 In the United States, a device with shanks and a noseband, called a "hackamore bit" was mentioned in at least one western riding-based horse training book by the late 1930s.Early patent applications were filed in 1940 for a "Hackamore bit" and a "leverage hackamore bridle".Additional patent applications were filed during the 1940s, and a significant increase in patent applications for various mechanical hackamore designs occurred from the 1950s forward.