how did your horse react when first using a hackamore?

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nikkinoo

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thinking of using a hackamore on my horse, just wondering how your horses/ponies have reacted when you first introduced them to a hackamore?

What bit were they in?

and do you still use the hackamore,

Im one of these riders that have always had a bit and find it a little bit intimidating switching to a hackamore as to me I just imaging it would be like riding with a headcollar if you know what I mean,

Do you have to ride differently or is i it just the same as if you were riding with a bit?

sorry loads of questions but never used one before.
 
I have used them on several horses with no trouble BUT when I tried one on my ultra sensible cob he had hysterics.

You need to think carefully about how the thing works. It gives an awful lot of leverage and can be quite vicious. You will also find you have less steering.
 
The horse I was riding was an appaloosa, his skin round his mouth was delicate and when ridden with gentle hands in various bits he would get sore skin. He was ridden in very mild bits - snaffle, french links, happy mouths etc

He took to it really well and within two days of pottering about in the field making sure he was used to it, we were out on the roads.

You just have to make sure you have gentle hands when using one as the pressure is all on the lower nose area.
 
Perhaps you could think about getting a cross pull (Dr Cook or similar)? The leverage with a hackamore can be very strong on a horses nose and steering is no better than with a side pull.

Personally I couldn't use one but I do ride both my sensibe 14 yo and mad 5yo in Dr Cooks - we have jumped and done flatwork as well as the long distnce stuff and I thoroughly recommend them
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I have a quirky ex-racer who is very fussy in her mouth and thought a hackamore would solve all problems. I tried it in the menage first and she seemed happy with it so went for a little hack down the road. She bolted with me!!!! I have very light hands but she just freaked out at the tiniest amount of pressure and ran from it, bolting down the road (which was fortunately a quiet country road)

I'm not trying to put you off though as my tb has some issues, but they can be quite severe in the wrong hands, but many people I know love them. They obviously work for some horses and not others.
 
I used one when my boy had his wolf teeth out, he is normally a snaffle but is very fussy in his mouth so I was hoping it would be a success. I tried it in the school, felt like I had no steering or brakes and he is relatively well schooled and will turn off my seat or leg and stop usually off my seat. He did also keep lowering his head to try to rub it off on his leg. A friend tried one on her very strong mare and loved it. She found her mare very responsive and she never spent a minute in the school, so the mare wouldnt turn off her leg etc.
 
I rode my endurance horse in a hackamore for years because he had a tendency to lean and pull on an ordinary bit. He took to the hackamore straight away and went really well in it out hacking. He couldn't lean on it so respected a very light contact. I always used a snaffle for schooling and jumping him though. With other horses I have had since then, I've tended to stick with a snaffle while they are young and try the hackamore once I start doing more with them. Some take to it better than others but it might be worth having an ordinary bit in and a second pair of reins to start with so you have the option if your horse doesn't take to the hackamore. I found you have to ride a different way with the hackamore, with very sensitive contact. Even my old horse would buck in it if I was at all heavy handed!
 
I used a hackamore on my TB after he got stung on the mouth by an insect, he was normally ridden in a KK ultra and occasionally in a tom thumb bit for x country. He went really well in the hackamore, I even took him x country in it with no problems. The steering feels a bit weird as you don't have the same outside rein contact as you would usually. I found I rode better with it as I was much more conscious of using my legs and seat properly with a very light rein contact.
Some horses seem to hate them and will overbend or just ignore it but worth trying.
 
Tried his lordship in the school with one, he refused to canter in it, tried pushing him and he started getting bucky, so we stick with the copper roller, he goes fine in that, I tend to try and ride with light as possible hands anyway, and let him have looser reins when on longer rides or when he is spooky/frightened of something so he doesn't feel constrained, only tighten up if he gets strong when cantering towards home normally
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, I ride very lazy, so one handed a lot of the time, he kneck reins lovely.
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i ride mine in a hackamore for jumping as otherwise he fly bucks majorly. hes ridden in a plastic coated french link rest of the time,
my horse does have issues but i find the hackamore great steering a couple times go out the window !
1st time he jumped in it he kept trying to get it off with his front feet, but has now settled in it
 
Mine went totally mad,he is normally very good to ride and loves his bit but i tried hackamore just the once and he bucked and bronked the whole time...never again
 
I swapped my fairly highly strung Welsh x TB into a hackamore when he started pursing his lips and putting his head in the air when he saw the bit. I rode him in the field to start with and he was fine, then hacked with it and we haven't looked back. He used to sometimes throw his head about in the bit but never does in the hackamore - he's been ridden in it for about two years now.
 
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