Best Place to Buy a Hackamore

[raave05]

Hello Frugal COTHERs...I am in the hunt for a new mechanical hackamore, but I am having trouble finding the "classic" version for anything less than $150. Herm Sprenger makes the exact version of the hackamore I am currently borrowing from my trainer (she's had hers for 20 years, and it certainly didn't cost $150 back then), but I am having a lot of trouble swallowing that kind of price tag for a "bit". The only things I can find cheaper are harsher western versions (with bicycle chain nosebands or rope), or the short shanked english version (which will not have enough stopping power for my guy).

So, if you guys have any suggestions on where to look, I would be very appreciative. Would it be cheaper to buy the HS bit from a German supplier and have it shipped internationally (I figure a lot of that $150 price tag stems from international shipping).

Here is the hackamore I am trying to find a cheaper replica of:

http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_X1-0106

Thanks in advance.

[foursocks]

It is very difficult to find a German-style hackamore cheaply. If you can find one with the shanks you want, but the noseband is too harsh, slap a sheepskin fuzzy on it, or wrap it in latex and then stick a fuzzy on it- something to give it some padding.

The Herm Sprenger one is a rubber tube over a chain, with a fuzzy on top- without the fleece, it is just as barebones as a lot of the Western ones.

The only other thing I can suggest is haunting the used section of your local tack shops. I had the same trouble and bought a new HS, and then realized I might have been able to adapt a Western one after the fact.

[pony grandma]

I bought this one at Beval for $35.95
http://www.beval.com/Products/Braided-Hackamore/2101004.aspx
It has a leather braided noseband, very flexible. I put a fleece cover on it.

I have two of them, my friend ended up not needing the one I ordered for her -- brand new, tags still on it if anyone wants one.