𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝-𝐀-𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑩𝒖𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑯𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑶𝒖𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑩𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆. ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ʙy ʙʀᴀɪᴅᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴄʜᴀᴍᴩɪᴏɴ, ᴊᴏʜɴɴy ꜰʟᴏʀᴇꜱ

Having braided professionally now for a few years, I understand that there is a lot of confusion as to what bosal to get. Many people simply do not know, others think they know and are pretty far off from the gold. Of all the questions I get, they tend to lead back to what bosal to get. People of course ask about color, interweaves, hangers, etc…but almost everyone I have had the opportunity to make a bosal for has asked my opinion for their horse or horses. People usually describe their horses, the goals for their horse(s), and their own competence as a horseman. Through a long dialogue I try to guide them to the best possible fit for them, and I wanted to create an article discussing this process. I want to be able to give you an idea into what your horse may need so that when you are ready to order a bosal, whether from me, or another braider…you will find the best. And not be talked into a bad deal, swayed by bad opinions, or cheap prices.

Before laying out the table, I think it is very important to mention that my experience as a horseman and forever-student of the Vaquero way of training have taught that there is more than one way. That is to say, that while my opinions and recommendations in this article will hold merit, there may be other opinions. I have simply found these ideas to be a rather general consensus in the sea of ideas out there.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝? Excluding aesthetic choices such as color or lace material, there are two major qualities to your bosal: 1. Thickness 2. Stiffness

These two are the largest deciding factors in how well your bosal will fit your horse. Assuming your bosal is made with an appropriate rawhide, leather, or rope core (NOT cable core or plastic hose tubing, like some south american bosals) and is braided with rawhide, leather, or hitched horsehair (with appropriate sized strands so as to limit wear). This table is to help lay out a very concise idea of what bosal will fit your horse.

𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 & 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙈𝙚𝙖𝙣: 𝙎𝙤𝙛𝙩, 𝙈𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙪𝙢, & 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙙.

𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭: This is a bosal that will not hold itself up, it will fall at the heel knot and will certainly bend downwards with the weight of the mecate. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦: This is a bosal that will hold itself up and will not bend with the weight of the mecates. It will bend in your hands with some force. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝: This is a bosal that will hold itself up, will not bend with the weight of the mecates, and will hardly bend. It will require extreme force to bend the heel knot and nosebutton towards each other. Some hard bosals will conform to the horse's face, widen, or narrow…but will not bend if you try to bend the heel knot and nosebutton towards each other.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙍𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝟏. ½ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝟐. ⅝ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝟑. ¾ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 Each measurement is taken of the diameter of the bosal’s body/ bars. Many times it is off by a millimeter or so, these are called scant bosals. Scant essentially means close enough. Being a scant bosal does not take away from the value, it is what happens when braiding handmade goods. Many times oil, sweat, or humidity cause the leather or rawhide to swell and cause a scant to develop. The listed measurements are the most common and commercially available bosal measurements. Anything smaller than ½ inch will be a bosalita and considered inappropriate to use in the general education of a bridle horse except in the two rein or as an underbridle. Anything over ¾ tends to be overkill, except in the case of bronc horses or flat bosals (made to be used to lighten up hardened horses). In addition, most braiders don’t make 1 inch bosals or have many in stock because most people don’t buy them. So now that we have this all out of the way, let's Build-A-Bosal! This guide will go through the stiffnesses and thicknesses and their corresponding horse’s traits. Honest assessment of your horse will yield best results.

𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝟏. 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭 Tends to work for younger horses, sensitive horses, horses with extensive groundwork experience, VERY LITTLE to no fight or resistance, eager to please horses.

𝟐. 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 Tends to work for any age horse, average sensitivity, very little groundwork such as basic halter training and some lunging, needs more guidance through sticky situations, pretty opinionated, resistant at times.

𝟑. 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐝 Any age, dull, hardened, perhaps broncy, no groundwork, needs more authority, moderate to large amount of resistance, very opinionated overthinks, needs a lot of guidance, show pen/arena smart, takes advantage of rider.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝟏. ½ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 Naturally light, opinionated, some attitude, no resistance, very intuitive, doesn’t overthink.

𝟐. ⅝ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 Average lightness, some attitude, some resistance, needs more support, may overthink, needs a bit more authority at times.

𝟑. ¾ 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 Below average lightness, quite a bit of attitude, heavy or dull in the face, more resistance, needs more authority, may overthink, stubborn, older/ set in their ways, young/arrogant horses.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 The qualities listed for the bosal qualities here are not a cut and dry one size fits all sort of chart. A horse may need a ¾ hard because he is older, overthinks, and his showsmart…not because he is a bronc, or he has attitude.

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐬

Sanjos Nifty Angel “Lucia” She is light, has a lot of groundwork, and little to no fight. She’d be a soft bosal. She is naturally light, super intuitive, and doesn’t resist. She is ½ inch. So the likely best bosal for her would be a ½ inch soft, her exact bosal she has been using for 1.5 years. She has placed high in Ranch Riding at the local and state level, Ranch Reining at the state level, and has won a VRH all-around buckle, even being the youngest in her division 9 times out of 10.

Draco Star “Draco” He is older, kinda sensitive, has some basic groundwork, has a bit of resistance in him. He's a medium. He has average lightness, a bit of attitude and opinionated, some resistance, definitely needs support, he does overthink with certain things, and sometimes he definitely needs authority. He is ⅝. He would likely work best in a ⅝ medium bosal, the exact bosal I used to get him sliding, turning and changing leads. Despite his late start and the problems that came with that, he went on to win an EXCA World Championship Intermediate title after only 3 years of training, having started at about 13 years old. Draco also holds numerous EXCA State and Regional Titles in multiple divisions. He has also gone on to place in Ranch Riding at the local level and won 4-H Trail Trials.

Silver Star “Silver” This mustang mare is incredibly light, tons of groundwork, little to no fight/resistance. She’d be a soft bosal. She is naturally light, a bit opinionated, sometimes needs a bit of support, definitely needs a bit of authority at times due to her hot temperament. This is a ⅝. She would likely do best in a soft ⅝ bosal. For a while she rode in a ½ inch soft and it worked 90% of the time, but when she got hot it didn’t matter much. Later on she tried a 1 inch medium (it was all we had at the time) and it seemed to be a little too much for her. She went on to place high in CRHA against quarter horses! She is a multiple time reserve EXCA World Champion as well as holding numerous EXCA State and Regional Titles .

Caliber’s Revenge “Caliber” He is mildly sensitive, basic groundwork, large amounts of resistance, definitely show/arena-smart, and totally takes advantage of his rider. He would fit a hard bosal. He is average lightness(when his nerves or attitude are not interfering), TONS of attitude, REALLY overthinks, INCREDIBLY stubborn. Even though average lightness would point in the direction of a ⅝…which he used a lot back when he was a hackamore horse, he would likely do better in a hard ¾, which is the bosal we use now when we go back and work on things. He has gone on to place in the top 3 in the EXCA World Finals Non Pro Division first run, hold numerous state and regional EXCA titles, won an All-Around Buckle in Ranch Versatility, and has placed high in Reined Cow-horse at the local level.

𝐈𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 Some traits on your horse may outweigh others. Caliber, for example is average lightness which would dictate a ⅝…but EVERY other trait about him points in the direction of a ¾. This Build-A-Bosal guide is not a cut and dry guide, it should still be talked over with a reputable braider, whether it be me, or someone else. I hope this helped you figure out a better idea of the bosal you need. If you made it this far, thank you for reading.

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