The hackamore is used to ride bitless. The hackamore has a leverage effect and gives pressure on the nose and behind the ears. When taking on the reins, the gap between the nose and chin strap becomes smaller and creates pressure on the nose. The shanks create pressure behind the ears. The longer the hackamore shanks, the stronger the effect. Because of the leverage effect this is a quite sharp bit and therefore not suitable for the inexperienced rider.