01/21/2023
Some hackamore thoughts.
I often hear that the hackamore horse cannot achieve classical lateral flexion.
I really don't understand this thinking.
I feel that lateral flexion is created through the spine by building the hind quarter engagement developing power and reach of the hind legs.
This is generally developed through lateral movements and exercises that help the horse build strength and flexibility from the hind quarters through the horse to the front end.
As we push this energy forward we need something on the horse's head to catch that that energy.
If we cannot catch this energy it just turns into more speed, not engagement.
By catching this energy and using lateral exercises we can produce more reach, that in turn creates more elevation of the heart girth and engagement of the horse's core.
When a horse engages their core, the top line and spine lengthens, creating more balance, flexibility, and power.
I believe as long as you have something on the horse's head that can catch this energy and keep all of the power from blowing through your front wall, you can achieve lateral flexion.
For me it's more about containing that energy without creating extra tension in the horse's body or mind.
The reason I like to use the hackamore is that I can push that energy up, until they are into it and then they can find the balance of the hackamore and get engagement and release at the same time.
This in turn relieves tension throughout the horse's body, including relaxation of the lower jaw and the release of the TMJ.
With the hackamore we are not pushing the horse into a contact with a bit and hand. We are pushing them up to a balance point, that they can maintain on their own without contact.
Of course this can be done in the snaffle. I'm not saying that it can not, history has proved this time and again.
Either way, this has to be developed through some contact and even tension no matter. Whatever we use on them, young horses are going to test our boundaries and have fearful moments where we will have to get a hold of them.
I prefer to develop my horses in the hackamore through this stage, because I can protect their mouth through these normal happenings of developing a young riding horse.
This also allows the horse's mouth to fully develop, before they ever have any steel in it.
Horses like babies can get fussy when teething, often creating problems that can last well beyond their moments of discomfort.
Too often it seems we want to say there is only one way to develop our horses in specific ways, I don't believe this.
With knowledge and skill we can develop our horses in many ways and different methods, we just need to figure out what feels right to us and our horse.
To me there is nothing like the feel of a properly developed hackamore horse. How those horses progress into the bridle is so consistent with what we have already developed through the hackamore.
Photo by Stephanie Roundy
