Thanks for the mecate info - another question. I see 4, 5, and 6-strands in the searching I’ve done. I suppose this goes along with how thick a mecate is - any feedback of thickness for a first go at a hackamore? And length?
[QUOTE=Fillabeana;7387206]
Wirt, you shouldn’t have to pull on the mecate once you have educated your horse as to what you mean. You should be able to direct.
If you always PULL on the rope, you are taking responsibility and a thinking response away from your horse.
Have you ever heard Ray Hunt, talking about a person who has had that taken away…always responding, ‘I dunno’ in a given-up, stoopid sort of voice?
Kind of seems nice at first to have a horse that responds quietly to pressure all the time…but you then realize that your horse isn’t participating much.
And, if you do have to pressure your horse by taking hold of the mecate to pull it and wait for his release, the horse should again already know what you mean, such that the bit pulling on the ‘wrong’ side of his mouth doesn’t confuse him.
You might also have the horse run into his own pressure on the end of the mecate, you can set that up also.
If your horse DOES get confused, which some do, by the bit pulling through their mouth in a funny direction, you go back to the halter (or the mecate through the bit) to ‘explain’ more clearly.
If you get off to open a wire gate, you should be able to send the horse right through from either direction, with your mecate…without threading it through the ‘right’ bit ring.[/QUOTE]
Yes you are right here. Especially about the over emphasis on a horse giving to pressure.
But you have a bit in their mouth for a reason. It is important that rein that slack comes out of the reins, the meaning of where you want their feet to go is clear. How they feel our hands in their mouth through the reins is very important. On the ground its easy. You can just use your body language to move their hind quarters. From the saddle, they can’t see us. They have to feel us. The message has to be clear. A direct connection to their tongue and corner of their mouth is not a pull. But it has meaning, and it must come from the correct direction, and the correct hand, along with what your legs are doing.
But in the case of the macate ending up on the wrong side, if a person has any feel at all, he ought to be able to let the horse feel his way through a slight moment of confusion. In this case, the horse would be feeling of you as well, and watching you.
When you are in the saddle, you wouldn’t think of touching one side of their mouth, when you meant the other. Ground work that does not relate to what your riding is just ground work. It is not in-hand work.
But these are fine points.
Thickness of the mecate should match the thickness of the bosal. If it isn’t an exact match, you can go down a bit on the mecate, but not much.
Strands, cores, etc…hopefully Aktill will chime in. I know a bit, but just probably enough to be dangerous here.
The very small diameter mecates, for two-rein setups or get-down ropes don’t have a core.
The larger diameter ones often do have a core, and as far as I know, that’s a good thing.
As far as length, you need a longer length if your horse is big so has a long neck, and also if you make a lot of use of the mecate from the ground, like when you are roping/doctoring and thus your reins are in ‘reins’ mode. You can always take a 22’ mecate and tie it onto the bosal specifically for groundwork, with a very long mecate and almost no reins.
And personal preference will figure into length as well, so you’re a bit blind on that one right now.
I know I’d order a 22’ if I was always riding my 14 hand cutting horse mare, and 24’ for my 16 hand OTTB, but I don’t know for the 15-something average horse.
The length costs more, but the extra length can be coiled somewhere out of the way.
Strands? Better wait for someone to answer your question. Best I can come up with is from the Martin Black website, which says, “We carry 6 strand mecates because they are the most versatile and durable.”
Just curious how your bosal/mecate hunt is going Pocket Pony?
Strand count affects mecates the same way that it does braided rawhide items. The smaller the strand, the less damage each strand can take before breaking. Not sure how Martin’s website is saying the opposite, but they may have other reasons (like better quality materials used for 6 strands vs 4 or something).
Like wire, the higher the strand count, the more flexible.
A core will also define the shape of the mecate differntly (tend to be more round).
Richard Caldwell said a mecate with a core (or a heart, was his term) had far more life to it, but higher strand counts didn’t last as long.
ARGH! I had a reply typed out but I lost it!
I did order a bosal from Bill Black. It is 5/8", leather, swell nose, and a little bit longer nose button to accommodate Mac’s big head. Can’t wait to get it but it will be a few weeks!
Adam, I did have a follow up question to your post. I’m not sure if you are saying that there is an actual core to a mecate, around which the hair is braided, or if the braiding itself produces a “core” - stiffer or more flexible mecate itself. Does my question make sense? The more strands, the more flexible, but less strong? So as a first mecate, would you want more or fewer strands? Keep in mind that I am by no stretch of the imagination in need of “working gear” and that this is for my own learning and progression.
Yes, good mecates are made with a heart or core, except for the little narrow bosalita or get-down versions for bridle horses. Yes, generally more stands is more flexible, but each strand can take less punishment because they’re narrower.
Mine are 6’s, if that helps.
