Introduction to hackamore types

There are a huge range of hackamore types available, and it can be confusing to know how they all work and which are ethical to use. At Inca Equestrian, we have developed a system that puts hackamores into four 'families', which can help you make sense of this huge group of equipment.

 

What is a hackamore?

Hackamores are a type of bitless bridle. They are defined by the presence of shanks: cheekpieces that sit either side of the noseband.

To a greater or lesser degree – depending on the size, style and form of the shanks – hackamores all use some amount of rein pressure running through the poll as well as through both the upper and lower straps of the noseband. This is because the turning motion of the hackamore shank as the rein is pulled causes all the connected bridle straps to move at once, dispersing that pressure throughout the bridle. You can learn how this differs from a sidepull bridle here.

At Inca Equestrian, we have developed a system that puts all hackamores into one of four 'family' groups. For more detail on that, check out this post. In all but the zero-shanked group, the hackamore also generates rein pressure amplification, meaning that the horse feels comparatively greater pressure through the bridle than the rider is applying directly with their hand on the reins. The amount of pressure generated in this way varies depending on the size and style of the hackamore.

Some people (mainly Americans) refer to a complete Bosal bridle as a hackamore. This is where the name originally comes from, though in the rest of the world we do not use that terminology any more. You may also hear any bitless bridle being called a hackamore. That is inaccurate.

 

It is worth prefacing this discussion by saying that even within these groups there can be a huge diversity of style, function, size, weight and design, all of which effects how your horse perceives their tack, and therefore how comfortable it is for them.

It's important to be informed about the tack you use and understand how it works, so that you can make the best decisions to maximise horse comfort while ridden or being handled.

 

Zero-shanked hackamores

The first group of hackamores is the zero-shanked group, which contains all the circular or near-circular types that have no arm or extension coming off of the pieces.

These are the lowest strength option of hackamore, as the very short distance between the rein and the noseband means that rein pressure amplification is almost zero.

In simple terms, the amount of rein pressure amplification is determined by how much the hackamore shank rotates, and therefore how far the bridle straps are pulled when pressure is placed through the reins. A greater distance between the point where the rein connects and the noseband means that those pieces turn more with every increment that the rein is pulled.

Common types in this group include: Star, Jasmine, Ring, Flower (short), Compass, Orbitless and Wheel.

 

Short-shanked hackamores

The family of short-shanked hackamores are the next step up in terms of strength. As with zero-shanked hackamores, they typically feature a main circular or near-circular part, but have a short extension coming off the lower part for the rein to connect to.

This extension provides a little more rein pressure amplification, but as the distance is so short, this increase is quite low.

Common types in this group include: Flower (standard), Lily, Love and Barefoot.

 

Curve-shanked hackamores

Curve-shanked hackamores are a cousin of the short-shanked hackamore.

Some can appear to have a longer shank than they functionally do, as the curve reduces the distance between the rein and the noseband compared to if the same metalwork were completely straight.

For example, the shorter style of Little-S that we stock at Inca Equestrian has the same distance between the points of noseband and rein connection as a Flower hackamore.

The reason for the curve design is to keep the horse's mouth clearer than in other hackamore styles of a similar length, and therefore curve-shanked hackamores are popular with endurance and trekking riders who like to allow their horses to eat and drink easily while tacked-up.

Common types in this group include: Little S, Standard S and Baroque.

 

Straight-shanked hackamores

The final group of hackamores is the highest group in terms of strength and the only type we recommend are never used under any circumstances.

Straight-shanked hackamores are similar in basic design to the short-shanked hackamores, but with a much longer extension and therefore a high degree of rein pressure amplification.

Unfortunately, this family of hackamores is also the most commonly used type and the only type you'll usually find in traditional tack shops. They are also the reason that you'll hear many blanket statements about hackamores in general that are very negative, as the equipment in this group has a great capacity to cause harm to the horse.

Common types in this group include: German and English.
Image by Jean Ogden