𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒍?

It is true that a bosal is something that requires know-how. That's true of everything! Snaffles require know-how. Shanked bits require know-how. Gags, dogbones, missing links, corrections, sidepulls, loping hackamores, curb straps, curb chains, the list goes on and on. It is true that all of these tools used on the face require know-how. So is everything on the list only reserved for top hands? No, that's ridiculous. One of the beauties of horses is that they compensate for you, and will allow you to learn and be deficient. They counterbalance your poor balance, they intuitively predict movements you incorrectly cue. They are a forgiving creature, some more than others. Because of this, the thought that a certain tool should be reserved for top hands is simply not true for a large plethora of bridles. How else do you learn if not by doing? I could study football and learn every play, but unless I play, I will never even reach the skill of college quarterbacks, let alone NFL quarterbacks. This is to say that a novice should use a bosal.

𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥? Using a bosal improves everything, assuming you have a rudimentary understanding of how to ride a bosal, it will greatly improve both your horse, and your communicative style to your horse. Bosals work by creating a two way communication, because it is not pain driven, it will not force your horse, at least not more than a couple times. Due to this, mutual respect and understanding are built between the horse and rider. This fosters a healthy teaching relationship between horse and rider, and can really help to make teaching stressful things like lead changes or rollbacks simpler for the horse. To put it simply, they will learn you can't hurt them and trust you. In addition to this, using a bosal rigged up with horsehair mecates will greatly improve your feel. So many people ride in leather split reins, which are great…but they flop around a lot, and getting a feel with them is harder. Others rider in paracord, which has no life. Horsehair has a lot of life and feel to it. It is heavy and not too floppy, it helps the rider learn where the horse is and the cues he is administering to the horse. It also helps the rider build good habits. Bosals are honest. There is literally no forcing. Because of this, the rider will learn to bump and release to get what he wants, instead of pulling or spurring excessively. The rider will also learn how to ride his horse by riding the slack, that is, not touching the face. It is a style of riding that greatly favors the idea of natural riding and movement, and to put it simply: leaving the horse alone! Another awesome thing the rider will learn is how to trust his horse. Bosals are a bluff, because of this, the rider has to trust his horse and not get all scared. To illustrate this, my horse used to speed up in a bosal. I could bump hard but it did nothing (bits didn’t do much either). I learned to remain calm and remain quiet while I lightly bumped the reins and slacked until he formed a manageable circle. Once in this circle, I could work on him and his annoying habit, maybe change circles, stop, etc. This is to say that I learned how to remain calm and keep control of myself. Riding in a hackamore is intimidating because of this, but it is not something that is taught trial-by-fire style. It is something a rider can learn at a walk or trot in the round pen.

For the horse, riding in a hackamore (Bosal) is an awesome thing. Before explaining the benefits of using a bosal, it would be wise to go over how it works. Bosals that are rigged with a hanger and mecates are called a hackamore, but for the purposes of this article I will refer to it as a bosal so as to limit confusion with mechanical hackamores. When riding, the bosal should be adjusted to sit on the nose, in the middle between their nostril and eye. If it is a bit low that is fine, but it should never be used on cartilage. This is an antiquated idea of proper fit that does work very well, but for the wrong reasons. Pain compliance through the cartilage, and restricted breathing on the nostrils that could lead to tension are just a couple examples to argue why a bosal should sit on the upper part of the nose, on strong bone. The heelknot should fall and rest on the chin. An ideal bosal is ½ inch or ⅝. Mecates should be the same diameter, although I like ⅝ mecates because they are heavier. You can ride in a size up or down from the size of your bosal, but because I make bosals and understand how they wear out, using a small size of mecate can quickly mess up a nice bosal and twist the bars. Anyways, it should have 1-3 wraps of the mecate, plus the reins and half-hitch. I have videos on how to tie mecates. Having more than 3 wraps is not bad if it's all you have, but if given the choice, stick with two…that tends to be the magic number. The mecates should be an inch away from the jaw of the horse, a finger should fit between the mecates and the jaw. This limited movement will help make cues clearer while still allowing the bosal to bounce around and let the horse find balance. A hanger of soft leather should be used. Quick-release hangers made by myself work great as they have rings to allow swivel, and they look great. Hangers that are pliable allow the bosal to fall without resistance in the hanger. Using a thick bridle headstall creates a tug-of-war and bounces around too much. For more information on bosals in particular, my article on Working Bosals is a great source. https://tinyurl.com/294pyppa

Bosals work through signals, they do not work by direct pulls. Of course, direct pulls are needed in the beginning, but signals are given anyway so the horse learns to pick up on the first signal rather than a hard bump to the left. Assuming a rider bumps to the left, the horse will feel the prickly horse hair mecates ride up their neck and disturb the rhythm of swing. This will alert the horse something is coming, likely a bump. Next, the heelknot will leave the chin and move off the corner of their lips. After that it will make contact on the chin and slight pressure over the nose. If the pull is really hard, they may feel poll pressure…although they shouldn’t get much of that. Using a short nose button helps eliminate unnecessary poll pressure, and has many benefits, more is discussed in my article on Working Bosals. Because of these signals, one simple bump and release to the left has a bunch of signals to the horse to turn, before the real command.

Horses also learn balance, a lost art in and of itself! Hackamores do not work to collect horses in the beginning, they work to balance and extend a horse, eventually teaching the horse how to collect first from the hips, then in the head. Hackamores help the horse ride naturally and often help foster a higher, more normal headset…although that is often at the mercy of the breeding of your horse. They also bounce around on the horse's head and help them find a sweet spot of natural balance. Because of this, bosals work amazing on young horses that are clumsy with their feet, or otherwise clumsy horses. Horses also do not learn things from pain or pressure, they learn it from signals and very black and white cause and effect. This helps to create an incredible foundation.

𝐒𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞? Absolutely. How do you introduce it? Assuming your horse already understands how to move around, introduce it after a long trail. Sweating your horse will make the process easier for both of you. Not because your horse will be worked to the bone and be submissive, but because they are likely not in a state of mind to try pulling any shenanigans off, they are in a working mind frame. Introduce the bosal in a smaller pen, ideally a round pen (wear a helmet) and work on steering. Do simple figure 8s and teach them how to double into the fence, at first far away, then gradually getting closer. For more on doubling and basic principles: https://tinyurl.com/3fxu5w42

Teach them that bumps mean something and that the horse needs to pick up his body and move around. Working on spiraling into the center and stopping helps a lot too. I would do this until you can easily double and spiral at a lope and or trot. These are your failsafes.The one rein stop that is so popular now, is actually the dollar-store version of doubling…it is a means to an end. Do not overpractice doubling or sour your horse to it, you want it to be there when you need it. It is your safety. All of this is shown in detail in the aforementioned url.

If nothing else just remember these 3 things:

1. 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐍𝐒!!!!!!! Bump and slack 2. Keep your hands up and work there, it is not a side to side device. 3. Doubling and spiraling are your safety. 4. Only bump as hard as their head.

𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞!

𝙒𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙁𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨, 𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧. Pictured: Sanjos Nifty Angel (Lucia) Bosal w/ Quick Release Hanger made by Johnny Flores.