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Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
 
| Did you start your horse in a hackamore? Or did you gradually move to it? I have a 5 year old that works super well in a hackamore but I don't know how she would be on the barrel pattern with it. She is just starting on barrels, so I don't know if it would be a mistake to try to move her to a hackamore for pattern work.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 824
Location: Duvall, WA | I have one, but she came to us sooooo broke that it was decided just to put her in a hackamore. I think I would want to be sure your's was really broke AND comfortable and confident running the pattern first. I have always heard a horse who really wants to can run off in a hackamore. Wouldn't want that. . . |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 972
Location: Texas! | My gelding runs in a hack but will run in a chain lifter bit he just is super broke and will get hung up if you hold onto his face at all. I broke him in a snaffle used a hack to really teach him rate when he was young. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
| She is well broke, however she is green on barrels. She just seems a lot more comfortable riding in a hack, but I rarely see people running in them. From what it sounds like so far most of the horses are broke on the pattern with a bit then switch to a hack? |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 682
Location: Northwest | cn1705 - 2018-01-30 7:18 PM
She is well broke, however she is green on barrels. She just seems a lot more comfortable riding in a hack, but I rarely see people running in them. From what it sounds like so far most of the horses are broke on the pattern with a bit then switch to a hack?
I have a super noodely, very light mare (I always joke that you can almost ride her with no ques and just your mind). I started her in a bit but put a Jim warner hack on her one day just to see how it would go and have never looked back. She’s green on the barrels and I just took her to her first time only. She did great, I seriously doubt that I’ll ever run her in a bit. She’s not ratey but she’ll will not run by a barrel.
Edited by 07milch 2018-01-30 10:42 PM
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 Miss Laundry Misshap
Posts: 5271
| My gelding came broke. But the people who broke him used a regular old tom thumb. He has a narrow pallet and they hurt his mouth. He HATES bits. I bought, sold, and traded probably 20 different bits from mullen to chain. He's also a noodle. Jim Warner hack is his friend. He patterned in it (his pattern prior included going directly at the barrel!) and it worked just fine. I don't see an issue with patterning them in one. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1631
Location: Somewhere around here | I've had two horses that I bought that we're ridden in bits and I switched them to hacks. One was too noodly even with just a snaffle bit and the other had a pretty light face doing anything. She also was trained Western pleasure for a long time I think the hack helped her loosen up and stretch out more. Ironically both were Paints. Never had another horse (for almost 10 years now) prefer a hack more than a bit. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 460
| I had one kind of on the opposite end of the spectrum than the others. When I got her, she was a dead run off. She had absolutely no mouth, whether you had in a chain, snaffle, combo or curb. Someone gave me the best advice ever, and told me to try a hack...never looked back! Once she realized she had no bit to grab and run with, she settled right down! I rode her in the hack for about 30 days (she'd only had 90 days, supposedly, when I bought her). Then I started her on barrels soon after. Really, it doesn't matter what bit or hack you use to run barrels, as long as it works for you two! I would have never put a bit back on that mare =] |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1056
| Jim Warners are the best.......Love them |
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I have run a lot of horses in hacks, but I still prefer to pattern them in a bit. It seems to give me a more immediate response than a hack. Most of the time, I've gone to a hack so I could get out of their face or free them up, but in training, I need them to immediately react when I ask for something.
Years ago, my brothers each had a horse that didn't like bits, and we patterned those older horses in hacks, so it can be done. I just personally want more feel when I'm patterning or tuning one. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| I think because she is green on the pattern, a bit would be the direction to go. If you go out on trails, ride her in a hack. I think you can get more out of horse in a bit, i.e. collection, shape, and softness. Once she is seasoned and you still think a hack is the way to go, then switch her over. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
| Thanks for the replies! |
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