Rope halter -not a training device?

[Radinka]

<Sorry for the mess, folks! I meant to post it here! >

Heard this statement during a horsemanship demo last weekend. The person stating this did not elaborate further, but claimed simply that a rope halter is not a tool for training horses.

This person prefers to use another type of halter, as the non-rope halter does not exert pressure on the horse's neck. It is also said to give an "instant release" from pressure, thus making it well suited to school horses.

This halter looks a bit like an "ordinary halter" with the addition that it has an extra nose band made out of rope which lies double over he horse's nose and through the buckles on the side of the horse's nose to a ring on each side, giving it a side-pull-like appearance. So, if you pull the ring on the left side, you activate the whole nose band including a slight constricting effect.

Any thoughts on this?

[reata]

Hi Radinka,
I'm sure a rope halter is a great tool for training horses.. and I'm also sure some other types of halters are great tools too. Ground work in a rope halter and a nice lead with a good feel is the perfect tool.. IMHO
But with the rope halter, if the horse is not light and leans on the halter he can soon develop some undesired behaviour..with lateral bending, we want the jaw tucked in (under) when the head turns .. in the halter, in the wrong hands sometimes the horse leads with his jaw..
Maybe the person was talking about riding in the halter?? I like to get colts into the snaffle bit after 2-4 rides in the halter..Riding in a halter for any length of time can sure create a few problems..the leading with the jaw instead of it tucked in, leaning, rooting their head .. and this is where the knot to make the reins can pull on the horses under neck. Most horses ridden in a halter for any length of time .. unless the rider is very skilled.. will get heavy..and can start to run through the halter..If you do wish to ride for a length of time with out using a snaffle bit, a side pull is a better option, in my opinion ..
My dressage trainer uses a Spanish Caverson with a ring in the middle of the nose part for all his in hand work and this works so much better than any type of bit or rope halter.. he has the fine control needed over the horse to help teach the advanced movements of the high school dressage horse..
In my opinion a rope halter is a great tool, but have an open mind..another tool may do a better job in some instances..
All I ever use on my horses for general leading and basic ground work is the good old Rope halter with a 12 foot lead and no clip..
PS only one of my leads has a leather popper, the others all wore off. :eek:

[Titania]

Hi there - I have used that halter... it doesn't release the pressure. it's just a replacement rope instead of chain. I wouldn't suggest it.

[Excess]

Radinka are you talking about the dually halter? That is a torture device! Lol. I know someone who thinks rope halters are torture devices too and that the 'pressure points" are dangerous and apply too much pressure. I personally LOVE rope halters.

A lot of people I know exclusively use a rope halter. I like to use both. As we all know Speedy is a goofy horse. When the flat halter is on, he is free to be a goof. But he knows when the rope halter is on, it's not goof-time.

[Sileeno]

I think it is more important what we put inside there head than on the outside of there head

[Smuthmvr]

I think it is more important what we put inside there head than on the outside of there head

I like your quote. I sometimes use a web halter; sometimes a tie halter w/knots. I tend to use the knotted one if we are having a 'lesson' on something and I want full attention. I do not abuse the knots and let me tell you, you really can w/that type of halter. I'm not a fan of the twin rope halter. What's in their head is the most important thing.

[Radinka]

The thing is that in my limited experience, I've heard that a rope halter is for training, which, in my ears translated into it being a training device, so I was curious what other opinions there might be.

I personally tend to use the rope variety for "training" and the web-variety when it comes to tying up for farrier, for grooming (but most often on the loose) and other stuff like that. For example animal welfare laws here in Swe requires that a horse shall have a halter on during transportation. I would never use a rope halter for that purpose.

I do fully agree that the inside is more important than the outside, but all the same, some "tools" are more handy than others. I can thump a nail into a plank with a screwdriver but it sure is easier with a nice balanced hammer, kind of.

Titania: "...it's just a replacement rope instead of chain. "thanks for the input. I could not quite get my mind around how it worked and, yes, now that you point it out, it's kind of a web halter/stud chain combo with the chain already in place. And I agree, it doesn't seem to me that it actually releases pressure, it feels kinda' slow

Reata: "...PS only one of my leads has a leather popper, the others all wore off." It is fairly easy to replace a missing popper. Just get a nice piece of leather string some 1-1.5 mm thick and 7-8-9-10 mm wide. Cut it into desired length. Pull the to-be-popper through the spot where the old one sat. Cut lengthwise cuts wide enough in the middle of the string to thread itself through and weave in this way some way down and presto! You have a new popper!

I don't think the person was talking about riding OR groundwork, or rather both. That the rope halter was inappropriate in any case.

I'd like to dig a bit deeper into this "leading w the jaw"-thingy, I'll post a new thread soon. Sounds interesting!

Excess: jupp, It's the D**lly halter alright and as I had never seen it IRL before, I got a bit intrigued, how it works, pros and cons etc. Especially when the person very firmly expressed that a rope halter was not a training device.

[sagehorseman]

Howdy,

The "dually" is a modified war bridle (Is it patent pending or already generating royalties?). It constricts about the soft tissues of the nose and will close off the air if the horse doesn't "get it". Whether a horse "gets it" or not is sure the problem/issue for many to figure out, since they are the ones asking/forcing the issue, not the horse... he is just trying to "get it" and stay alive while he does...

Anyhow, rope halter... uh... wasn't that the first halter? Seems nylon-webbed halters are kinda petroleum related, modern sort of contraptions, aren't they?

What device that we use to be with horses is not a training device? Rhetorical question but talk amongst yourselves if ya wanna...

[Radinka]

Hmmm... War bridle, you say? What's that? If you can spare the time to elaborate a bit?