Chelsie Natural Horesmanship - Natural Hackamore
Q.
Hi Chelsie,
My new horse rides with a mechanical hackamore. She is very well behaved, turns nicely with direct rein and has a wonderful whoa. I am absolutely thrilled with her! I have been reading a lot about the bitless bridle by Dr. Cook. I’d like to try one and get rid of all the mechanical stuff hanging off my mare’s face. I understand the bitless bridle operates with “whole head” control. What are your thoughts on transitioning from hackamore to bitless bridle?
Thanks for your time.
Lynn H.
A.
Hello Lynn,
Thanks for the email. Your horse sounds very nice and I think she would be happy with a change in equipment. I have tried the bitless bridles myself and I was not very happy with them. My horses seem confused because of where all the pressure was coming from.
What I use on my horses is a riding halter or also called a natural hackamore. Here is a link for you to see what they are like.
In what every you choose you will want to make sure your horse understands how to respond to it before you get on them. So do some things on the ground with it first like asking for lateral and vertical flexion. Here is an article I wrote about how to get both vertical and lateral flexion:
So you can do those on the ground first so you know that when you get on your horse she is going to understand what to do. Also when you do get on and ride her, ride her in a small arena or a round pen so that you will remain safer.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks,
Chelsie Kallestad
www.chelsienaturalhorsemanship.com
928-713-3468
