Bosals and Hackamores, What's the Difference?

I have received two e-mails with these comments: #1: "I don't like a Bosal. I think they are too harsh on a horse. I prefer a Hackamore." #2: "What is the purpose for the rope underneath the horse's head for your Hackamore?"

I'm not sure how to answer the first question, other than it shows the sometimes confusion over a Hackamore and the Bosal.    What is pretty clear is about anything you place in a horse's mouth or over a horse's nose can be harsh and cause pain if you are too hard and fast with your hands operating the reins. Granted, there is a lot confusion concerning terminology on bosals and hackamores, but when I use the term Bosal, I mean the nose band by itself. I use the term Hackamore when the Bosal is connected to a headstall and reins.  In the picture above right, I have the headstall connected over the side button of the bosal as opposed to between the side buttons and the nose band. I like it this way so the headstall is not so close to the horse's eye.

Traditionalists and really good horsemen (I am neither) will use a Bosal with just a hanger rather than a headstall. A hanger is really a leather strap that goes over the horse's poll and sometimes a thin leather string will be tied from the Bosal to the horse's forelock to help keep the Bosal in place.

I use a regular browband headstall with a fiador (see the picture at right). The "rope under the horse's head" is the fiador which keeps the horse from shaking the headstall off his head and keeps the horse from shedding the headstall when you are on the ground leading with the rein portion of the mecate reins. The fiador needs to be pretty snug behind the jaw.  In the picture I am taking up slack in the left rein causing the slack in the fiador.  When pressure on the reins is released, the Bosal will drop back into place.    

The Mecate rein, also called McCarthy reins, are a one piece rein, usually 20-22 feet long, connected to the Bosal by tying it into the Bosal above the heel knot and using the excess as a lead line when leading the horse in hand. When riding, this lead line can be coiled and tied to the saddle using the saddle strings (see photo at left), tied to the saddle horn, or is fed up through the rider's belt so it can be fed out easily when pulled from the Bosal end - this way if you come off the horse accidentally, you won't be drug if the horse takes off on you.

The part of the Bosal over the horse's nose is called the nose button and there are difference thickness. Given the same quality of braiding on the nose button, bigger diameter nose buttons will spread out and therefore lighten the pressure on the nose more so than a thinner bosal. As a horse becomes more finished in the Hackamore, a lighter and thinner Bosal would normally be used.

A direct rein is normally used when riding a horse in a Hackamore, especially in the beginning as the mecate reins connect at the bottom of the bosal, just above the heel knot and direction can be unclear or confusing to a horse in the beginning. Neck reining can be introduced as the horse becomes good in the hackamore and be built upon.

Certainly an improperly positioned hackamore, too low on the nose and over the soft tissue and cartilage can hurt a horse, and being too harsh with your hands can be painful as well, but there is no reason to think a bosal is in and of itself a harsh tool. In fact, I think a horse that is normally bitted can benefit from also be ridden in a bosal if for nothing more than a break on his mouth.

Mecate with a Snaffle Bit

Denise asked I'm interested in riding with a mecate reins on a snaffle and am unsure how to do so. I like the idea of having a integral lead rope.”

Denise, thanks for your question. I’ll answer it mostly with pictures and a short video. This question has cropped up several times in the past few weeks. I attribute it to more people interested in trail riding and the popularity of the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA). The Mecate, also called McCarthy reins due to the Anglo pronunciation of the Spanish word, is one continuous rein, usually 20-24 feet long, made from either yacht line (braided rope) or a horse hair rope. When used with a Bosal, the Mecate reins are connected to the Bosal just above the Heel knot. Sometimes a Bosal and Mecate will be one piece where the Mecate is braided into the Bosal.

When a Mecate is used with a snaffle bit, it is common to use slobber straps to connect the reins to the ring of the snaffle. The slobber straps are pieces of leather that connect the reins to the bit. Like the picture to the left showing the off side slobber strap and how I secured the end of the Mecate to it. If you tie your Mecate to the slobber straps in this manner make sure you leave enough tail of the rope and point it downward.

A friend of ours, Arden, was looking for a Mecate so I took a 21 foot length of half inch braided rope, braided a leather popper in one end and wrapped some waxed flat thread around the rope where the center of the reins would be for a eight foot continuous rein.

The running end of the Mecate is looped through the near side slobber strap then you half hitch the Mecate so that the remaining length, in this case about 11 feet, runs downward. The near side is where you would adjust the length of the reins to suit yourself. The remaining 11 feet is now a get down rope. To keep it out of the way until you need it, you can clove hitch it to the horn, which is not my preferred way,....you can coil it and tie it to the near side saddle strings. Or, a traditional method it to get a bit near the end of the rope and tuck it under your belt. That is the bit of the remaining Mecate is pushed underneath your belt from bottom to top. If you came off your horse (it happens) you would have a rope to keep your horse from running away. If the horse ran away before you could get ahold of the rope, it would feed out from under your belt keeping you from being drug.

Anyway, Denise, I hope this video and post helps you rig and be safe with your Mecate.