The California Hackamore Horse - The Art and Science of Making an Old Style California Hackamore Horse

Author:  Jeff Sanders

 
The California Hackamore Horse by Jeff Sanders is a definitive guide to understanding and succeeding with the traditional hackamore, for all riding disciplines. Rooted in six generations and more than 165 years of California vaquero horsemanship within Sanders’ family, and over 265 years of combined experience on both sides, this book preserves a living tradition while making it practical for today’s horsemen and horsewomen. Drawing on firsthand work with 300 to 400 hackamore horses and riders each year through clinics around the world, Jeff Sanders offers rare insight into what truly works, what does not, and why.

Blending deep historical knowledge with real-world application, The California Hackamore Horse goes far beyond theory. It provides clear, honest guidance shaped by thousands of horses, countless miles and decades of refinement. The result is one of the most comprehensive and authentic resources available on traditional hackamore use, written by a Californian Vaquero who lives the tradition every day.

List of chapters:

• The California hackamore horse
• California vaqueros and the military connection
• How did California horsemanship become soft & light?
• Cultural connections
• The hackamore
• The passing of knowledge
• What kind of horsemanship did the Spanish bring to America?
• Lateral action of the hackamore
• How the nose button works
• How the heel knot works
• Parts & pieces of the hackamore
• Materials
• Shaping, fitting and maintenance
• Myth versus reality
• Collection
• Jaw tension & release
• Groundwork and doubling
• Weight, seat and leg signals
• Rein handling
• Hand positions
• Rein signals
• Riding one handed
• Side movements
• Shoulder out
• Shoulder in
• Hindquarters in
• Hindquarters out
• Halfpass
• Leg yield
• Sidepass
• Rollbacks, backup, slide stops
• Spins, turns on the forehand and pirouettes
• Circles
• Lead changes
• Transitions
• When is it time to go to the two rein?
• The California Bridle Horse

About the Author
Jeff Sanders was born in Merced California and raised on the Central Coast, right in the heart of Vaquero country. Jeff is a 6th generation Californian. He is one of very few teaching the California Vaquero style of horsemanship who was raised in the traditions and is truly a Californio himself. Jeffʼs family has a long history of running cattle and riding stock horses in California, starting over 160 years ago. Jeff's great, great, great grandfather started working as a vaquero in Petaluma California when he was a teenager in 1854, over a decade before the first big Texas cattle drives. This tradition followed down through Jeffʼs family and he can trace his horsemanship all the way back 160 years on one side of his family and over 100 years on the other side. Having been raised in the California horsemanship traditions since childhood, Jeff's parents passed the knowledge down to Jeff the same way it had been done for a couple of hundred years. Staying true to the Vaquero tradition of passing knowledge from generation to generation Jeff learned his horsemanship directly from the source. Jeff and his parents took the skills of the old time Vaqueros and applied them, not only on the ranch but also in the competition arena. Jeff credits his as well as his parentsʼ success in competitions to the fundamental principles of old style California horsemanship. He has also been fortunate to have had the opportunity to apply the skills and philosophies of the old California Vaqueros while day working on ranches in California, Colorado, Wyoming and Nevada .Jeff still day works when he is home but is steadfast in his dedication to spreading the traditions of the California Bridle Horse throughout the world. Jeff teaches this style of horsemanship in clinics around the world including US, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe, Israel and New Zealand, and it is his hope that this proud tradition that respects the rider and honurs the horse will not just survive, but will once again flourish.

Softcover ‎ 161 pages
Size: ‎ 8.3 x  11.7 inches