The Hackamore Mule Experiment

TrickMule · The Hackamore Mule Experiment

OK, well the last year or so has been my finesse/classical dressage year and I learned a lot from focusing in this area but I also got a bit closer to figuring out where (if anywhere) my mule has more "talent" - for want of a better word. Lately I just got to feeling it might be more suited to her to go down the vaquero road which has allowed me to return to what I learned from Buck Brannaman, and also from Martin Black and other related horsemen. So after a long time in the snaffle, then the fulmer, experimenting with a double and riding off the curb, I returned to my pre-finesse/classical dressage interests, spending many happy weeks revisiting and studying the vaquero/californios/great basin traditions with renewed enthusiasm while Pants had a 6 week holiday from "working".

My usual approach to these things is to skulk around thinking about things, studying them and learning as much as I can before actually making any moves for fear of making the wrong decisions or ending up with the wrong gear. Anyway, 2 weeks ago after much mulling, cogitation and deliberation - like a lobster finally emerging from its hiding place - I made my purchases.

My set up is now a 5/8ths 16-plait all rawhide bosal with a rounded heel knot (with a space between the ends of the cheeks), bevelled strings, high cheek buttons and a round (not flat) nose button. I have a simple hand-braided latigo hanger and a 5/8ths all mane hair 6 strand 22 foot mecate in a grey/sorrel/white mix with a latigo popper.

We have had a lot of bad weather since my gear arrived, but today with about two foot of snow I went out and rode in the far pasture after spending the previous day doing a few exercises on the ground in hackamore. The white snow scene in the pasture was very picturesque and I was just itching to get out there.

I have to say that riding it in was amazing. I am genuinely surprised at how well it all seems to work (much better than I had imagined it). Early days yet, but I am so glad of the PNH foundation my mule and I have because it seemed like a very smooth and easy transition and I can also immediately see how this set-up will improve her further compared with continuing in the snaffle. Riding in the hackamore does not compare with riding in the Parelli rope hackamore (which I did a lot of at the start of this decade when I was a hard-core PNH student) in terms of feel or response.

The use of the hands is very different to what I have been doing for the last year and before I got on her back I was a bit anxious in case it would be difficult or feel strange, but it was curiously natural to use it in the recommended way. Somehow your unconscious self copes with the slightly different use of the hands, almost as if the gear instantly telegraphs this to your hands as you handle the (at first unfamiliar and prickly) reins. The bluff in the gear is obvious when you think about it, but it is also very clear to feel how you can use the gear so that the horse believes it utterly controls him. On the other side of coin, it is also easy to feel how the gear can be misused and create fear in a sensitive or green horse or dullness in the more stoic animal.

I played with flexing, yields, light bumping, doubling (in a straight line), backing arcs and making turns. She flew some of turns with just a slight direct tilt of the nose and then the horsehair on the outside neck did the rest (obviously, my body was also doing the turning). I have never gotten flying turns like that before while riding. Her back up also seemed to have more quality with the fast backups being more fast so that there was a clear difference between slow and fast. I could not sense or feel any fear or anxiety in her during the ride and I hope that this is a true reflection of her state of mind at the time.

Now all of this might be just be beginner's luck/the novelty effect of the hackamore and my job is now to make sure that I don't lose what we started with. As I am only a student, this is by far going to be the biggest challenge and I can sense how easily I could put heaviness/dullness in there - or cause fear through pain - through poor feel and timing, rather than build on the sensitivity and responsiveness that was there in the beginning. However, I will give it my best shot and keep going to see whether we can eventually graduate down to softer and thinner bosals as well as consistently riding onehanded.

Of course, it could all go terribly wrong instead! Who knows? But you've got to live it to learn it, so I am trying to live it. I will update this thread now and then if anyone is interested in our journey down this road?

(Not sure if this is the right place for this post, but as Buck Brannaman uses the hackamore and he is a Ray/Bill student, I thought this forum might be the most appropriate spot......?)

Regards,

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
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creekwood

Thank you for posting!

Would love to see some pictures!!

Julie

Quite apart from anything else I admire your ability to buy all of that in the UK, well impressed!

TrickMule

OK, well I rode again today. Tried to take some pics and got a few with my mobile phone but I couldn't get any riding pics of both of us as I was the only one there as everyone else was home, or rushing home, for Xmas dinner. We're having ours later tonight after we've seen to the beasts, so it seemed like I had the world to myself today while riding.

Nothing much different occurred today. I rode with a loop in the rein and played abit with using the handswap Martin Black talks about in his DVD so that I can ask for turns with an initial direct signal followed by the horse hair rein on the opposite neck. When you want to go the other way, you use the other hand to grasp the coil by the side of where the previous hand was, rather than grasping the centre of the coil. This ensures the direct rein signals first. The signal nature of the set-up is very clear and with preparation you can just briefly "touch" the slack on whichever side and the nose comes around.

The horses in the next field got very excited when they saw us so we were treated to a display of galloping and snow-frolicking. Always puts a smile on my face to see horses with flag tails prancing and dancing.

Anyway, Kelsey - you asked for pics so here they are:

On the way to the pasture, from behind to show the mecate:

On the way to the pasture, from the front (always an unflattering angle for a mule!) to show the rawhide 5/8ths 16 plait bosal:

On her back in the pasture. The beepywhirryclicky noise the cameraphone made cancelled the pricked ears every time!

Maybe I can rope somebody in to take better pictures over the Xmas period to take some better pics....

Julie - I had to import the gear. I never even considered sourcing it in the UK, having assumed (perhaps wrongly) that any store-sold gear here would be likely to be poor quality or otherwise not appropriate. It cost me an arm and a leg, but hey - it's Xmas!

My next purchase will be a block. I was told that the bosal I was getting would be pretty well shaped, but I think it could be a bit better, so I will block it up at night as the 5/8ths rawhide bosal is fairly stiff. I am still playing around with the number of wraps - it is a balancing act between balancing the hackamore, having the right degree of snugness/looseness and ensuring it offers a fast release, as well as a clear signal. Still playing around with that. Also playing with the different methods of wrapping/tying to come up with what is going to work best.

Before I had made my final decision on the gear, I considered a fiador (and there are some beautiful headstalls out there with horse hair tassels that you can use the fiador with which are very hard to resist) because I worried that the hanger might slip around and/or the bosal twist on her face, but in the end decided against it (despite there being some fabulous manehair fiadors out there) as I heard using it can affect the release as it stops the heelknot sooner. So far nothing is moving or slipping - it seems like an amazing thing to me to just have this little latigo thing holding everything on and in place. I also was worried in case the latigo hanger would be too close to her eyes, but I discovered that on her mule face the hanger sits further down from her eyes than this same bosal does on a horse, so I don't think I need to worry about putting a string on the hanger either (to pull it a little away from the eyes).

Eeek, better go and do the family thing now I guess.....got a marzipan pig to make and dinner to prepare for later.....merry Xmas everyone!

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
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creekwood

I'm jealous of your mule, Pants is stunning!

beautiful hackamore & mecate.

The trainer that leased the barn for a couple years used a coffee can to keep her bosals in shape, and hung the mecate like it hangs on a horse to keep the "drape". I wish I'd learned more from her, although I did get to show one 5 year old hackamore gelding who was a full brother to the horse in my avatar.

Looking forward to more pictures & hearing about your journey!

Pyrgirl

I'm enjoying reading about this, too. Keep the journey posted please.And pictures help me to understand what you are doing. I wouldn't mind a picture of the gear off of the horse for reference.

Niek

Hey liz I love to read about your endavors and pants is so cool. Where did you import the hackamore from ?

Julie

fab Mule - I love them, my friend has one and really turns heads when we do demos!

I thought a decent western shop had suddenly appeared in the UK?

Jack · Re: The Hackamore Mule Experiment

"Cool" stuff TrickMule. I hope you will keep us informed as you explore experiences with the bosal. Your mule Pants looks beautiful in the new gear. I'm bettin she recognizes a change in her owner already.

Could you share a bit more about the "feel" your finding with the bosal? When flexing laterally do you "lead" from the side or more from the withers etc? I really like how you've recognized the immediate "feel" the the mecate presented to you. With the "better feel" Pants should start to react to just the signal of the bosal and hopefully that "Bluff" will never be called.

DaisyMae

Yes, we want every little detail please, and more pictures! (you know, you can set your phone to silent so as not to cause any distractions

)

TrickMule

Pyrgirl - I will try to get some pictures of the gear in isolation although it might take me a few days as I am just about to have some houseguests and I am knee-deep in cleaning.

Niek - I got the gear straight from Martin Black. I rang his cell and ordered it over the phone.

Jack - I am going to get a block to shape it - I have already raided the kitchen for cans and tins to use, but none of the ones I have work well for shaping it. When I put it on my horse it fits better, I guess Pants has a pointier - or more angular - nose and it just doesn't fit on her nose quite as well. There's a place in Pagosa that sells blocks and I'm going to try to get one from them.

As for the feel, the horsehair feels very light compared with the rope reins I am used to, and more "bouyant" than the flat leather reins I have been using for dressage. I am enjoying the "slower" feel that these reins have compared with the leather reins, and the lighter feel they have compared with the (Parelli) rope reins. Something about the prickles add a sort of carefulness in there as well, plus they are quite effective when used to support against the neck.

The signal part of it is really interesting because she can do more as I do less. Not that this isn't possible with the snaffle, slobbers and rope reins, but somehow it is more noticeable, or easier to focus on, with the hackamore setup. If I pick up on a little slack (not to pull, but just taking a little of the float out) she can do the rest. In the very beginning, I would reach down and use the rein out to the side in a bumping or pulsing way and she soon figured to turn her nose, so now all it takes is a little slack taking out. She is better one way than the other, so I need to fix this. I also need to be sure not to leave anything out because she is pretty good just riding off the seat anyway, so she could easily fool me into thinking that we have a good understanding with the new equipment when in fact we don't.

The doubling is interesting. Especially in a straight line. She can set herself into a pretty good stop with this (although not that she couldn't before) and it was while doing this that I think I got to understanding how those cowboys get such good responses and respect for the hackamore from their horses. If I had just slapped this thing on her 10 years ago and ridden her in it like I would have ridden normally back then it would have been very dangerous because I would have taught her to pull on it and I would have had no control whatsoever (or she would have gotten a sore nose). However, I don't kid myself either and I know that she will only be as good as her rider can make her and seeing as I am a hackamore virgin, I don't for one minute believe that I am not going to make some mistakes. I will try not to, but I cannot absolutely guarantee that I won't. However, one thing I can absolutely guarantee is that I won't get better at riding in the hackamore if I don't practice actually doing it for real, hence my current experiment.

Some people might be wondering why I didn't stick with the ecole de legerete stuff which was my focus before. The short answer is that I got to the stage where I felt I needed professional input and when Philippe Karl decided to postpone his UK series of courses through lack of interest, I decided to shelve it for a bit and pursue something else. Plus I think that she would be more suited to this type of riding than the other, both physcially and mentally.

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
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TrickMule

OK, a quick update.

I haven't been able to ride much this last week owing to family commitments and sheet ice everywhere stopping us safely leaving the property. However, yesterday, the ice had melted enough for us to be able to ride off the farm and into "the world". In this case, the local streets. We went for a 30 minute spin with a friend.

I took a wrap off the hackamore for this little trailride, so I now have two wraps at the beginning near the heelknot, then the reins, then a single wrap after the reins.

I am still at the stage where every time I put the hackamore on I fiddle with the latigo hanger to try to get the bosal to sit at the right height on her face, especially yesterday as I had adjusted the number of wraps. Must have fiddled with the length of the hanger about 10 times yesterday before I was content with it (and these were less than 1 cm fiddles - even the tiniest adjustment seems to affect the set-up quite a bit, so I end up double and triple fiddling, going backwards and forwards with the "settings" comparing them, checking and double checking).

Still haven't got the shaper/block, but things always take a long time coming from the US, especially over the holiday season.

Anyway, the ride itself went fine. We went truly casual (in Parelli-speak) with the reins to ensure that if the slack was taken out of a rein, it was because I was going to ask something of her (I made a conscious effort to avoid using BS reins as I know this is something I can occasionally end up doing in the snaffle if I don't pay attention). On a couple of occasions I asked her for a soft feel for a stride or two while trotting along and she gave it freely in response to very little. First time I have consciously asked for this in the hackamore. On two occasions we met the dustbin lorry on the narrow streets so had to back up to let them past and this went OK in the hackamore also. I tried to be true to the method Buck talks about in his DVD. However, most of the time, I did not "engage" the gear at all as she mostly goes off the seat (life and focus?). To be fair, she knows those streets very well anyway, so it is hardly amazing that she could do that ride with minimum input from me. So again, we may just be "getting away with it" in the hackamore and once the arena unfreezes, I plan to spend some more time "schooling" in the hackamore. Having said that, I can't wait to go for a proper trailride out in the woods!

So, for those that like photos, here are a few from yesterday.

This first one is her waiting to go out for the ride. She has the saddle on under her blanket (freezing temperatures and she has a blanket clip so I don't like for her to stand about naked too much) which makes her look like a camel (a camule?) or like a weird muley version of a Star Wars AT-AT walker:

Here she is contemplating the road ahead:

Contemplating something over to the right:

Pictures of the gear for Pyrgirl coming up.

Me holding the latigo hanger:

The gear is fairly stiff. See how it can be balanced spookily in the air, supported only by its own stiffness and the "tripod" created by the manehair reins and leadrope:

The widest part that goes on the nose is the nose button. The thinner parts that extend down to the heelknot are the cheeks or shanks. Using the rein(s) will move these parts on the face which is the signal. Where they emerge from (or enter) the heelknot, there is a space (wedge) between them which is just right for inserting the end of the mecate rein. It also means they are not quite so close together, so less likely to rub the sides of the horses chin where they sit. However, it could do to be wider near the base of the cheeks and a little narrower near where the hanger attaches. That is what a bosal block/shaper can help to create. The weight of the heelknot ensures a fast release.

Apparently, the manehair mecate can be softened by soaking gently in soapy water, rinsing the soap out and then leaving it to dry. At the moment, the dampness of the atmosphere here is likely to leave the rein feeling a little stiffer.

Braided heelknot (a bit blurry):

Closeup of cheek/shank to show braiding (also, the sorrel, grey and white pattern in the mecate shows up well in this picture):

I only had my mobile phone to take this pictures with at the time, so the quality of the photos is not great. I can't find my proper camera at all, which is a bit annoying!

And here is a picture from the web of bosal blocks shaping different widths and styles of bosal:

There are other types of blocks/shapers out there as well.

Looking out of the window, I can see we've had more snow and the farm track is likely to be an ice rink, so I guess I am back to being grounded until the weather improves.

Regards,

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
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PasoBaby_CarolU

Liz, I think you just answered what I'll do with my $100 gift certificate. It is to the feed store and not the tack store, but I'll buy bedding pellets and then go to the tack store with the $ I would have spent buying pellets (teach hubby to go to the right store too!!) I have two, but want to get a heavier one.

Anyway, before the days of commercial shapers, I'd soak the hackamore in water, then put over a coffee can wider then my horse's nose, and let it dry there. Worked very well.

Interesting thread. You are doing very well.

I had a trick for sliding stops and roll backs from my reining days. I'd pop the horse's neck with my hand before asking for the stop. This gave them a chance to do 2-3 slow down strides before applying the 'brakes"...gather themselves for the stop. Once you have taught it, you just drop your reins hard on the neck for 'pop' and get a stop or roll-back with no reins. They learn it pretty quickly. Make it distinct too, or you'll get a stop every time they feel you drop the reins.

TrickMule

OK, another ride this morning in the deep fluffy snow in the pasture. It was time to test more things. More precision, such as trying to ride a "perfect" circle with proper bend and such-like.

Strange to do this without some kind of constant, living contact. She can do a fair circle easily, but maintaining bend, accuracy and posture with the signal device was interesting and more difficult. I got more of an appreciation for when Buck says that after going to the hackamore you kinda wish to go back to the snaffle. It is very interesting to feel how I would maybe go about trying to ride a circle with proper bend in the hackamore. I don't know for sure if it is right as I don't have the experience in this gear, but at the moment, it feels like I have to play the long game a little more to have the smaller pieces right to eventally build the final picture. Also, in the pasture, there are slight druthers on the farm side as opposed to the far side which show up in terms of differing willigness to maintain bend, depending on which side we are on. So this is in the mix as well. Moreover, the snow pasture is not our usual riding pasture, so it feels like there is an overall environmental effect (novelty effect) in there on top of the slight druthers.

Buck also advises people to "hang in there" while getting accustomed to the hackamore, so I did what I felt I could in this situation while trying to stay true to the concept of signalling. I also used the slight druthers to my advantage in terms of flexions and turns.

So far, zooming around freestyle is just fine in this gear (because freestyle is not really about the gear I guess) and we had a few good gallops in the snow which were very exciting and the backups remained good, with a clear demarcation between slow and fast. But the finesse type of riding will be an interesting challenge for us, especially circles and two track work. She is reasonably good at shoulder-in, travers, renvers and counter-shoulder-in in the snaffle (on a concentrated rein), but I think it will be interesting trying to do this in the hackamore as I don't want to accidentally teach her to lean on it, although at the moment I have not even thought of asking her for these yet as I don't feel certain that I could be effective to be understood yet. While the weight aids learned from Philippe Karl's methods are very effective for these movements, they do tend to work best in concert with the hand, so seeing as the hand is now working through a different feel, it will take some sorting out to get this right (for me, then for her). So, at the moment repetition of basic movements, flexing/bumping and using wide hands for clarity in the beginning will be the key I think....? Then hopefully this can be built on. Once I feel the more simple, isolated stuff is going consistently well, I will experiment with adding the lateral work. Ordinary sideways (e.g. to sidle up to a gate or similar) is easy in the hackamore because she does that freestyle pretty well anyway, but more collected movements will be much more "interesting" (i.e. challenging) for us!

So Carol, what you gonna buy exactly?

(edited for typos)

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
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kristie

Liz, I'm enjoying these posts!

Pyrgirl

Liz, thanks so much for all the photos and descriptions and updates on what you are doing. I'm enjoying it all immensely. Makes me wish I had a riding horse again. Makes me wonder if it could be used on a mini for driving. Not sure.

TrickMule

Pyrgirl, like you I think using the hackamore for driving would be difficult/unsuitable as the harness prevents using an opening rein which you will need in the beginning and I am not sure that it would be the appropriate tool anyway for a driving horse as it relies on input from the rider's body, something which the driving horse doesn't have at his disposal in the same way to help him learn. There are better tools out there for driving, I think.

Kristie, I have done the exercise you talked about, but need to continue doing these types of things and consolidating a lot of this type of stuff. Yesterday I rode with two others in the snowy pastures. I discovered that the faster we go, the more difficult certain things become.

Update coming up shortly.

TrickMule

Quick update.

Rode with two friends yesterday. One on an excitable mare that hadn't been ridden for some time owing to weather/family commitments and one on a more steady-tempered gelding.

I was very pleased with the walk my mule was doing. I have worked hard at getting a good, ground-covering walk and for some reason, it all came together well yesterday. We had a few gates to work which she did to my satisfaction although one of them I had to get off for as I couldn't lift and push it at the same time. Another board has recently discussed what things amaze non-NH people the most and time and again the answer came back that one of these things is the horse that automatically lines up for you to get on when you climb a fence (and also sidepassing). A simple task to teach, yet so few think to do it because it is not something most non-NH people around here would consider spending time and effort teaching their horse. Anyway, after I climbed on the gate I clucked and (because she was facing me the wrong way) she did nearly a full 180 and lined herself up at liberty in the pasture for me to get on. Even though we later had a really good gallop (which I also enjoy, especially in the snow), this was still the highlight for me. Even though I know it is a commonplace thing in NH circles, I still smile inside everytime she lines up like that for me to get on, even though she has done this for a few years now because this is the mule I couldn't catch when I first got her and who would bolt away from the saddle in the middle of the arena when I tried to cause her to stand near it to be saddled. She was scared of mounting blocks and would bolt if I tried to mount from the indian side. This mule now lines herself up for me to get on while loose in the pasture with other horses after I climb on a fence and cluck! Could anyone want any more than that? I suppose so! *grin*

So, those were the good things. However, I noticed some areas which need work, now that we threw some riding company into the mix. For example, as I mentioned above, we galloped from the bottom of the pasture to the top. My friend on the excitable mare set off first. Then us, then the more even-tempered horse. My friend's mare set off like a rocket which drew the other two animals into a high speed. The speed was fine, I allowed it. However, during the gallop I wanted to change the line to the right a bit and it got to where I had to bump her a bit with my hand out to the right side a few times before she responded and changed her line more over to the right.

So, after a while, I cantered some circles and found a similarish thing. The nice, more upright circles she can do when we ride with finesse in the fulmer snaffle are nowhere near as nice in the hackamore in terms of the bend and shape in her body. I guess because they are more like freestyle now. I am not 100% certain exactly how best to go about shaping her better but I have some ideas and things to try that involve soft feel, etc, so I will report back on how it works out and what (if anything) works best for us.

She is moving better off a support rein now than before.

What I am finding a bit strange is that if I am riding her with one hand, either with a loop or coil, then I sometimes end up moving my arm a fair bit to generate the effect that I need in that moment, because it is not easy to adjust the reins once you have them like that (and even more difficult if you are cracking your bullwhip in the other hand which I played with a bit today, or holding your roping coils in the rein hand at the same time). So it ends up feeling a bit like joystick riding at times. I experimented with a few different ways of holdng the reins today, one in each hand, in one hand with no loop or coil, in one hand with a coil, in one hand with a loop, etc. I guess (hope!) I will get handier with time.

A friend took some pictures, but most of them are of me working gates as this was the only time there was time for her to take pictures of us. I include some below:

Preparing to turn to face the gate a little more as I needed to haul on it more forcefully than I can side-on to get it to open:

Backing up while hauling at the stiff gate:

Watching friend on mare arriving in lower field:

Climbing the gate after having to get off to close it after riding in the lower field. A few moments after this is when Pants did her nice lineup at liberty for me to get on:

The three amigos and dog (receiving a command of some sort):

The two amigos. She is working her lower jaw which makes the hackamore look lower than it is, but will double-check it at the next ride as there may be some play in the knots of the hanger.

Working the upper gate, with reins held in one-handed loop causing me to "joystick ride" and a weird photo angle makes it look like there is no left rein at all:

Beginning to move away from the gate, still joysticking:

[Edited for typos]

Regards,

Liz C and Pants the Mule
--

dmcamelothills

Liz,
Really wonderful stuff you have going on here. Thank you so much for taking the time to put down the details to share with us.
Much appreciated and I look forward to more!
Cari

TrickMule

Arena ride today. First time in the arena in the hackamore as it has finally thawed up well enough to ride in. It isn't a big arena, so you can't get up a massive head of steam in there, but it is better than nothing.

Things I learned include that everything works better when using my hands near my hips, rather than reaching down the rein. Did some loping figure 8's and learned a little more about how to set up the right bend. It took some self-discipline to remember that I am in the hackamore and not a bit. Especially as I have come from 18 months of riding according to Philippe Karl's methodology where the reins are often used in a lifting way and not with your hands near your hips! Pants did well today, despite me. The best part of the ride was the rollbacks, using a pattern described by Ed Connell in his book the Hackamore Reinsman. She flew the turns and set off the most powerfully she has ever done. It was very exciting and I had to be careful to remember to turn her either way, as I have a tendency to turn the same way each time if I don't watch it.

The neighbour's llamas were rutting and fighting; screaming like somebody was getting killed, so we had a little distraction from time to time, but I guess it is all good practice!

I practiced some turns against the fence, and also some tucks and soft feel to see if she could improve her posture the way she can in the snafflebit. It went OK I think and is something I can build on further, so we will see what happens with that. Towards the end, she was able to do some nice travers (haunches-in) at the trot just on the soft feel/float. I only asked for this once; no point in pushing my luck. I have been worried about how I would do two track work in the hackamore as I have been accustomed to doing it with contact, but this has given me some hope that we can maybe figure it out.

However, on two occasions I mistimed my stops as I was trying to ask when the front feet were in the air and supporting with the hackamore if need be. Most of them were fine, but on two of the occasions when I supported with the hackamore I did not give slack at quite the right time so she ran into the hackamore awkwardly, causing her to lift her nose in the air. Ed Connell talks about how lifting the nose in the air is one of the worst things that can happen and should be avoided at all costs as it is difficult to untrain once it becomes established. Of course, when her nose went up, these doom-laden words of warning rung loudly in my ears so I felt I had to react in some way to finish the stop on a better note and it was a bit unsettling/worrying to reach for that instant idea in your head for what to do in the moment and finding that there is not much in your head to draw on (from lack of experience using the tool). So I bumped/pulsed her until the nose came down and then gave her full slack, dwell and rubbed her, while quietly panicking inside that I had done something wrong/terrible. On the second occasion I used the same approach and she came down nearly straight away, so some of the panic subsided, but I was - and am still - annoyed with myself for doing something which caused her to stick her nose up. On reflection I suppose I could have just done nothing, moved on and tried my best not to allow it to happen again rather than actively doing something about it in the moment. Because her nose in the air was only there because of my mistake. But at the time, the thought sequence that raced through my brain was: "Aaaaaaaaa! The nose is up! The Worst Thing That Can Happen! Do something so that you don't finish this on The Worst Thing That Can Happen! And remember this is a hackamore so no steady pulls! Go, body, go!" which all happened in a split second, after which I found myself doing the bumping/pulsing. Then I got locked into doing that until she did something I could release on which she thankfully did. But, as I say, I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't just have chalked that one up to experience and done nothing. But in the split second I had at the time to decide SOMETHING, my brain never allowed me to consider that option because every thought was focused on not allowing The Worst Thing That Can Happen to become rewarded and/or a pattern.

Riding, eh? Why do we do it!? It is often so fraught with decisions!

Anyway, there may be further opportunities to ride in the arena in the near future so long as everything doesn't freeze solid. Weather from Siberia has been predicted to arrive in the UK sometime next week, so we will see what happens with the riding.....

No pictures today. I was concentrating too much and there was noone there to take pictures for me.

[Edited for typos]

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
--

Kathleen

Hi Liz,

You did great!!!! Remember, "it s the release that teaches," so you following through until the nose was down and Pants was soft was PERFECT!!! Don't be so worried about making mistakes. The decisions you make while gaining experience are just part of the learning process. Your decisions are usually right on track, so trust your instincts. The world would not have come to an end if you had not followed through until you got the nose down and soft, but you would have been releasing on a brace and it is "better" to avoid doing that when possible.

If you need some thoughts on using your reins in the lateral moves let me know. It has been great visiting with you on your progress.

Kathleen

TrickMule

Hi Kathleen,

Thank you for the encouraging words. I have just rewatched Buck's hackamore DVD again to see what I can pick up on the soft feel from what he says (and more so what he does). I guess I have gotten too scared of anything even approaching a steady feel, because (it seems to me) that he will (eventually) ask the horse to carry it for longer. I guess it is a more of a living, rather than steady, feel that he uses.....?

It would be *absolutely great* to hear your thoughts on using the reins in the lateral work - at the moment I am only guided by the knowledge I have gained from doing it in the snaffle, but this is now sheathed in uncertainty to some extent as I am fearful of creating heaviness through the wrong use of the hackamore. Today she had a great moment when she got set up right, consented to carry herself and flowed into travers with float in the rein. Soft of like a half descente de main almost. I did the set up just like I would have done in the snaffle and worked it out of the corner so that I didn't have to faff too much setting her up and could let go of her quickly. But I am just groping around - I don't have the hackamore know-how to know what would be the best approach.

Best wishes,

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
--

Kathleen

Hi Liz,

Great chatting with you on FB earlier.

I found a few new clips of Ricky Quinn working with a mule I thought you might enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLOw0FQ7ZHo&feature=sub

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwUQR_v9M7g&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Amid8QJBE&feature=channel

I hope you get to meet Ricky one day, he is a real horseman and a good teacher.

Kathleen

TrickMule

Hi Kathleen, everyone:

Thanks for the links! It was good to catch up with you earlier. Some good explanations in those links that will help the turnaround. That molly mule looks like a real mule's mule

Did you see her swish her broomtail the whole time she was just standing there while Ricky Quinn was explaining things in the third video? The horse opposite never swished once during the same segment. It is a real challenge to stop a mule swishing - I am still working on it

I have just bought the 3 DVD set that Mike Bridges does on the vaquero tradition. Will review the hackamore parts of this set in this thread once I have viewed them.

Anyone else out there hackamoring?

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
--

Playenatural

Rik

I can’t say I know much about Bosals, I’ve only ridden with them in Texas, I did for a while ride in a rope hackamore with and without a loose rein.

There is always a contact even on a loose rein you just need a little more feel to find it, I’d be interested to hear how things work out if when bumping, it’s so light it stays within the mecate, it might also help when your supporting you downward transition if you miss time them, if you feel for the inside hind landing and just before it does picture in you mind it landing and starting the new gate trot/walk/stop that might help also.

Just some stuff a guy in Texas was talking about a few years ago, don’t know if it’s relevant or helpful to you but your post made me think of it.

TrickMule

Hi again,

Rode early this morning. As we were cantering along a fox ran out from under the spooky stuff stored at the side of the arena, burst through the railings and just about tripped us up running under my mule's neck if she hadn't spooked so spectacularly out of the way

Anyway, I stayed on - some of those fast rollbacks must've helped my stickability! LOL! But of course Pants feels vindicated by this. She always suspected that the spooky stuff was spooky for a reason

Apart from that, it was fairly uneventful in terms of drama. She did a great backup in a circle today and floated into the front end turn off it real nice. I am finding it easier to do this well in the hackamore than in the snafflebit. Of course, I then wanted to do it again and I should probably have left it alone because the rest were never quite as good as that good one. Argh.

Positive things I have noticed in the hackamore so far: flying lead changes work better! I hope that this stays and gets better still because they have been a bit of a bugbear for us. Also, it is easier to place her nose in turns. She can have a tendency to want to try to lead with the shoulder or want to counterbend sometimes when doing a spin-style turn over the haunches (I call it "the movie-horse neckrein"), but in the hackamore I have been able to improve this more easily than in the snafflebit and get her body more correctly organised. This is interesting to me as it is very telling about how I must ride these things in the snafflebit. It is also a bit strange to me because I anticipated that everything would be worse in the hackamore and I did not really anticipate that some things would be better so early on. Of course that's not to say that there aren't things that are worse (as chronicled earlier), but somehow I kind of expected *everything* to be worse....

The other thing which is interesting to me is how respectful she is of it. Intellectually, when you think about it, the rawhide bosal seems like a tool that there is a lot of potential for the horse to "disrespect" (for want of a better word) or run through. You know, a worry for me was that she was just going to think that this thing on her nose was nothing. But the opposite is what has occurred - she seems more "respectful" of this than the snafflebit in many ways. It seems to me therefore like quite a "strong" tool, but for some horses (like for example my headstrong and quite dull ex-riding-for-the-disabled gelding) I guess the bluff is more easily called. Anyway, on Pants, the tool feels "stronger" than I had anticipated before actually trying it. A small part of me wants to get her out of this all-rawhide stiff one as soon as possible because of this.....I can't quite articulate exactly why, and it may be a mistake to do so, but I keep thinking about getting a softer one.....I don't know, there's just something about it that makes me feel this.....perhaps just for trailrides maybe......I dunno.....hmmmmmm.....

Shannon - I hope we can keep this thread alive if anyone else out there is finding it interesting..... :-)

Rik - Thank you for your thoughts - I know what you mean about the connection - it is always there because the mecate is "live" along its length (mine is sort of stiff right now partly because of the damp weather but also because it is new and the tight weave around the manehair heart means it telegraphs quite some way along it's length - not from its weight like a rope rein, but more from its own stiffish interconnectedness). But in terms of significantly adjusting her posture at this stage via contact/soft feel, I have to take some slack out enough to to move the heelknot a bit. I will try to specifically feel for the things you mentioned next time I ride and get back to you.

Liz C, Bazkins and Pants the Mule
--

Jack

Thunder Hollow

marsha lee

Liz, I have been following this thread with great interest. Pants is a beautiful mule, she radiates intelligence in her photos.

I had just introduced the hackamore to my morab gelding last fall. He was suspicious of it so we ended up taking it slow. He was not sure about wearing it, and turned his head away whenever I offered it. With patience I did manage to get it on a few times and then just ambled about the yard around trees and barrels, both of us feeling it out. I may be making a mistake, we have not ridden in a snaffle because I want to stay out of his mouth at this point in my skill level. I went from a PNH hackamore to using the softer noseband and chinstrap that Carol (Pasobaby) has been recommending because I wasn't happy with the PNH hackamore. I sense that this set-up is going to work - we were starting to communicate with it and he seemed to be making more of an effort to "listen" to what I was asking.

Unfortunately we lost our footing early this winter and like Ann we are waiting for the ice to melt. It won't be soon, we are expecting several ice storms over the next few days.

so please keep sharing your progress and thoughts!

Marsha

marsha lee

Kathleen, I just watched those Ricky Quinn videos. He is so clear in his explanation - just what I needed to understand the backing circle. I'm off to giddyupflix to see if he has anything out......

I'm back. Nothing there so I am doubly thankful that you posted those links Kathleen.

TrickMule

TrickMule

OK, so I trail rode today. With two friends on horses.

Our "trails" are nothing like some of your amazing American ones that I have seen on here. We have towns and roads and things and it is all pretty urban, interspersed with small woods here and there.

We did something we call "The River Ride" where we go through some urban areas, then a wood, then across the ring road at a roundabout to another roundabout, then go into another wood, then ride along a trunk road, then turn onto a path along the river Aire for a bit, then back through suburbia and some urban paths back to the farm.

It went OK I think. I asked for soft feel twice which seemed to work OK, just to check it out. I did a couple of small straight line doubles in the earlier part of the ride to see what would happen, but she responded fine, so I just went freestyle after that. Two light bumps were needed mid-ride when she moved into trot unasked for (I have no idea why as this is most unusual for her to do - perhaps she was just feeling on her toes a bit) and left it too long to respond to the seat request to return to walk. For the later parts of the ride, I put my hands in my pockets and left the rein on her neck and it went just fine. She knows where she is going, so I didn't really "use" the gear much apart from what I've just described. To be fair, I have not really been the type to use trail rides to "train" per se, apart from the kind of training that occurs as a natural side effect of trail riding. In other words, I don't use trail rides to practise half pass, roll backs or anything like that - my focus is more on having her be with me, stop when I stop, go when I go, climb when needed, cross water, go over logs, cope with stimuli, leave other horses, join other horses and - above all - stay cool, rather than practising movements and things like that.

Anyway, I guess we will see what happens tomorrow as I think I might get out again, weather willing. Haven't trail ridden properly for the longest time since the weather turned, so instead of hitting the arena tomorrow I want to take the opportunity to hit the trail again after such a long absence. Once the work week starts, I will maybe get a chance or two in the arena before work, so we can focus more on progressing then.

No pictures this time as I think you have seen enough shots of scenery seen through the backs of her ears - those kinds of pics don't really add anything to the hackamore part of the thread.....not sure this post does either, except to say that she did not run through the hackamore at all, but then she would have been unlikely to as she does not normally do that kind of thing on the trail anyway (unless she is bolting, in which case it matters very little what is on her head!). Now my gelding, he would be probably be another story.......but then, he hasn't had the same kind of preparation, so it would be foolish to expect anything else.

Jack

TrickMule

Rode again today. This time, by myself - although with my mule of course! We did one of my favourite routes that goes into the Mystical Magical Wood - a place where the trees are gnarly, the moss is spongy and the slithy toves gyre and gimble in the wabe.

The ride was singularly uneventful, and she went beautifully in the gear. Her walk was good and groundcovering, but without undue anxiety. This is the calmest she has been on a lone ride for a long time. She kept going past spooky places, over streams, through deadfall, up climbs and down descents. I have noticed that she looks left and right much more in this gear. I don't know if it is because it is lighter than the snaffle bridle and slobbers or what. I wondered if I had imagined it yesterday, so didn't mention it, but today she was doing it again.

I engaged the gear for two purposes. On descents, I like for her back to be horizontal and her hinds under her, so I would ask for a soft feel and high neck and scoot her hinds under. There is nothing worse than a downhill-built mule going downhill with their back downhill....unless you enjoy ending up sitting on the neck. I do have a crupper, but I don't like to think of the whole ensemble being held on with just her tail, so I try to reduce this possibility by asking her for as horizontal a back as I can.

The second purpose was when she did her only spook of the ride. We were going along a small suburban road and a woman with an umbrella and a yellow dog were walking on the pavement on the opposite side of the road. Pants is suspicious of umbrellas that are held by strangers (umbrellas at home are OK) and was just giving it the eye as she was passing it when the dog erupted into quite frenzied and angry sounding barking. Simultanously, the woman was pulled into the road by her dog as it tried to get to us, and so the suspicious umbrella naturally followed. Not only that, but the moment the dog started barking and pulling the woman, she started screaming at the dog in the growliest voice I have ever heard. So, Pants found all of this rather alarming and I can't really blame her because the dog and woman came at us so suddenly, explosively, loudly and rapidly that I was a bit spooked myself. Anyway, she took off forwards, I picked up the gear and she stopped in two strides. Phew!

At the mouth of the Mystical Magical Wood, before the mystical magic landscape begins to take over. I tried to take more pics, but as you get further into the wood, cell phones stop being able to take pictures as the mystical magical forces interfere with electronic devices......*

My mule looks thoughful in the pic. Seeing as it was raining and cold, perhaps she was dreaming of this:

Or, as second best, maybe this:

* Only kidding - I had run out of space on the media card in the phone!

Jack - you got me giggling at MyMare, MyWife, etc and I do love the reason for Dink's name. And you're quite right - Dink does not look at all capable of being ornery in that bottom picture where she looks great. In the top picture she has the cutest look on her face

Cheers!

TrickMule

OK, so I have done three more rides. One in the arena and two trail rides. The arena ride was more interesting I guess because I played with some of the things I learned from the Mike Bridges DVDs which fill in with additional information that I could not glean from Buck and Martin's DVDs. Not that there is anything wrong with those DVDs, but when all you have is DVDs, internet and books to guide you, every little helps.

Without spending ages doing a detailed review of the 5 DVDs Mike has released (three boxes, two DVDs in the hackamore set and two in the bridle set, one in the seeking refinement set), I will try to precis some of the key things I learned which I was unaware of before.

The exact way to do the bumping and the various methods you could apply

He talks about the horse being inside the hackamore. This is his soft feel. He has phases to his bumps, feather, wood and iron. You go as far as you need and return to feather

Keep the horse feathered in your hand, and not beyond or ahead of this

There is a neutral place in the feel where you "support" the hackamore, but do not send a signal. He advises that you ride there in trot and canter to stop the hack bouncing and dulling the nose, especially in the bigger hacks such as the 3/4 or more. He only uses a complete freestyle loose rein at the walk.

He starts his horses in the 3/4 as he finds horses started there, rather than in the 5/8ths, find the sweet spot in the hack on their own much better. He also says that this might be just him and he knows of some real skilled folks who can get it done starting lighter.

He weighs his ropes and makes lots of incremental changes in weight as the horse progresses. Likewise with his hacks.

He talked a lot about the difference in feel of a flat nosed hack and a round nosed hack.

He talked in detail about the bar signal and how to add to it.

He talked about finding your own style and adjusting to fit your horse.

He showed the different hand positions for all stages, and his tworein information was really detailed and valuable. I learned some new stuff there or sure and it helps be better understand some of the drawings/explanations in Ed Connell's books of hand positions, balanced romal reins and the various fingerings in the tworein.

The DVDs have exercises to try, as well as lots of theory talk about the gear, body positions and biomechanics. He also had different horses with different bodies, different characters, etc and he talked about the adjustments he would make for the different horses as well as in the moment.

There is a lot more on these DVDs than I have chronicled here (I am short of time, again) and his discussion on bridle bits was very illuminating for me.

He likes to untie his hacks after every ride to prevent them getting set or the bars twisting. I am doing this now too. It also helps me get sharp tying it.

The heelknot should not ride up beyond the the level of nose button and you should avoid a heel down attitude in the hack as it slows the signal. He will turn it over (and use the hanger inside out for a few rides) if the hack looks like it is getting set in a heel down attitude.

I don't know about some of the riding he showed, but he was humble, interesting and flexible. The bridle DVDs were filmed by Karen Parelli. He buckaroos for a living, but also gives clinics.

In all, I am glad I got these DVDs as I feel like I have more knowledge now that I can draw on as and when needed. I am really glad I invested in these.

I will post more stuff as I discover more and have more rides.

The three rides I had were uneventful in the sense that there were no dramas. She goes very sweetly in the hack on the trail, is never strong and is sensitive to the signals. Likewise, in the arena I have been asking more and more for her to come inside the hackamore (soft feel) and I am working on her holding it more and for longer.

TrickMule

Another great trail ride today. The gear is just fine. Nothing much to report otherwise as I did not get in the arena during the week as work has exploded and on the morning where I had carved a bit of extra time, the rain was horrendous, so I shelved it.

This continuously wet and cold weather is sure making my mecate stiff (and the bosal has swollen some too and is developing a little "slime" on the inside). I can get about 4 feet of the tail end (the leadrope end) of the mecate to stick straight up in the air without collapsing (like a stick) while I'm riding along! I am looking forwards to it softening when the warmer, drier weather comes and through use.

My mule seems more forwards of late, but never pushing beyond the hackamore. I am not sure what to ascribe it to, but I do wonder if - even if it is just in part - she is glad to be rid of the heavy headstall, snaffle bit, slobbers and rope reins? Anyone else notice anything like that in their horse when moving to the hackamore?

Playenatural

Liz, during your wet weather you may want to replace your horsehair mecate with a parachute cord mecate. I hear that braided mecates don't twist and coil like the twisted ones do and for sure man made rope won't behave like natural hair ropes. I wonder if you can store your bosal in a box with those little packets that absorb moisture that you find is shoe boxes.

TrickMule

Hi Shannon,

I know what you say about changing to parachute cord is sensible, but dang it - I am still so excited about the horsehair I can't stop using it, even if it is stiffer than a stiff thing from stiffsville!

I will see how the next arena ride goes and if the feel is no good, I will change it.

But good idea about the silica storage! Will see what I can come up with. I store it in the house in a warm room when not in use, but I could take that step further, as you suggest :-)

kristie

Still enjoying your updates

I recently ordered a kangaroo bosal from Martin Black because I think I'm ready to step up my game. We will see!LOL

The Hackamore Mule Experiment

Re: The Hackamore Mule Experiment