First of all, what are they? A bosal (depending on who you talk to, it is pronounced different ways. I was taught to say boze-all) is basically, most traditionally, a woven rawhide noseband. It is tear drop-shaped and a mecate (muh-cot-tee, say it fast!) is tied to the pointed end. It works off of the nose of the horse and has a tiny bit of leverage action. Bosals are part of the Vaquero tradition in creating a finished bridle horse.
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| Weaving the bosal |
Bosals are created by weaving rawhide strings together. In a finished bosal, these are called plaits (rhymes with flats). The more plaits a bosal has, the higher quality it is and the more comfortable it will be for your horse. A quality bosal on the lower end will have about 20-30 plaits. That's a pretty good quality bosal. A super high quality bosal will have 60 to 100 plaits in the noseband. A cheap-o bosal will have maybe 8 plaits or less. Not good quality. The bosal will be very rough and can rub your horse's nose raw.
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| Compare this Weaver Leather 8-plait bosal, with... |
| KO Trading's 60-plait bosal. See the difference? |
A bosal has a core that helps to keep the shape. The best cores are rawhide as they are more flexible and can help to mold to the horse. A bosal that molds to the horse doesn't rub or move unnecessarily. Metal is another core material, but it is not advised because it does not mold to the horse and is illegal in some show rings.
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| The parts of a bosal. The knot is called a fiador knot. |
A bosal is a great tool for training or re-training horses. It is typically used before introducing the snaffle in bridle horses. Oftentimes, you start with a larger diameter of bosal, say 3/4" or 5/8" and progress to a thinner bosal and then an even thinner bosal (or bosalito). The more broke a horse is, the less pressure you have to use on the smaller bosal.
Bosals can come in different colors and designs. They can be plain, striped, or two different colors. They can be light or dark, though light colors are more popular. Usually, they are understated as they are meant to show off the horse and are a working piece of tack. But, quality bosals are as much a piece of essential tack as they are a work of art as it takes a lot of skill to weave a bosal with 30 or more plaits!
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| Striped |
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| Plain, natural coloring |
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| A bosal being used on a western pleasure horse |
Bosals are not only being used on Vaquero-type horses or in training, but can also be seen in the show ring. Typically, they are only allowed on horses 5 and under.
The mecate is another essential part of this set-up. The complete set-up (bosal + mecate + hanger) is called a hackamore. Not to be confused with the mechanical kind though! The mecate is tied onto the bosal by use of the fiador knot. The usual length of a mecate is 22 feet. it is tied so that you have a set of reins (one continuous pair) and a lead rein which is threaded around the horn of the saddle or through your belt when riding.
Mecates can now be made of several different materials. Cotton or synthetic mecates can be seen a lot in the show ring, but horse hair mecates are more traditional. And let's face it, they're cooler too! Horse hair mecates can be made out of mane or tail hair. Tail hair is coarser than mane hair, thus they mane hair are the "choice" material. They come in all the natural colors of horse hair, and are usually striped, with multiple colors of hair being used.
A bosal hanger, the last part of the hackamore, is usually just a plain piece of leather that goes around the bosal and over the crown of the horse. I personally favor the plainer styles with a small, pretty silver buckle, but you can see a lot of different styles - with browbands, one or two-ears and dripping with silver. It all depends on what you like!
Here's a quick video of how to tie a fiador knot. This makes it seem easy!
More information:
The Care and Keeping of a Mecate
Rawhide Care
About Bosals and Hackamores
The Making of a Bosal
You are so not correct about quality bosals being 60-100 plaited and mid-quality ones being plated 20-30. Sure enough 8 plait wouldn't work for me either, but a c 12/24 or 24/30 etc plait bosal works for me and for most respected horsemen too. It is about how soft and smooth the bosal is, especially the nose part which in my and many opinions should be short. The quality is also dependent on the core, the rawhide or roo used, the quality and positioning of the knots (which everybody has preference) and so on. A 60-100 plaited bosal is fancy, yes, but it is not necessary or makes it better. Look up respected rawhide braiders like Aaron and Dorothy of CalClassics.net or Steve Harris etc. Many dressage riders should respectively ride with a bosal every now and then, it makes it impossible to hold on to the reins and try controlling your horse with them. Just a hint...
ReplyDeleteNot saying they're mid quality, just that in my experience the ones with high plaits are nicer/fancier. Sure that may not be necessary. My trainer has a 120 plait bosal that is amazing - it is smooth with no sharp edges. It is very well made and she's used it for 10+ years with no problems. I guess I haven't seen one of your nice quality lower plait bosals in person. The only lower plait ones I've seen have sharp edges even if everything else about them is done properly. And I don't know if you're commenting on me as the "dressage rider" but I do ride with a bosal...
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter wheter you are riding dressage or reined cow horse, you're riding a horse. I was probably talking more about Dressage riders in Europe... they do hold on to the reins.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I guess you should look it up. Not saying you should get one just so you can see, that'd be a lot of money... But I bet you, a good Jaquima plaited 20-30 made by a good braider is worth more than a bosal 100 plaited by someone who may be ok doing the job, but not exceedingly well.