# Thoughts on a Flower Hackamore?



## Equestria (29 April 2012)

Hey, I was just surfing the internet, as you do, and I came across a very unusual looking bitless bridle, and is curious about it, and would like to know your thoughts on it. 






















I assume that the further up you go, the more severe the leverage is, though that's just a guess. Has anyone got any experience with these types of hackamores? Are they any good? I'm interesting in going bitless for everyday hacking on my pony, as I always feel bad when I have to pull on his mouth. 

Here's a British site where they sell them: 
http://www.chandellessaddlery.co.uk/endurance/zilco-flower-hackamore-stainless-steel.html


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## spottydottypony (29 April 2012)

It looks very interesting i would like one for my youngster.  Do you think it will be about as gentle as a DR.Cook bitless bridle? I dont know a lot about hackamores


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## Equestria (29 April 2012)

Hmm, Probably it is, if you connect the reins to the reins that are facing towards the neck of the horse and not the nose, but that's just an educated guess.


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## dafthoss (29 April 2012)

Personally if you have to take a 'pull' I wouldnt want to hack in something like this purely from a saftey point of view as it doesnt look like it will offer that much more control than a head collar. Why not do some work with him so you can stop him with your seat and weight then you wont have to take a pull and can hack on a long rein.


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## Tickles (29 April 2012)

Ooh, interesting. As the 'flower' doesn't have a huge 'stalk' it is going to be a little milder,in terms of poll and nose pressure,   than some like this: http://www.equinenow.com/store-item-3739 even if you connect reins to the bottom of the 'stalk'.

If you connect the reins to the same 'petal' as the back of the nose band joins to (assuming there is enough room) it will be almost a side-pull: http://www.bitlessandbarefoot.com/bitless-shop.php (scroll down a bit) so just nose pressure and not much else.

As you work around the petals to the bottom and down the stalk it will get stronger on the poll.

You could probably try some positions too.

Looks versatile.

One thing: the Dr Cooks (as I understand it, been a while since I used one) does 'whole head' pressure which this won't unless you do something fancy with straps.

Depends what suits you/horse but I find the 'head hug' idea less intuitive than something like a side pull where pressure on nose is for slowing and left/right is simply left/right (with all the other usual aids too of course!).


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## Equestria (29 April 2012)

Oh no, I don't have to pull Danny much on hacks at all, just in general when I pull on his mouth to slow him down/halt him etc. He's only strong when with other horses, and mostly I am on my own riding him, so I know he'd be fine, I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this flower hackamore as I have never seen one before.


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## Marydoll (29 April 2012)

I have a wee tb who has always been fussy in her mouth and can get a bit excitable when her feet hit the soft stuff, and I need to take a pull especially if setting up to go  over a log or other xc jump out hacking  Sometimes if excited aids can be ignored and need worked on over time to establish.
I tried Dr Cooks, she and I hated it. The English hackamore i found good, had brakes but not the greatest for steering at speed, a good bit of kit though, and i have successfully sj and trained xc in one, dont think id try in comp though.
Im not sure about this id need to try it first tbh, it does look interesting


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## noodle_ (29 April 2012)

im trying a german hackamore on my mare


shes really mouth sensitive (her teeth are fine before i get jumped on)!, she hates being messed about with a bit.... so the hackamore im going to try


Has anyone ever tried a german hackamore??


OP that one looks interesting but sadly i know nothing about them!


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## dafthoss (29 April 2012)

Equestria said:



			Oh no, I don't have to pull Danny much on hacks at all, just in general when I pull on his mouth to slow him down/halt him etc. He's only strong when with other horses, and mostly I am on my own riding him, so I know he'd be fine, I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with this flower hackamore as I have never seen one before. 

Click to expand...

Ok sorry your OP made it sound as if you had breaking issues so I had visions of you not being able to stop . Never seen one before so cant help you on that but if you do get one I'd try it out in an enclosed space before you head out hacking just incase. The only other thing is that if he doesnt like it then you might find it harder to sell on than a standard hackamore.


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## Equestria (29 April 2012)

It's okay, I guess I didn't make it that clear - my fault! 
Yeah, I suppose it would be quite hard to sell if Danny doesn't like it, as I don't think it's that popular. 
It's an interesting design though, I wonder how it will go down in a show or something along them lines?


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## Bex2804 (19 March 2013)

I ride in a english hackamore with a curb chain when I ride my strong 12.2hh loan pony.  My friend rides in a flower hackamore and it is gentler than the english, and even gentler if you use a curb strap rather than a chain.  I ride my 5 year old who was backed at the start of 2012 and left to mature over the summer in a happy mouth snaffle and a english hackamore, depends what I feel like.  I might try him in the flower hackamore as it does not have the long shanks like the english hackamore as I find that with his lack of steering at the moment trying to use my seat and my hands to guide him in a english hackamore isn't the easiest because of the shanks.  I also like the fact you can have more control over the amount of pressure because of the different rings.  I have found the hackamores great so far but you have to be gentle in them as they can be harsh if used wrongly, many people made the mistake of just pulling back with them, when really it should be a sawing type action as the idea is to convince the horse you can put more pressure on than you really can, otherwise the do the same as a horse grabbing the bit and from my experience put their head down and go!


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## Shysmum (19 March 2013)

I use an English hackamore, and have seen these - but to be totally honest, it all looks a bit too complicated for what I need.  I'll stick to what I know how to use


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## Orchardbeck (20 March 2013)

I think the usp with these ones is that you have options, I would say the lower down your reins are clipped, the stronger it is. 

My favourite is the little s hackamore, in my opinion it looks much nicer than the english, and gives me control when I need it, but is gentle the rest of the time - my mare only pulls when doing fast work and I find I can communicate with her better in this than a bit. We ride on the buckle end most of the time though!


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## Auslander (20 March 2013)

noodle_ said:



			im trying a german hackamore on my mare


shes really mouth sensitive (her teeth are fine before i get jumped on)!, she hates being messed about with a bit.... so the hackamore im going to try


Has anyone ever tried a german hackamore??


OP that one looks interesting but sadly i know nothing about them!
		
Click to expand...

I use a german hackamore occasionally, mainly for hacking. I like them, but you do need to know what you've got at the other end of your reins. They are extremely strong, and can do a lot of damage. I wouldn't use one on a naughty horse - you just cant grab hold of the front end without potentially hurting the horse quite badly. Very useful for a strong puller who uses his neck against you though.


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