Hackamore vs. Bosal?

Question

I'm thinking about switching to a hackamore and starting back at step one with my horse because he's not progressing and I'm going to go ahead and admit that I think I may have pushed him too hard and too fast.

So knowing that, I want to switch him to a hackamore and start his training completely over. I've heard of both the side pull hackamore and a bosal, but I'm unsure of which to use. My friend uses a bosal and it works really well for her, but I've heard of more people using a side pull hackamore for english. I ride english so I'm wondering which I should use.

Any reasonable suggestion or response will be considered, but I don't want someone that doesn't know what they're talking about or replying with a article from Wikipedia. I would like real opinions and answers.

Thanks, Megz

Answer 1

To those that are speaking negatively of bosals, my question would be, did you train your horse to it, or hop on and go.

Depending on if its side pull, bit, hack, bosal, it doesn't matter, training has to be done for each of these for the horse to understand the responses of each.

While I'm not a big fan of a hackamore, due to the fact that it gives more of a nutcracker effect and its cues for back up etc can be misleading. I do know people that use it on hard to bit horses and get along ok. However, I do see alot of head shaking horses with mechanical hacks also.

I ditto the side pull from everyone. If you don't know how to use a bosal i wouldn't recommend using it on a horse.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I've never seen or heard of anyone using a bosal for english riding... Not to say that you couldn't do it if you really wanted to, but I don't think it would be the most sensible choice.

Keep in mind that if you plan on showing, you may not be able to use a hackamore/bosal. The only place a hackamore considered acceptable is in show jumping (I doubt a bosal would be legal even there), if you plan on doing dressage or hunters, you'll eventually have to switch back to a normal bit.

Also remember that anything, whether it's a bit or a hackamore, can be harsh in the wrong hands. Don't assume that a hackamore is milder, in some cases it could be harsher (I've always heard that bosals are something that should only be used by experienced riders because it can be severe when used incorrectly.) Hackamores put pressure on the sensitive spots on the horse's face, so if they're not used properly they can be uncomfortable for the horse.

Answer 3

I agree with Delta Dawn -- a hackamore can be MUCH harsher than a bit!

When I changed to a hackamore, I was surprised that my horse didn't need any training -- it worked perfectly, just like the bridle and bit, from the very first. But I soon learned that if I pulled to hard -- well, if pulled hard enough I believe it could have taken my horse right off his feet. So I never let anyone else ride with the hackamore. And even then I didn't use it when I thought we'd be someplace he might try to pull a lot. It was just too harsh -- but he LOVED it when we were just on a relaxing ride!

Answer 4

A Hackamore will ultimately give you more control than the bosal, because unless your horse keeps his head down, you are in deep trouble.

Hackamore's are a firm way to ride, yet they don't correct as harshly. I use one on my head shy thoroughbred.

Answer 5

I used to use a Hackamore because my horses mouth was hard....DON EVER DO THAT! . In shows when i got a clear round n went for the jump off it was very difficult for me to turn so i started to use a Jointed thin Snaffle that worked n he doesn't pull any more.

Answer 6

I use a side pull. Because I teach my horses neck rein & leg ques. I think the side pull is better with training. I Have found the bosal rubs hair off the nose. So if you use the bosal get it wrapped.

Answer 7

Definetaly hackamore if you would ask a proffesional horse trainer they would tell you to use a hackamore because lots of p[eople start out that way its agood way to start your foundation in training.

Answer 8

hackamore, thats were it really helped me with my one horse

Answer 9

neither. both are way too harsh. go with a bitless bridle. same concept, but instead of putting pressure across the nose, it puts pressure over the whole head. i ride hunter jumper and use a bitless with my horse. email me if you have more questions.

and, you can show in one. everything except dressage.

Answer 10

We start all of our horses and restart the problem horses that we get in with a side pull. I use the ones that have the latigo noseband which I cover with almost an entire roll of vetrap to make it nice and cushy, if that still does not make it cushy enough, I wrap gauze padding around it first, then do the vetrap. This allows it to have more give on the nose instead of rubbing it like it tends to do.

The other thing about side pulls that just do not ever fit a horse correctly (especially if their head is narrow or small) is the cheekpiece not getting up to their eyes. So, you need to use a small piece of baling string or thin rope to attach to one side and then under the branches of the jaw and then over to the other side. Most of them have rings on the side where this will need to attach to. If your horse does have a small head (cob sized or small full size) most side pulls will not fit them without lots of hole punching. I dont know what elephant that they make these for, but I have yet to have a horse that large to put it on. Make sure to adjust everything correctly for your horse, throatlatch, your new strap under the jaw, the cheeckpieces, and the chin strap. The actual nose piece should not be as high as a cavesson should be, it should be in the middle of their nose (so not too far down but lower than the two fingers width below the cheekbone for the cavesson setting). This will give you the most control with being able to move their head. Just think of it if you were on the ground moving their head around, how hard is it to move their head if your hand is higher on their nose, then in the middle and then lower. The mid section they are much more flexible.

In a side pull you can work on many things. The reason why I personally start off with these is that it is the most like a halter and it is more forgiving than a bit in their mouth. You do have a lot of control, since you still have their head so to speak, but you are not risking harming their mouth and causing them to be hard in the mouth since you are using nose pressure. Vaqueros and other spanish trainers have used a series of nose band type cavesons/bosals for centuries to start horses with. They believe that this teaches the horse how to give correctly. They do have gentle ones through harsh ones that they use depending on the horse. They transition to the horse wearing a bit by using a leather strap gently tying their tongue and their lower chin to get them used to something in their mouth, then they move to a rubber bit looking thing that the horse solely carries in their mouth (I dont know why they still use rubber after all of the research that it cause saliva to dry up and make the mouth harsher), then they move onto bits but they still use the nose band. Both the bit and the nose band/bosal have a set of reins for each one of them. Then after the horse is considered trained they move to reins on the bit only, and finally the horse is considered a finished horse.

This is a similar process to what we use. I had done it this way for years before I found out about the spanish training methods. I was very surprised to see how similar they are. We always ground drive all of our horses prior to riding them, and we even ground drive them with the side pull. The side pull can be harsh on the horse's nose, but by wrapping it, it helps to prevent injury to their nose. After they are ground driving and working in side reins on the long lines or lunge line, then we start putting the saddle on, and then we start getting on them. We keep our horses on the lunge line with an experienced handler/trainer on the end of the line and our experienced rider/trainer on the horse. They learn to walk, stop, trot, and canter on the lunge line prior to being turned loose. We find that this gives us more control than being in a round pen loose. We do have a large round pen, but have had greater results doing it this way. After the horse is walking, trotting and stopping on the lunge line great, we turn the rider and horse loose after the bulk of the work. They then work on things off of the line that have already been introduced on the ground and the line such as bending, flexing, yielding from pressure, etc. After they have accomplished everything on the line, then we work them loose. This method works great for us, we have horses that are ready to show in much less time than working them in any other way, and the training lasts for much longer. In general a horse with 15 rides on it at our place is equal to most other people's horses with 30 or more rides on them.

After the horse is working great in the side pull with flexing, moving off of the nose pressure, and such, then we introduce the bit by the long lining or ground driving and even side pulls on the lunge line. Each day we ask a little more out of the horse. If the horse has a serious issue of switching over to the bit from the side pull (we have had this happen not even a handful of times), then we do one of two things. Either we put a bradoon hanger with the bit on it under the side pull and have reins on both or we use the transitioning side pull with has a bit on it as well. Either will work, it just depends on what bit you want to use and if it will fit that horse. We use a medium mouthed D ring snaffle with a big copper roller in the middle as the first bit for almost every horse. I think that we might have used a different bit on two horses in the past five years, but that was because they were smaller ponies that we could not get a small enough bit like this for. This bit works well on most horses, and is something that they can be started in and continued to be ridden in throughout their life. It can also be shown in (except for dressage and then a french link can be substituted). The copper roller keeps them happy since they have something to play with while the copper encourages them to salivate to keep their mouth soft, the medium mouth is not something that is too harsh, the way that the bit is broken up like a french link allows the bit to mold around their mouth instead of breaking in two and pressing on their bars, and the D ring helps keep it easy on the side of their mouth.

I would not use a bosal because it will not be appropriate in English. It also is not giving you the pressure where you want it at. The side pull puts the pressure on an area which is similar to the side pieces of a bit. The bosal is going to put the pressure under the chin which is not where an english bit would go. Now if you were games (and going to use a quick stop sort of thing later on), it would be better to use the bosal to get them used to the pressure. We start all of our horses in the method listed above whether they are hunters, dressage, saddle seat, western pleasure, working western, etc.

The normal hackamore, I would not go with either, since if you are showing in most rated shows, you will not be able to use it. Even in some fun or open shows where they would be allowed, the judge may not prefer them and hold it against you that you are using them (since they are not allowed in most other events). It really depends on the judge and since it is the judge's opinion of how the class is being judged (except in actual jumpers and not hunters), they have the right to do that. If you are doing jumpers, then you would be fine with the hackamore.

To answer your question, it really depends on what your horse needs and what you feel most comfortable with using. Not every bit or contraption is right for every horse or for every rider. If you have a trainer, ask them to see not only what their opinion is but what they have experience using. That way if you need help, you have chosen something that they are comfortable with using in order to help you.

Since you have been riding the horse, I would be very cautious in just throwing something up on the horse and riding. The horse may not listen and may not stop or may even take off because they are frustrated with it. Always start from ground zero with ground work when you are doing something like this. Teach them to stop, to give, to flex, and always reward and remove the pressure when they do what you want them to do.