Rope halter or hackamore for trail riding

[enjoytheride]

I’d like to take my eventing ayrab out trail riding. She has a solid whoa even out XC, works off my seat, and tends to be a bit on the lazy side although she has plenty of get up and go if I require it.

I rode her in a rope halter last night in the arena and had plenty of whoa, does anyone ride in a rope halter with the rings in the knots? Mine didn’t have rings so I was a bit lost as to wear I should attach the reins. She doesn’t neck rein. We would be mostly walking and trotting with maybe a canter or two tossed in.

How much more whoa would a S hackamore have with the leather nose piece? I don’t want too much but I want enough.

[BumbleBee]

From a friends experience a month ago if they get loose some how in a rope halter you will worry yourself sick that they are caught somewhere in a rope unlikely to break.

Her horse was lost for 24 hours and obviously got hung up somewhere as the rope reins came untied. If you are going to ride out in one of those I would add a breakable fuse just in case. No one slept the night he spent loose.

[trailpal]

I used to do lots of trails in S. California on my distance Arab - lots of conditioning, not so many rides. I mostly rode in an English hack (my horse had never been trained to a bit) and eventually rode our regular routes in a rope halter. I used the two loops at the bottom of the halter to snap my reins to and he did fine - he was responsive to my seat for a lot of the cues. However, he did get strong in competition and I only used his hack then.

Looking back, I should have had some sort of fuse or breakable piece “just in case” but we did that for 8 years with no problem.

[Stushica]

Part of how much woah you get in a hackamore will (correct me if I’m wrong!) depend on the tightness of your chin strap sort of like a shanked bit. As far as rope halters go, I have made a few of my own and like to but extra knots in the nose piece to give them less surface area to lean on and give you a little bit more woah. I also just snap the reins to the loop where the lead rope goes so they can’t slide around. The down sides to rope halters are getting loose, as well as, if your horse doesn’t want to turn they can slide up into their eyes, and of course if they bolt… well… good luck lol

I also wanted to add I love your arabs!!

[Timex]

[QUOTE=BumbleBee;7065496]
From a friends experience a month ago if they get loose some how in a rope halter you will worry yourself sick that they are caught somewhere in a rope unlikely to break.

Her horse was lost for 24 hours and obviously got hung up somewhere as the rope reins came untied. If you are going to ride out in one of those I would add a breakable fuse just in case. No one slept the night he spent loose.[/QUOTE]

As I had commented on the ‘western halter’ thread in the eventing forum, there’s a horse here in NY that is missing, had been taken trail riding with his Unbreakable rope halter under his bridle, and got away from his rider. The fear is he’s hung up somewhere.

[chicamuxen1]

I really like the “English” style hackamores. If you horse is relaxed you can ride with a nice loose rein and of course they are very free to eat and drink more comfortably than with a bit in their mouth. But if the horse bolts or get revved up and the halter training flies out the window you will still have stop and control with the hackamore. I prefer the English style hackmore over the Little S hackamore. I’ve used both and found the design of the English hackamore places the chain lower on the jaw where it fits nicely in the groove just behind the chin. I got better response and “give” with that hackamore and chain placement. The Little S and many other hackamores place the narrow chains further up the jaw on boney ridges. Just my experience.

Bonnie S.

[chicamuxen1]

I really like the “English” style hackamores. If you horse is relaxed you can ride with a nice loose rein and of course they are very free to eat and drink more comfortably than with a bit in their mouth. But if the horse bolts or get revved up and the halter training flies out the window you will still have stop and control with the hackamore. I prefer the English style hackmore over the Little S hackamore. I’ve used both and found the design of the English hackamore places the chain lower on the jaw where it fits nicely in the groove just behind the chin. I got better response and “give” with that hackamore and chain placement. The Little S and many other hackamores place the narrow chains further up the jaw on boney ridges. Just my experience.

Bonnie S

[candysgirl]

http://www.handcraftedjewls.com/Handcrafted%20Jewels/Side%20Pulls.htm. I have one of these.

I also have one of these: http://store.runningbear.com/catalog/display.php?cartid=476c44b462c87&zid=1&lid=1&cat=37&scat=284 I like the bio one a lot. I use it for day to day stuff with the bit on it. For trail rides or just playing around after a schooling ride, I’ll pull the bit off (I can do it from the saddle) and go wander around.

Neither of these has much ‘woah’, but I haven’t had an issue. My horse listens no matter what’s on his face.

A lot of endurance people really like the S hackamores. That’s probably the most ised bitless option I’ve seen. Running Bear and Distance Depot both have options where the nosepiece is replaced with a neoprene padded piece of biothane or beta. If I needed something more than the padded sidepull above, I’d go that route.

I’m not a huge fan of doing long rides in the rope halter sidepull as I have had it rub. I also don’t like that it has no real structure so it slides around a fair amount. It also holds moisture so is gross by the end of a sweaty ride. I’ll use it on occasion for just moseying trail rides, but I don’t do anything serious in it.

The beta/bio sidepull fits anything from my Arab who wears a yearling sized Hamilton halter to my friend’s TB/Clyde cross mare. I also like the option of being able to put a bit on it. It was handy when he was young. We could start a ride bitted and remove the bit into the ride if he was behaving. It’s bright blue, but I like doing schooling rides in it. Especially the summer. Dunk it in a bucket of water after the ride and its clean.

[katarine]

You need a browband on whatever you use b/c a halter’s poll piece WILL walk down the horse’s crest over the course of a ride, this snugging the nose up onto their face…UNLESS your horse carries its head low and out undersaddle. If they are heads-up at all, there goes the halter and it’s annoying to fix over and over… It’s just physics.

[Simbalism]

I ride my TB mare in an english style hackamore.

[cowboymom]

We love our little s hacks-we can ride rope halters all day long b/c they’re the only kind of halters we have but pound for pound we prefer the little S. Like Katarine said, they fit better, I think they have better feel for the horse and we like the reins better.

[KSquared]

[QUOTE=candysgirl;7066525]
http://www.handcraftedjewls.com/Handcrafted%20Jewels/Side%20Pulls.htm. I have one of these.

I also have one of these: http://store.runningbear.com/catalog/display.php?cartid=476c44b462c87&zid=1&lid=1&cat=37&scat=284 I like the bio one a lot. I use it for day to day stuff with the bit on it. For trail rides or just playing around after a schooling ride, I’ll pull the bit off (I can do it from the saddle) and go wander around.

Neither of these has much ‘woah’, but I haven’t had an issue. My horse listens no matter what’s on his face.

A lot of endurance people really like the S hackamores. That’s probably the most ised bitless option I’ve seen. Running Bear and Distance Depot both have options where the nosepiece is replaced with a neoprene padded piece of biothane or beta. If I needed something more than the padded sidepull above, I’d go that route.

I’m not a huge fan of doing long rides in the rope halter sidepull as I have had it rub. I also don’t like that it has no real structure so it slides around a fair amount. It also holds moisture so is gross by the end of a sweaty ride. I’ll use it on occasion for just moseying trail rides, but I don’t do anything serious in it.

The beta/bio sidepull fits anything from my Arab who wears a yearling sized Hamilton halter to my friend’s TB/Clyde cross mare. I also like the option of being able to put a bit on it. It was handy when he was young. We could start a ride bitted and remove the bit into the ride if he was behaving. It’s bright blue, but I like doing schooling rides in it. Especially the summer. Dunk it in a bucket of water after the ride and its clean.[/QUOTE]

I got the Smart Bridle as well for my gelding in Blue with Yellow underneath. Teddy took the padding out of the Hackamore and used the bio for a bit more whoa bite as I was worried it would be too soft if I needed to stop. I absolutely love it. I use the halter as his everyday halter (Love that blue!)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a104/OTheMessiahO/IMG_0305-2_zps1b581598.jpg (Was not 100% adjusted as I was fitting it to him)

[candysgirl]

[QUOTE=KSquared;7074534]
I got the Smart Bridle as well for my gelding in Blue with Yellow underneath. Teddy took the padding out of the Hackamore and used the bio for a bit more whoa bite as I was worried it would be too soft if I needed to stop. I absolutely love it. I use the halter as his everyday halter (Love that blue!)

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a104/OTheMessiahO/IMG_0305-2_zps1b581598.jpg (Was not 100% adjusted as I was fitting it to him)[/QUOTE]

Nice! My sidepull is the beta blue (same color, just the softer, not shiny material) with yellow padding to it too! I actually just ride with the sidepull noseband, not a hackamore. I use mine as my everyday bridle. He wears a leather halter per barn rules 24/7 so I just use that.

[KSquared]

I fell in love with the sidepull on the website and I HAD to have it. I was going to go with black, but I saw the yellow combo together and about died. Despite my trainers reservations about it being too soft and discussing it with Teddy I decided to get it anyways. I have only done a quick spin with it but he respects it well.

I need to get him to his chiro before we do anymore work.

[harnessphoto]

I ride my horses bridle-less at home from time to time. They have excellent brakes and steering (and both neck rein and direct rein). I use an s-hack when I ride my endurance horse out on the trails. I love having him bitless, but I enjoy the added security of a ‘real bridle’ when far from home. I second the comment about rope halters sliding down the crest as you ride and the concerns about a horse getting loose in a rope halter in the wilderness. I am not a big fan of side pull bridles on most horses. I think they over complicate a pretty simple concept and aren’t needed on a horse like the one you describe. If your horse is as reliable as it seems, you should enjoy riding on a loose rein in an s-hack (what I do most of the time out on trails). I recommend Running Bear, which is where I got mine My horse loves it.

[Lisa_Preston]

You can make a cross-jaw, Indian hackamore, et cetera, in about ten minutes (unless it’s your first and your new to knots, then it could take your 20-45 minutes) and pad the noseband w/ mesh wraps–voila clean it after a 50 miler w/ a swich in a bucket. More secure and more stop than a rope halter.

[candysgirl]

[QUOTE=harnessphoto;7074855]
I ride my horses bridle-less at home from time to time. They have excellent brakes and steering (and both neck rein and direct rein). I use an s-hack when I ride my endurance horse out on the trails. I love having him bitless, but I enjoy the added security of a ‘real bridle’ when far from home. I second the comment about rope halters sliding down the crest as you ride and the concerns about a horse getting loose in a rope halter in the wilderness. I am not a big fan of side pull bridles on most horses. I think they over complicate a pretty simple concept and aren’t needed on a horse like the one you describe. If your horse is as reliable as it seems, you should enjoy riding on a loose rein in an s-hack (what I do most of the time out on trails). I recommend Running Bear, which is where I got mine My horse loves it.[/QUOTE]

Pictures. Because yours is truly epic.

[Alberta_Horse_Girl]

I ride both my Mustang and Part-Arab in a Parelli style rope hackamore from B and H Rope Halters.com
Has always worked great for us…

[cutter99]

I ride my horses in an Ogden Loping Halter unless we are working cattle or a youngster. I have a bunch of these that are at least 5-6 years and wear well plus give me just the right amount of brakes. Here is the Facebook page for the people who make them.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/HorseAround-Tack/145872352123468