Mecate, Bosal, Hackamore Vaquero Tack

 Vaquero Horse Tack, Mecate, Bosal and Hackamore

The Mecate is the rein portion of the horse tack, called the Hackamore. The Hackamore is a type of headgear for horse training. 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 a rope made from horse hair or soft feeling rope that serves as reins and lead rope.

The types of Hackamores include the Bosal and side pull. The Bosal Hackamore uses the Vaqueros tradition of the braided noseband and the Mecate rope.

 100% Alpaca Mecate

$100

The Mecate is tied to the Bosal in a specialized manner that adjusts the fit of the Bosal around the muzzle of the horse and creates both a looped rein and a long free end that can be used for a number of purposes.  

For the mounted rider, the free end is coiled and attached to the saddle or tucked under your belt. When the rider dismounts, the lead rein is not used to tie the horse to a solid object but used as a lead rope and a form of lunge line when needed.

 AAA Bosalitos Vaquero Style

 $249

The traditional Mecate used by the California Vaqueros was made from the long hair of a horse's tail and was hand braided. Modern Mecates are made with horse hair and synthetic rope with a horse hair tassel at one end and a leather popper at the other end.

A properly tied Mecate knot (please view the how to video here) allows wraps of rope to be added to the knot in front of the rein loop in order to tighten the Bosal noseband on a horse or the rope can be unwrapped to loosen the Bosal.

 Black Beauty Concha Hackamore

$259

 Cadillac Hackamore Set with Fiador and Mecate

$395

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
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Why Buckaroo Leather Products???

Buckaroo Leather booth at Western States Horse Expo

 

Why Buckaroo Leather Products??

"A Cowboy is loyal to his "brand," to his friends, 

and those he rides with”….Old West Cowboy Code 

There are many leather horse tack companies to choose from, so why choose Buckaroo Leather Products?

First and most importantly Buckaroo Leather Products is proud to say that we are a family owned business that has been manufacturing quality leather horse tack for over 30 years right here in the good old USA!!......

......and Buckaroo Leather Products is proud to shout it from the rooftops!!

"A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by, 

no matter his job." -- John Wayne

From Buckaroo Leather Creed….

“The materials which go into the making of Buckaroo Leather Tack and the craftsmanship employed in it’s making 
are elements of the highest importance. 

You could have no higher guarantee of quality 
and workmanship than the name 

Buckaroo Leather upon your Tack.” 

 

 Happy customers outfitting their mules in custom tack

Along with fine American craftsmanship, Buckaroo Leather only uses quality leather tanned and cured right here in the USA by Hermann Oak Leather. We start with the best leather to create a finished piece of horse tack that is not only beautiful but also unmatched in its quality and durability.

Heart on Ride Breast Collar and Headstall set

Buckaroo Leather has two generations of experience and knowledge in the making of leather riding equipment. We use the most exacting standards to meet your needs for the perfect custom horse tack with your exact fit, style and design. 

Loping Soft Nose Hackamore

Buckaroo Leather prides itself on our customer service. We are here to help you get exactly what leather horse tack you need for your special four-legged friend. The greatest asset a business can have is its reputation in fair dealing. 

“Honesty is absolute - your word is your bond, a handshake is more binding than a contract.”.... Cowboy Code of the West

Tooled Browband with silver and cowboy dots

From Buckaroo Leather Creed…..

• That our business is to furnish merchandise to meet and exceed the requirements of our customers at a fair value.
• That no transaction is complete until our customers are satisfied with the quality and the price of the goods and service rendered.
• That retaining the business of an old customer is of as much importance as obtaining the business of a new customer. 
 

 

The Cowboys of the old west communicated around the chuck wagon campfire or at the saloon. Today with the vast ever changing world of technology, Buckaroo Leather has many forms of communication with you our customer. From our Buckaroo Leather facebook page, monthly newsletter, twitter, our How-to-Video’s and this Buckaroo Leather blog we have many ways to connect…but never losing our core spirit of the old west Cowboys and their code.

Californio Vaqueros

 
Buckaroo Leather loves to create horse tack styles influenced by the traditional western cowboy tack and the Vaquero and Californio styles of the old west. Many of our quality horse tack have this influence in the style and function. Yet, we also create horse tack with a modern “sheekaroo” style with quality functionality. 

"We love supporting future cowboys and cowgirls"...John Brand owner Buckaroo Leather

Picture above is John Brand with the Youth award winner and his prize a Buckaroo Leather breast collar at the Bishop Mule Days. 

Buckaroo Leather Products was honored to donate custom leather breast collars (pic. below) for Bishop Mule Days.

Buckaroo Leather can hand craft any style of quality leather award for your next event

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Fiador Throat Latch-a Vaquero Tradition

The Vaquero Style Western Tack is becoming the Rage by Performance Horse Fans, Nationwide-including the traditional Vaquero Fiador Throat-Latch.



A Fiador is a throat-latch used on the bosal style hackamore and some bitless bridles. The purpose of the fiadore is to stabilize a heavy noseband or Rawhide Bosal and prevent the bridle from shifting. The Fiador is made from rope, cordage, horsehair, rawhide, cotton sash cord or nylon.


The Fiador was used by the Spanish Vaquero and Californio. The word Fiador is from the Spanish verb fiar, meaning to answer for. The old west cowboys also used the word “Theadore”, this was their Americanized version of the word Fiador.


The design of the Fiador starts by crossing over the horse's head at the poll, with a knot under the jawbones, and attaches to the hackamore at the noseband or Rawhide Bosal. The knot under the jaw is usually a fiador knot, and the
fiador may have a second fiador knot at the point where it attaches to the heel knot of the bosal.


The Fiador is most often used when starting young horses with a heavy bosal within the "Californio" or vaquero tradition, and used throughout thehackamore phase of training horses within the "Texas" tradition of Western style riding. Adding a fiador to a hackamore stabilizes the equipment on the head of the animal. A bosal adjusted low on the horse's nose requires the fiador for proper balance, and also makes it easier to handle the horse on the ground when using the lead rope end of the mecate three rein systems. A horse is not tied with a hackamore, even with a fiador, but rather, the fiador prevents the headgear from falling off the horse's head.



In keeping with the Vaquero and Californio Tradition, Buckaroo Leather carries a traditional Fiador and Hackamore set with Fiador and Mohair Mecate. (pictured above)



Fiador (pictured above)This is the traditional fiador style throat latch for a bosal or caveson hackamore setup. Earth-tone colors.

Hackamore Set w/Fiador and Mohair Mecate
Complete Hackamore Set includes an all natural color beautifully hand braided 16 plait 5/8" All rawhide core (no cable core) rawhide bosal w/ Hermann Oak harness browband with traditional fiador (throat latch)and Mohair or Mane Horse Hair Mecate 5/8" - 22' long, 6 Strand Braid. Beautiful Quality hand braided feel and communication on mane hair or Mohair, but is much easier on the hands, especially the rider with a softer grip. Mohair has pretty much the same body and feel as the good mane hair mecates. These are the best we have found braided in the old California Vaquero style. This Hackamore features our best quality all rawhide core bosal; a beautiful piece of "Old Style" rawhide braiding.



Watch our Video To Learn How To Fit and use the Fiador Throatlatch with your Bosal and Mecate




Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Silver and the Californio Vaquero Influence

When we think of silver, we think jewelry and maybe our Grandmother's sterling silver serving set. But in the equine world, silver is associated with beautifully adorned parade or show saddles, and the engraved Conchos and buckles used to adorn leather horse tack.

The Californio Vaquero's started this great tradition of saddle and horse tack decoration. Vaquero's were skilled horseman who took great pride in their horsemanship and their gear. Looking good was as important as riding well.

The Californio Vaquero's western Saddles were truly works of art. While the decoration styles remained very traditional, the saddle's decoration changed by geographical location and time. The Vaquero adorned their saddles with leather lacing, leather carving or stamping and of course engraved silver work.

This silver work can still be seen on Western Saddles of today. The Western Saddles of today reflect the beauty and tradition of the old Vaquero style. This silver decoration can be subtle or extreme. Whether it is an elaborate show or parade saddles or a custom everyday saddle, they all reflect the riders pride in their horsemanship and distinct style.

Below are just some of the ways to adorn your saddle with engraved silver:

On custom saddles, Horn Caps and Nameplates can be customized.

Silver trim is available in sets or as individual pieces. The most basic set includes two corner plates for the back corners of the skirts, a cantle plate, a horn cap, and 4 large and 2 small conchos. In addition to these pieces, you'll find silver trim designed for accenting stirrups and tapadaros(are covers or hoods for the front of the stirrups), fenders, swells, rigging plates, latigo holders, buckles, breast plates and breast collars.

Silver trim is also available for saddle pads and blankets. This type of trim is most common with show tack. You'll find silver conchos and silver bars available for holding competition numbers in place. The trim attaches with either Chicago screws or with cufflink backs.

Buckaroo Leather has built a family business using USA made products and employing USA citizens to assure YOU, Our valued Customer the Finest in Quality leather horse tack. In the tradition of the Californio our product has a timeless quality and our attention to the hand crafted beauty of both the engraved silver and tooled leather is unmatched!

Buckaroo Leather hand crafts many of the traditonal styles of Vaquero horse tack and western horse tack with beautiful conchos and buckles to dress them up! Below is a list of those products:

Breast Collar-

Brass Heart Concha Hand crafted from the finest Hermann Oak Golden Bridle leather, this Old Martingale style shaped Choker breast collar features an over the shoulder fit for a better pulling position. It is Hand basket stamped and Also featured is the adjustable Over neck strap and connector billets. The breast collar is hand tooled, edged, rubbed and finished with soft chap lining and beautiful authentic old style solid brass Heart concha.

Mane Hair Mecate 

Mane Hair Mecate 5/8" - 22' long, 6 Strand Braid. Beautiful Quality and hand braided These are the best we have found braided in the old California Vaquero Style.

Horse Hair Hackamore 

Complete Hackamore Set includes an all natural color beautifully hand braided 16 or 14 plait 5/8" rawhide core rawhide bosal w/ Hermann Oak harness head piece attached with Cowboy knot adjustment and Mane Hair Mecate 5/8" - 22' long, 6 Strand Braid. This Hackamore features our best quality all rawhide core bosal; a beautiful piece of "Old Style" rawhide braiding.

Old Buckaroo Style Headstall- 

Beautifully Hand Basket Tooled "Old Buckaroo" Style Browband Headstall with cowboy shaped cheeks and nickel buckles. Lined and stitched w/soft chap lining and finished with 1 1/2" Antique Berry Slotted Conchas on top of hand tooled rosettes and blood knot ties, repeated at the brow & bit ends for a truely unique look.Sterling Antique

Concha Buckle Set

Beautifully hand engraved in the "Old Mexico" style, this 1 3/4" Sterling Silver Antique Concha Buckle set features a berry edge, fits a 5/8" headstall or belt and gives your tack a unique look!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Californio Style Hackamores & Mecates

On my horse travels I have noticed the “old west” style of Hackamores are coming back!

The traditional Hackamore used by the Californio Vaquero long ago had a beautiful braided rawhide Bosal and adorned with rawhide buttons. The Mecate rein was made from the long hair of the horse’s tail and was hand braided-truly a work of art.

The influence of the Vaquero style is seen in our Hackamores today. They have a traditional braided rawhide Bosal and the Mecate reins are made with mane horse hair or mohair and are beautifully hand braided.

Today’s Hackamores not only have the Vaquero style, they have their timeless quality. The Vaquero used the braided rawhide Bosal and horse hair Mecate reins because the durability and quality was long lasting. The horse hair is strong but lightweight, better for training and working the horse then and now.

It is exciting to see the influence of the Californio Vaquero still around today.

To learn more on how to tie Mecate reins, please watch this Video

If you enjoyed this blog post check back for more posts on other traditional Californio rawhide horse tack product including:

Rawhide Quirtz, Rawhide Romel Reins, and Rawhide Riatas.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

The Vaquero Way Influencing Tack......

Vaquero’s, which in Spanish means, “Cowboys”, were Spanish horseman. Their style of horsemanship, gear and training has had an influence on the “Traditional American Cowboy”. Their unique style spread from Europe all the way to the United States.

The Vaquero learned many of their horse skills from Medieval & Renaissance Europe. The European Knights and their war horses used many skills on the battlefield that can be seen today in both the reined working cow horse and dressage.

When the Spanish began to colonize the “America’s”, they used the skills found on the European Battlefields to train their horses.

The Vaquero’s Spanish style of training horses spread throughout California. Once in California the “California” Vaquero began to refine their methods of training horses and working cattle.

Because of the unique climate and culture in California the growing Vaquero tradition of training could take as long as needed. The mild climate allowed for the Vaquero’s training of a horse to take all the time that was needed. So, the California bridle horse evolved to a point where a top hand could ride his horse with just a light string attaching his rein chains to a bit.

The influence of the Vaquero spread from California to Texas. The Texas Cowboy, or what we think of today as the “Classic American Cowboy”, had a different style of training horses and working cattle. The different styles of both the Texas Cowboy and the Vaquero can still be seen today.

One example, is the that the Texas Cowboy prefers to tie their rope directly to the saddle horn by a loop on the tail end, while the Vaquero prefers to wrap his rope around the saddle horn.

The Texas Cowboy uses his horse to work cattle, while the Vaquero uses cattle to work his horses. These two unique styles have grown into two very different competitions.

The cutting horse has grown out of the Texas style , which prefers the use of a horse that is bred to work a cow on its own once that horse has been trained.

The reined working cow horse has grown out of the Vaquero style, which came from the Vaquero tradition of training a horse that is also bred to work a cow but works entirely from the commands of the rider.

Even the buckaroo gear and vaquero gear is different. The Vaquero likes the silver spade bit with silver conchos on the bridle and a fancy set of braided rawhide rommel reins.



The Texas style is a grazer bit and simpler, but functional bridle with a plain set of leather split reins.

As with the ornate design of the Spanish style spurs and straps, (read the “History of Spurs” on my Squidoo Lens) the Spanish influence, through the California Vaquero, can be seen in not only the finesse of the reined working cow horse but in the ornate design of their bits, bridles and romel reins.

Buckaroo Leather Company has continued the Vaquero tradition with many unique styles of leather horse tack, vaquero gear. A few examples are:

LH111A Headstall & Rein set. This is an old time Traditional Vaquero Buckaroo Cowboy Style Leather Headstall & Rein Set with Shaped Cheeks and Flair Brow. It is hand crafted from premium heavy weight Harness Hermann Oak Leather.

BC67 Old style martingale breast collar. Hand crafted from the finest Hermann Oak single ply heavy harness leather. This Old Martingale style shaped breast collar was originally used by the Vaqueros and features an over the shoulder fit for a better pulling position.

Chaps originated in Spain and Mexico and were used for protection against trees and shrubs. Please see my Squidoo Lens on a great history of Chaps and Chinks.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality
American made leather horse tack.......

Buckaroo John Brand

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site