of braided rawhide over a core.
This core is very important. There are metal cores, rope cores but the most recommended is a rawhide core. A rawhide core is strips of rawhide cut into even strips. Using a rawhide core allows the bosal to be bent or shaped while still retaining the original shape and is more forgiving for your horse.
Plats are the number of rawhide strips are braided over the core. The higher the plats or plys the better the bosal. Average number of plys is about 16 for most working bosals.
Beveled edges means that each strip of rawhide that is braided has had the edges carefully rubbed or sanded off. This makes the bosal much smoother to the touch.
A Fiador is basically the throat latch of the Hackamore. It attaches to the bosal at the bottom above the heel knot then runs to a fiador knot then up through the headstall. These are usually made of a soft cotton or poly rope or can be made out of horse hair as well. These are recommended to use on the larger diameter bosals to keep the bosal from slipping or bumping the horses jaw and chin too hard.
The reins for a hackamore are often made from a soft rope or mane hair. Mane hair is softer than tail hair and has a good feel and life to it. A larger diameter Mane hair Mecate usually has a core inside of the twisted strands of mane hair. The better ones have mane hair cores. A smaller mecate has no need of a core. Most mecates are 22 to 24 feet long to allow for a loop rein and a lead line. Each mane hair mecate is different and unique having between 4 to 6 different strands. It's key to choose the diameter of the reins to match that of the bosal.
A hanger is often a latigo strap braided on to the bosal but can also be made out of a headstall.
Common diameters are 3/4, 5/8, ½, 3/8, and ¼ inch. The smaller diameters are for the more broke horse that is moving into the bridal (moving into a bit) and are made to fit under the bridal and bit so that the rider can still use the bosal and introduce the bit slowly. The smaller diameter is often called pencil bosals or Bosalitas.
A Hackamore is the combination of a Bosal, Hanger, Fiador (optional) and reins or a Mecate.
A hackamore is a wonderful piece of training equipment but not for the inexperienced. If you've only rode a few times best put this one on the wish list. It's just as easy to create a well seasoned hackamore horse as it is to spoil one on it. The harder your hands the harder the horses face will be. The bosal works off of pressure points on the horses face and if pulled on too hard can cause your horse to "numb up" or stop responding to your hands. A good rule of thumb is that if your horse responds to a rope halter with softness then he just might benefit from the hackamore.
Most folks start with a 5/8 inch and move to a smaller diameter over time. Its considered a symbol of honor to show someone the mane hair mecate worn smooth of its prickles and most long time hackamore fans will say that only when that new mecate is worn smooth is it time to move on to the next step. It also helps to drop your horse down into the snaffle again once in a while; when you go back to the hackamore you'll be pleasantly surprised.
There are many places to purchase a good hackamore set up but don't be surprised to find that it is going to cost around $300 and up. Martin Black has a wait list of almost a year for his bosals, Les Vogt, Big Bend saddlery, Don Brown, Hagels Mecates or Benny Gutron all create wonderful works of art with their bosals and mecates. If you're interested in taking the next step in your horses training, take some time to really look each one over before deciding.
These pictures are of a rope hackamore complete with a Fiador. A Don Brown bosal with Beveled edges and a show bosal that has a 32 plat nose. Notice how tight and smooth it looks. Almost every bosal that you find has been treated or will be treated with Ray Holes Rawhide cream.
These two mecates are mane hair. Hagel mecats are a very sought after rein prized for their softness and feel or life. mecates.com I think it is. She makes them for Buck Brannaman as well as other top trainers.
Others can be ordered with your bosal. I have found that for these you can use cowboy magic detangler and shine in small amounts to give it a softer feel. Although you shouldn't try to break off the prickles but allow them to be worn off.
Last month we worked on getting our horses head and neck soft and responsive both latterly and vertically in the halter. That softness is key to our next step in creating a responsive and willing partner. This month I wanted to go over hindquarter disengagement from the ground that will directly translate under saddle. This method is simple and easy for the horse to understand and you are actually using a saddle and stirrup so that your horse will know exactly what you are wanting when it comes time to ride.
What you'll need: Good rope halter, lead line, saddle pad and good fitting saddle.
Problems encountered: Horse runs sideways, kicks out, try's to buck, pushes into you, or try's to yank his head away.
I recommend getting the fresh off of your horse first and practicing last months flexing exercises before beginning this months. Standing at an angle to your horses shoulder ask him to flex latterly towards you. With your free hand take hold of the stirrup and start by simply swinging your arm up and down. Make sure you are not hitting your horse with the stirrup but only moving it. Most horses will run sideways or jump forward. Do the stirrup fenders make a slapping sound? If not then you are not swinging them just right. The idea is to desensitize your horse to this new set of noises and movements. Even an old broke horse should have this done once in a while. This helps if ever a stirrup should get hung up while out on the trail, someone slaps the saddle or you drop a stirrup while saddling. Stay with your horse but make sure that you have them flexed slightly so that they can only circle you. When they stop, so do you. Rub all over their side and hip.
When they are comfortable with that move on to throwing the stirrup up over the saddle as though you were checking the cinch. When I say throw it I mean throw it so that it makes a sound coming up over the saddle. Your hand should move fairly quickly when doing this. Each time you throw it up rub your horses neck and let it fall back gently then do it again. These exercises tell you how your horses mind is working and weather or not he is guarding his hip not to mention jump starting his brain.
Now that we have his brain focusing on what we are doing and he is relaxed with our movements its time to move on to the next step. No matter if you want flying lead changes or just want your horse to stop more fluidly it can't be obtained without hindquarter control.
Stand at an angle to your horse's right shoulder and flex his head latterly or towards you. Place your right hand with the lead line on the saddle near the horn or pommel. Take your left hand and move your stirrup back to where your rear flank strap would be. It's important to exaggerate the placement of the stirrup because as we continue training the movements become more refined but for now we don't want to confuse him into thinking ribs or shoulder only hind. Now gently bump your horse with the stirrup and click to him. Keep his head and neck soft so that he doesn't try to walk out into a circle. Some horses will try to pull their head away when doing this so take hold of the saddle pad or strings on the saddle to steady your hand. When he crosses his hind feet and steps away release his head and rub where you were bumping him with the stirrup.
Use only as much pressure as is needed to move him over. If he ignores the cue simply keep upping the pressure of your bumps until he does move. The front feet should stay relatively still while the hind moves to the left. When you feel they are doing it well move over to the other side.
Not only are we teaching them to move their hindquarters we are showing them that they can move with their head and neck flexed and soft. This is the stepping stone of having them walk a circle around your leg while staying soft and supple. . This exercise helps the nervous horse or the horse that won't stand still while you try to get on as well because as we are doing this our horses head is bent allowing them small degree of shoulder or forward movement while creating unbalance of crossing their feet.
In this set of pictures you can see body placement as well as hand placement. In the last photo I am asking him to move to the right so I would be standing at his left shoulder, lead line in left hand and right hand on the stirrup. You can clearly see his feet crossing over correctly.
Thanks for reading this months Tack and Training article and I sure hope yuns liked it. Remember saftey first for both horse and handler. If anyone should ever have questions please don't hesitate to ask.