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I Love hackamore's.....they don't hurt the horse's mouth :D

The thing you really need to remember with hackamores is that they can be as strong or stronger than a pretty severe bit, and you can still hurt a horse with a hackamore if you use it improperly. A lot of people automatically assume that hackamores must be kinder because they don't go in a horse's mouth, but that just isn't true. Some of the long shank mechanical hackamores are extremely severe and you can easily break your horse's nose with one if you misuse it. The most important thing to consider is your horse's comfort and some horses love hackamores and other horses are very unhappy in one.

The long shanked hackamores work by applying pressure on a horse's nose and poll and act more like a curb bit than a snaffle. You get good stopping power in a shanked hackamore or curb bit but you sacrifice a lot of directional control and you can't achieve a sophisticated contact. Shanked hackamores aren't designed to be used with a soft steady contact like most riding disciplines require. They were originally used by western riders who steer by neck reining and just wanted a way to put some brakes on their horse. Mechanical hackamore and snaffle bit combinations, sometimes referred to as hackabits, are very popular in the jumper ring right now. The more sophisticated way to do that is to have a separate snaffle bit and hackamore on the horse and have a separate rein for each one, like you would do with a double bridle except the "curb" works on the horse's nose instead of its mouth. You would ride mainly off the snaffle rein and only add in curb pressure when you needed to, the same way you are supposed to use a double bridle for dressage. Some people hang on the curb rein and apply constant pressure to force a horse into a false frame, but this is not the correct way to use a curb. A lot of jumper riders will use a combination hackabit where the hackamore and snaffle are connected together and ride with just one rein attached to the hackamore shank because it's easier to have just one rein, but you lose the ability to apply snaffle and curb separately.

The non shanked hackamore like side pulls are basically a noseband with reins attached. This can work nicely if you have a horse that's sensitive to nose pressure and responds well to it. Back in the 60's Kathy Kusner had a TB named Aberali that she jumped in GPs and Puissance classes in a side pull hackamore. However, you have a lot less control in a side pull than in a plain snaffle, so if you have a horse that's not very trustworthy or a horse that's very unresponsive to nose pressure, a side pull isn't going to work well.

I know there are other western types of hackamores like bosals, but I have no experience with these and can't comment on how effective they are.

There are some types of bitless bridles that work by applying pressure around a horse's whole head, and they have a very slow "release" meaning that pressure does not immediately stop when you let go of the reins. Some of the supporters of this type of bites bridle love to claim that other hackamores are cruel because they apply pressure but their's is kind because it just gives a horse a "head hug". Pressure is pressure, even if you refer to it as a "head hug". If you have a very calm and relaxed horse this kind of bridle can work well. If you have a sensitive horse or a horse that can get upset if it feels too trapped or confined, using this kind of bridle on it is a wonderful way to make your horse rear up and panic because there's something squeezing its entire head.

As posted above they can be as harmful as a bit if put in the wrong hands, but I have used them on several barrel horses over the years and they work great. Keep in mind to adjust your bridle every once in a awhile so the hack will sit in a different spot on the horses nose. This keeps his nose from developing a "dead spot" and will keep him subtle and responsive: )

@Cheers, we used to have to jump courses without irons when I rode at a big hunter barn. That was still better than the dressage trainer who also schooled there who made her students learn to ride circles without a girth.

Now that is brutal. Only thing I hear about girths is instructors asking their students if they made sure it was on properly, students giving some sass because "they know how to put one on", and then falling off of the horse because it wasn't on properly.

hm...Maybe you get on the horse bareback, near it's bottom, then place the saddle and pad on and scoot yourself onto it? Or a really really tall mounting block?

Yes the lesson was on a line lounging. Girth was removed after mounting. You learned to sit centered real fast.

I use a hackamore on my gaming horse since I'm making fast movements and I don't want to get in his face so much but when I'm showing pleasure I like to use a nice heavy bit that gives my great control of where my horse is going. I had a beautiful Arab mare that had a hook tooth and I trained her in hack for everything pleasure and gaming she already had a very sensitive head and could spin on a dime in the blink of an eye. But I prefer to keep 2 head stalls so my horses know when to slow down or turn loose(:

I bought a horse who wasnt trained very well and wouldn't allow you to put a bit in her mouth. Like break ropes, halters, you name it pulling back or rearing up if you came at her with a bit. Rode great in a hackamore or halter. I did eventually get her to accept the bit just using some grain with the bit in my hand. After that I could ride her with bit, halter, or hackamore didnt matter. She was just treated poorly before I got her.