Roman cavalry - the hackamore

[John Conyard]

Time to cast my bread upon the waters once again.

I'm currently going through the torment of trying to get new horses ready for cavalry displays this season. Our old mounts are fine, but it's a positive thing to have new horses, especially faster ones. Maybe it's middle age, but I would like our small cobs to be faster. Perhaps something the Romans didn't care greatly about.

One of the new horses has the ability to be a very good mount. We suspect that in the past his mouth was abused, and he doesn't like a bit. So we are using a modern German style hackamore, with no bit. This has by necessity lead me to the wonderful world of Roman hackamores.

I appreciate a hackamore could be used in conjunction with a bit. The tombstone of Bassus demonstrates this admirably. However the Lancaster tombstone of Insus seems to show the use of a hackamore without a bit. That alone was a pleasant discovery, and not something I had come across before. I appreciate that carvings are open to interpretation, but the lack of bit in the horses mouth seems clear enough.

But now we get to the interesting bit, no pun intended.

If we put a plain metal hackamore directly on a horse, as shown on many tombstones, the result would be severe. So the hackamore would generally be covered in sheepskin to make it more comfortable, and in some degree to soften the effect.

I have given surviving Roman hackamores a cursory glance. To be honest I can see no evidence that they were likewise covered in sheepskin. They may have been, but hard evidence is lacking.

Unless of course somebody out there can point me to an illustration or a find that may illuminate the issue.

So please, help me out!