Hackamore/bitless help

[emfen1305]

After months of battling with trying to find a bit to suit my cob, I am throwing in the towel and going bitless. I have had everything checked twice over and none of the vets, dentists, saddler or physio can find any physical reason why he can't work into a contact or why he gets so bunched up and stressed out during my lessons. He does the same out hacking unless you give him the entire length of the rein, if you try to pick him up he starts with the chomping and his mouth gets very sore at the sides. I have tried every bit and mouthpiece I can think of from a simple eggbutt snaffle up to two different NS, a Sprenger, two types of bomber and 2 mylers which as you can imagine has been quite expensive and I think I could start my own bitbank!

Last night I rode him in a headcollar about halfway through my lesson because he was being that fussy and had started to rub his mouth and I didn't want to make it worse. He was like a different horse, really responding to my leg and voice and steering was absolutely no issue like I thought it would be.

With this in mind I am going to try bitless. I have ridden him before in a bitless micklem as part of my trials but didn't see much difference so discounted it. My instructor recommended a hackamore as the bit he gets on with the most is a pelham so the leverage action is similar so I think i'll try this first - can I just get a hackamore "noseband" or should I buy the entire bridle? Are all hackamores the same or are there slightly stronger/milder ones? I don't need the stopping power but just need something to keep his head in check.

Sorry for the rambly post, in short I am looking for hackamore recommendations so any advice given would be much appreciated!

 

[Shay]

There are several different types of hackamore I'm afraid. You can hire them just as you can normal bits which is probably a good way to start. The Bit bank has 5 types; the bit hire shop has 8. (Not all available for hire - but most) You only need to buy an entire bridle if you are going toward a cross under type like the Dr Cook. You can get a side pull headcollar from Kramer for less than £10 if you want to try that at a reasonable cost.

In general terms the longer the shank on the bit the greater pressure that can be applied - but that doesn't necessarily make the bit stronger if used correctly - but perhaps the communication possibilities more nuanced? Perhaps chat to the bit bank / bit hire shop and see what their experience is.

 

[joosie]

My mare is in a scawbrig. It has a hackamore effect but is quite mild, and works like a sidepull in terms of steering. She loves it and goes beautifully in it with the softest of contact.

 

[emfen1305]

There are several different types of hackamore I'm afraid. You can hire them just as you can normal bits which is probably a good way to start. The Bit bank has 5 types; the bit hire shop has 8. (Not all available for hire - but most) You only need to buy an entire bridle if you are going toward a cross under type like the Dr Cook. You can get a side pull headcollar from Kramer for less than £10 if you want to try that at a reasonable cost.

In general terms the longer the shank on the bit the greater pressure that can be applied - but that doesn't necessarily make the bit stronger if used correctly - but perhaps the communication possibilities more nuanced? Perhaps chat to the bit bank / bit hire shop and see what their experience is.

Ah I see, my own experience of them so far is my friends horse being in one about 10 years ago and it was the bog standard one, seems there are a lot more on the market nowadays!

I quite like the look of this one because of the shorter shank https://www.kramer.co.uk/Hackamore....S&ref=Produktportal/googleUK&subref=350275--S

His show pelham was made with shorter shanks as he has quite a small mouth so I am wondering with a shorter shanked hackamore would suit him a bit better.

Thanks for your advice on the bit bank front, I'll get in touch!

 

[Charlie31]

I've just started using a Stubben hackamore on my horse who also objected to the bit in a similar way to yours. It's basically the same design as an ordinary English hackamore but they've tweaked it so that the cheekpieces won't move forward and rub near the eyes when you pick the reins up, which apparently can happen with a normal hackamore.

They're not cheap (about £70) but either the bit bank or the horse bit shop do it on trial. We both took to it straight away, I don't find the steering any different really to in a bitted bridle and most of the time I forget that I'm actually using anything different. I don't have to put up with the constant chomping and snatching though now which is a definite bonus.

Prior to that we tried a sidepull and both hated it but obviously different things suit different horses and riders.

Only thing is you might have to get some shorter cheekpieces as they do end up fitting several holes higher than with a bit.

 

[Sleipnir]

I ride in an Orbitless hackamore and my rather strong and opinionated WB really prefers it to any other bridle we've tried - he's also very against any kind of bit in his mouth, so that defined my choice. The Orbitless has several settings from milder to stronger, can be used as a simple sidepull and can be switched from poll/chin pressure to nose/chin, whichever the horse prefers, so they're quite versatile!