A mechanical hackamore is a piece of horse tack

Horse tack

Tack is a term used to describe any of the various equipment and accessories worn by horses in the course of their use as domesticated animals. Saddles, stirrups, bridles, halters, reins, bits, harnesses, martingales, and breastplates are all forms of horse tack...

 that is a type of bitless headgear for horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

s where the reins connect to shanks placed between a noseband

Noseband

A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson or caveson noseband...

 and a curb chain

Curb chain

A curb chain, or curb strap, is a piece of horse tack used on any type of curb bit. It is a flat linked chain or strap that runs under the chin groove of the horse, between the bit shank purchase arms. It has a buckle or hook attachment and often has a "fly link" in the middle to apply a lip strap...

. Other names include "hackamore bit", "brockamore," "English hackamore," "nose bridle" and "German hackamore." Certain designs have been called "Blair's Pattern" and the "W. S. Bitless Pelham."

Design

A mechanical hackamore has a partial noseband, usually of leather, sometimes covered with fleece for extra comfort. However, the noseband can also be very harsh; some are made of rubber-covered cable, stiff metal, or even bicycle chain

Bicycle chain

A bicycle chain is a roller chain that transfers power from the pedals to the drive-wheel of a bicycle, thus propelling it. Most bicycle chains are made from plain carbon or alloy steel, but some are nickel-plated to prevent rust, or simply for aesthetics. Nickel also confers a measure of...

 (though usually covered in plastic). The curb chain

Curb chain

A curb chain, or curb strap, is a piece of horse tack used on any type of curb bit. It is a flat linked chain or strap that runs under the chin groove of the horse, between the bit shank purchase arms. It has a buckle or hook attachment and often has a "fly link" in the middle to apply a lip strap...

 is usually a flat-linked chain, though it may be made of anything from a relatively mild flat leather strap to very severe designs with heavy chain or even solid metal bars. The noseband and curb chain are connected by a metal link that also includes the long shank that applies pressure to the nose, chin groove and poll when the reins are tightened.

Although sometimes called a bitless bridle

Bitless bridle

A bitless bridle is a general term describing a wide range of headgear for a horses or other animals that controls the animal without placing a bit in the animal's mouth. Control is maintained by means of some sort of noseband or cavesson. The term hackamore is the most historically accurate word...

, technically, a mechanical hackamore is not a bridle

Bridle

A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit....

, as a true bridle contains a bit

Bit (horse)

A bit is a type of horse tack used in equestrian activities, usually made of metal or a synthetic material, and is placed in the mouth of a horse or other equid and assists a rider in communicating with the animal. It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth...

. However, the mechanical hackamore is also unrelated to a true hackamore

Hackamore

A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin...

 except to the extent that both are headgear that control a horse with some form of noseband rather than a bit in the horse's mouth. Because the mechanical hackamore uses shanks and leverage, it is not a true hackamore, but rather works similarly to a curb bit

Curb bit

A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders....

. The shanks and curb chain serve to increase pressure on the nose, jaw, and poll

History

The mechanical hackamore may be a relatively modern invention. In the United States, a device with shanks and a noseband, called a "hackamore bit" was mentioned in at least one western riding

Western riding

Western riding is a style of horseback riding which evolved from the ranching and warfare traditions brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, and both equipment and riding style evolved to meet the working needs of the cowboy in the American West...

-based horse training book by the late 1930s. Early patent

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

 applications were filed in 1940 for a "Hackamore bit" and a "leverage hackamore bridle". Additional patent applications were filed during the 1940's, and a significant increase in patent applications for various mechanical hackamore designs occurred from the 1950s forward. Descriptions of the mechanical hackamore appeared in general interest books on horses during that decade.

Uses and limitations

Mechanical hackamores often used in competitions where there are no specific bitting rules, such as rodeo

Rodeo

Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...

 and O-Mok-See

Gymkhana (equestrian)

Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses...

 events, and in the show jumping

Show jumping

Show jumping, also known as "stadium jumping," "open jumping," or "jumpers," is a member of a family of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes commonly are seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics...

 arena. They are seen in endurance riding

Endurance riding

Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....

 and competitive trail riding

Competitive trail riding

Competitive Trail Riding is an equestrian sport where riders cover a marked trail for a distance that is usually between 15 and 40 miles per day. Some rides are only one day long, others may run as long as three days....

 because they allow a horse to easily eat and drink without removing headgear. They are not permitted in most other horse show

Horse show

A Horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer for major, all-breed events or national and...

 disciplines. They are also used by casual riders, especially for trail riding

Trail riding

Trail riding sometimes called horse or pony trekking is riding outdoors on natural trails and roads as opposed to riding in an enclosed area such as a riding arena. The term may encompass those who travel on horses, on mountain bikes, or on motorcycles and other motorized all-terrain vehicles...

, and are particularly popular with hunters who must ride and camp in freezing weather where a frozen bit can injure the horse's tongue.

Mechanical hackamores lack the sophistication of bits

Bit (horse)

A bit is a type of horse tack used in equestrian activities, usually made of metal or a synthetic material, and is placed in the mouth of a horse or other equid and assists a rider in communicating with the animal. It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth...

 or a bosal

Bosal

A bosal is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the vaquero tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to give a signal. It acts upon the horse's nose and jaw...

, cannot turn a horse easily with direct reining, and are primarily used for their considerable stopping power. Horses ridden in these devices quite often develop a bad habit of head-tossing. The longer the shanks, the more severe the action. Similarly, the thinner the noseband, the more severe the action of the bridle. Occasionally it is used for a horse that has learned to ignore bit pressure on the mouth, or for horses with an injured mouth.

It is incorrect to assume that a mechanical hackamore is milder than a bitted bridle, it is not. The device has potential for abuse at the hands of a rough rider, similar to that of a curb bit

Curb bit

A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders....

. While mechanical hackamores made entirely of leather with short shanks can be relatively mild, the addition of a longer shank and chain or metal under the jaw or over the nose can make this device a very severe piece of equipment that borders on animal abuse, thus making the device quite controversial in some equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 circles. If adjusted too low, it can also put excessive pressure on the horse's nose cartilage

Cartilage

Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...

, possibly even breaking it, and low placement may also obstruct the horse's breathing. In cases of a severe mechanical hackamore with long shanks, abusive use has been claimed to risk breaking the horse's jaw. For example, a 20 lb. pull on the reins of a mechanical hackamore with 8-inch shanks will result in 160 pounds of force applied across the bridge of the horse's nose.