FCE DIY: Easy Custom Hackamore Noseband

Ok guys - here's a fun one today if you're into DIY tack. And it couldn't possibly have been easier (or cheaper, for that matter). Easy is my favorite lol.

looking regal

Perhaps you recall last week when I posted about the bonnet Olivia made us as part of her recent contest. That bonnet is navy with whale-patterned ears and is amazing. And I noted that it was absolutely perfect for all our trail riding. Except wow the red hackamore noseband really didn't go super well with it.

gotta use your imagination a little bit to envision it coming together

Then, our barn pulled together a team to go on a paper chase. And planned to be highly coordinated and matchy matchy with our outfits and tack. The name of the game was navy and black - which again would be obviously thrown off by the red noseband. But dammit I wanted to use the hackamore!

total materials cost: $2.07 from Joann Fabrics. not bad!

So it was time to take matters into my own hands. I hopped over to the local fabric and crafts store and picked up the following materials:

• 4"x58" (58" is the default width for any purchased fabric) wide cut of fluffy padding material
• 6"x2" navy nylon webbing 
• 24"x1" navy nylon webbing (would  not recommend using cotton)
• 2pack of suspender sliders
• 2pack of slide adjusters

Also used but not purchased:

• scissors
• needle
• thread

inspiration piece

Issues with the original red noseband are twofold (beyond it just plain clashing with most of my other stuff): it's slightly too narrow across the front, even adjusted to it's longest settings, since it's technically from a pony sized bridle.

original design and hardware

And secondly, the thing has a history of falling apart mid-ride at very inopportune moments. Like, say, mid gallop through an open field. No bueno! For that reason, I opted against reusing the same hardware.

rounded off corners and burned edges

Anyway, to get started - I trimmed my 2" wide webbing down to an approximate size using the original piece as a guide. Let's say it ended up being about 4" long. I rounded the corners slightly to give a more tailored look, then burned all the cut edges to prevent fraying.

suspender sliders and slide adjusters (2 each) shown here

I waffled a bit about what type of hardware to use for a closure. Honestly there are a ton of options, from buckles to studs to just sewing it all together in a fixed position. I preferred something that would allow the noseband to be widely adjustable from Isabel sized noses up to something substantially larger.

layering the 24"x1" webbing over the 2" pretty quickly resembling something that makes sense!

The suspender sliders appealed to me bc they are low profile and don't add a lot of bulk or distraction to the picture. Plus. Ya know. If they can hold up grandpa's pants they can probably hold this noseband together. lol

sewing it into place

The slide adjuster mostly acts as a keeper for the straps. This is honestly optional. Or, one of these pieces of hardware could have served as a closure instead of the suspender slider if you wanted. Also - hand sewing is by no means a requirement here. This process take literal seconds with a sewing machine. But I killed mine, so hand sewing it is... oops haha.

once the hardware is attached, the noseband no longer can be taken off the hackamore plate

Anyway. When I attached the longer strip of 1" wide webbing, I offset it a bit so that one end would double back to right around the middle of the base section. This would be the fixed-position end that has the suspender slider sewn on. The longer tail of the 1" wide webbing on the other side would therefore be the adjustable side.

And same story as before - I rounded the corners off the webbing then burned all cut edges to prevent fraying.

next comes the fluffy padding!

I used two pieces of the fluffy material back to back to make the pad as cushy as possible. This stuff was pretty easy to sew too. I sewed it inside out right up until the very last little bit, to give the edges a more finished appearance.

getting closer!

The sizing of the pad is up to your preference. I used a 4" wide cut of the material, trimmed to a length about one inch longer than my base 2" wide webbing section. Then sewed 1/2 inch margins around while it was inside out, so it took about a total inch off in both length and width, leaving 1/2 inch fluff border all around the webbing.

ta da!!

Sewing the fluff pad onto the base was a breeze (and again would have been even faster/easier with a machine). Then the tail of the 1" webbing threads through the other hackamore plate, then through the suspender slider (which clamps into place), and finishes through the keeper.

original noseband and faux sheepskin chain cover

And since I had heaps of the fluffy padding left over, I made a little tube out of it to encase the hackamore's curb chain. I'd previously used an old length of faux sheepskin intended to pad a halter, but it was kinda annoying bc it wasn't attached and had to always be threaded on and carefully taken off so as not to get lost. 

fluffy padding on chain is sewn on

The fluff basically has a slight dampening effect on the chain, since Izzy has pretty solid brakes and a lot of respect for the chain. I sewed it onto the links directly for the sake of convenience, but should I ever decide to remove it, it's just a matter of snipping out the stitches.

not too shabby!

There ya have it - a surprisingly easy and inexpensive way to customize your hackamore! This design should work for basically any style hackamore too, since it's so adjustable.