page_title: Hackamore
section_title: Types
hierarchical_section_title: Hackamore / Types
caption_attribution_description: A sidepull, a type of hackamore for horses. Nylon web headstall, rawhide noseband
context_page_description: A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. It is most commonly associated with certain styles of riding horses.
  Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of riding derived from Spanish traditions, and are occasionally seen in some English riding disciplines such as show jumping and the stadium phase of eventing. Various hackamore designs are also popular for endurance riding. While usually used to start young horses, they are often seen on mature horses with dental issues that make bit use painful, and on horses with mouth or tongue injuries that would be aggravated by a bit. Some riders also like to use them in the winter to avoid putting a frozen metal bit into a horse's mouth.
  There are many styles, but the classic hackamore is a design featuring a bosal noseband, and sometimes itself called a "bosal" or a "bosal hackamore". It has a long rope rein called a mecate and may also add a type of stabilizing throatlatch called a fiador, which is held to the hackamore by a browband.
context_section_description: Today, hackamores can be made of leather, rawhide, rope, cable or various plastics, sometimes in conjunction with metal parts.  The main types are the classic bosal and the more modern sidepull, though other designs based on nose pressure loosely fall into this category. Other assorted designs of bitless headgear, often classed as "bitless bridles", are not true hackamores.  These include the "cross-under" bitless bridle, which uses strap tension to control the horse, and the mechanical "hackamore", which has leverage shanks.
caption: a western-style sidepull
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS CORPORATION", "Image Model": "C765UZ", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 6.3", "Image DateTime": "2007:02:04 17:31:48", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.2.8", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "296", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1738", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "2431", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/50", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Creative", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "110", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:02:04 15:45:32", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:02:04 15:45:32", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "2", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "39/5", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2288", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1712", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed"}