Buckaroo John's Blog — Mecate

Let's talk about what makes a hackamore setup. The hackamore is comprised of three parts: the bosal, the hanger and the mecate. These three pieces together make a hackamore. The bosal is made of braided rawhide. It can be made in a variety of plaits, quality and price ranges. For green horses the typical sizes available are 3/4" 5/8" and 1/2". The smaller sizes, 3/8" and 5/16" are generally used for more advanced horses in the two rein.  The hanger is a thin piece of leather that connects on either side of the nosepiece of the bosal, goes over the poll and sets...

The hackamore was used by the Vaquero's in the beginning for horse training.  The Vaquero's quickly learned that this piece of horse tack was a must for every day riding too. Today, the hackamore is wildly popular among natural horseman and women and horse riders still true to the Vaquero ways.The unique part of the hackamore is that it does not have a bit. It uses a braided noseband called a bosal. The bosal is a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the horse's face, nose, and chin.  The mecate is the rein portion of the hackamore.The mecate is a...

What is a mecate? The mecate is the rein portion of a hackamore, which is a type of headgear for the horse.  The unique part of the hackamore is that it does not have a bit, but uses a braided rawhide noseband called a bosal.  The bosal works on pressure points on the horse's face, nose, and chin. The mecate is a rope made from horse hair or soft feeling rope that serves as reins and lead rope, should one need. The Persians in 500 BC were one of the first to use a thick plaited noseband which was called...

Most of the time, when you receive your bosal, it won't come in the shape that best suits your horse's face. The bosal should fit like a glove around the horse's face, with no gaps. This requires one to shape it. While it may seem like a daunting task, it's actually quite simple.  This is an unshaped bosal on a horse: Note the gaps. Ideally, those shouldn't be there. So how do we change it's shape? Bosals should be made with a rawhide core, so it can take and hold shape. Once I set this on this gelding's face to...

A new mecate is pretty, but an old mecate is beautiful. All of the hair prickles are worn off, so the pattern is very crisp and distinct. The colors are still as bright as the day it was made. There may be dander and dirt, showing where it has rubbed many a horse's neck, but that just gives it character!   Mane hair mecates are a natural alternative to synthetic fiber mecates. They are comparable in price, and yet have a longer usable life. Below is a simple list of the benefits of having mane hair mecates: Mane hair is...