Can i leave the halter on my horse all the time

Question

it is a pain to get it on her she seems to itch her head once in awhile does it hurt to leave it on her 24/7 she is hard to catch so you can see why i want it on her so i can just put the lead on her

Answer 1

I'm sure someone else has said this... I didn't read all of the answers, sorry if I repeat what someone else has said.

Halters should only be left on horses if they are safety release halters or leather.  A nylon halter, without the safety release strap, will not likely break... she may actually break her neck or do so much damage to herself, or her poll before the halter breaks or comes loose.

Sometimes a fence doesn't even have to be present for her to get caught up, I've seen horses get their hooves caught (scratching their face with their back hoof), or the tip of a shoe caught up on their halters.

Just go spend the extra money and get one of those... it's honestly worth it.  Better safe than sorry, and then you can relax and never have to worry.

She's got such a kind eye, pretty girl.

Answer 2

It's fine to leave it on all the time, just make sure it fits really well. So it doesn't rub the hair of his face. Once in a while you should take it off though. Preferably I don't like turning out horses in nylons. I like using breakaways so if the do get caught on something they can get out of it. Although you might have some missing halters. But to me it just sounds like you being lazy.

EDIT: People who have already replied seem to have forgotten about break away halters, use them. :]

Answer 3

yeah as long as it's a buckle and not a rope halter. i have a mare that's hard to catch, and her's gets left on 24/7, i change it over after it rains, so the buckles don't rust.

Answer 4

I wouldn't keep it on 24/7 because after a little while it starts to rub, no matter how loose.

Answer 5

From your picture, I wouldn't leave it on all the time. That's a tough looking nylon halter that won't break away, and horses get caught on anything SO EASILY! All she needs is something by her nose while she's grazing and to get something snagged just a little, and she could panic and hurt herself. I think breakaway or leathers halters are fine to wear 24/7. It may not be the most comfortable thing, but if it's what you must do in order to catch her, then do it .

Answer 6

It seems to have been covered but I'll press the point :P

No.1 Just because it MIGHT not happen dosn't mean it won't, we are talking about horses here, I just finished 5 months of box rest with a colt who got a foot through some fencing that has had horses turned out on it for ever..**** happens, take the regular headcoller off.

No.2 Buy a breakaway headcoller, they are light and unlikely to rub and it the worst DID happen will break so that injury will be if not avoided, at least minimised.

No.3 Work on catching yr horse without a headcoller. Lets face it, what if she happend to get her normal headcoller off...how will you catch her then :P

There is loads of advice out there for catching techniques so I won't go into detail, what I will say is spend the time (and it might be hours and hours the first time), get her to come to you, don't try to trick her or force her into a corner, this will only re-inforce the negative aspects of being caught. Take a look at what happen when you catch her, do you reward or is she then shut in a stable for 12 hours? Make sure its worth her while to allow you catch her and pretty soon she'll be waiting for you :)    

Answer 7

i keep them on my horses but if there are in a stall i wouldnt but my horses are out in the field eating all the time

Answer 8

So, the electric fence is just magically suspended in mid air?  There must be posts of some kind.

Truth is, many horses are haltered in the field every day and people do it for their entire lives and never lose a horse.  

Then, there are the tragic accidents that happen and people kick themselves in the butt.

So, it's a russian roulette...statistically speaking, you probably will be fine, but do you want to want to risk being one of "the ones" who isn't?

An alternative is a breakaway safety halter.  It is designed to break when excessive force is exerted against it.  It is just for trailering and pasture use, not training or anything else.  But it might be worth looking in to if the horse is hard to catch and you don't have a stall routine.

Answer 9

No i wouldn't it can rub along the horses face causing massive hair loss and rub marks which will just hurt a horse.

If she is a pain to catch then teach her not to be. Even if she cant get near a fence she could still get caught on the horse trough or even trees if there are any.

I wouldn't leave it on her, jsut train her my horse use to take 20mins to catch now he practically canters up to me =)

Answer 10

In all of my experiences this does more harm than good. It pretty much like sying leave your shoes on all day, its the same concept. If you left it on it could get got on something and break her neck, I have seen this many times and it is horrid. She can try to rub it off and might injure herself.

If shes a problem to catch, then try this excersise.

1. Walk out to her with a halter and lead. Dont try to hide it, and dont act shy. Oh walk towards her shoulder the whole time.

2. Keep at it, when she stops you stop. If she walks to you then back up.

3. If you can get next to her just pet her, and walk away. DO this a fwe times and repeat step 1 and 2 then catch and release her.

It took me 2 hours once, but it is worth it. My horse never did it again. Trust me it teaches them that we dont care it they run, that we wil be consistent and keep trying.

Hope this works for you too!

Answer 11

You can, but like said before it can get hung even though you have an electric fence.  You might consider a cheap halter or a breakaway halter just in case.  It is also possible that it will make a mark across the nose.  The nose and throat-latch area should be monitored to make sure they don't get tight due to weight gain or halter shrinkage.  Given the pitfalls just make an educated decision.  You know your pasture and what it may get hung up on.  Enjoy your new horse.  

For training the horse to catch follow the AQHA trainers advice.

Answer 12

thats fine to leave it on just make sure it fits because i left my halter on my horse and it slipped of her and i had top walk around the paddock trying to find it!! i found it but it should be fine to leave it on

Answer 13

I don't recommend it. Its not good to leave a halter on a horse at all times because of the chance of him/her getting it caught on something. Not only could this happen, but the horse could also get a hoof caught in the halter. This is very rare, but it could happen. You don't want to take the chance of either of those happening. Also, the halter could rub her hair off, and that's no fun for the horse I'm sure.  

Answer 14

Many people may disagree with me on this but. No no no no no. Oh and NO. I have seen too many horses with broken down cartilage in their nose, hung up by the halter on something while scratching them self or rolling. The best thing to do is to work with your horse on coming to you in the pasture.

I prefer bucket training. That's me personally. Luck

Answer 15

I would get a breakaway halter and keep it on.  I would still practice taking it on a off, this way the horse knows what your asking for.  I have a baby right now who is iffy when it comes to the haltering, one day he is fine the next he done lost his mind.  I keep a leather halter on him so it does breakaway.

Answer 16

My horses are in the pasture alot and I never keep them on a halter

it is a hazard zone it can easily get caught on something and that would not be to good...so i advise you not to do that.

Answer 17

I leave my horses halters on all day while they are out to pasture.  They come off at night when they go into their stalls.  I know a lot of people say it's a hazard and they could hurt themselves but in the 20 years I have owned horses I have never once had an issue.

You should get a better fitting halter though if you're going to leave it on all the time.  Make sure its snug enough so that there's not chance of it getting caught on something, but make sure it's loose enough so it's doesn't cause any hair loss/rubbing.

Work on catching her too while she's outside.  Try catching her two or three times a day.  Eventually she'll get used to it and you could probably leave the halter off.

Answer 18

My Opinion is thats its fine to leave it one, but if you leave it on to long it can start rubbing away the hair and rubbing against the skin. just becuase its a electric fence doesnt mean that the horse wont get near it and get cuaght, its always a possibility.  

Answer 19

It isn't a good idea,they can get it caught and choke,you might catch her and feed her then release her,then she will learn that a halter can mean treats as well as work....thats what I do and my horse doesn't mind a bit...

EDIT:now that I think about it,if you leave  it on,she will probably hate it even more when you take it off,cause it would get itchy...that would only make things worse...

Answer 20

I wouldnt leave it on  

Answer 21

No.

I leave my halters on all day and night.

But if you're going to do it, make sure they are properly fitted so it doesn't rub.

It's good to leave them on, with the possibility of your horse getting out of the paddock, and it would be easier for you or whoever to catch her.

Good luck!

Answer 22

nope. if she gets it caught on anything in the pasture she could seriously injure herself. can you turn her out in a smaller pasture? my last horse could only be caught in the 2 smaller pastures, he never got to go out in the bigger ones because he'd run away and kick out at you  

Answer 23

Unless it is leather or a breakaway NO! She can get it caught on anything and also if she itches her face with ehr leg it could get caught on the halter o.O

The halter is also slight to big...greater chances of her getting a foot or tree lim caught :P

I would say no...but since she is hard to catch I would buy her a decent leather halter that is snug (NOT TIGHT).

Why is she hard to catch?

Answer 24

No.

She could get caught in anything at all, on a tree branch, rocks, whatever.

You could try putting her up in a stall, and then just repeatedly catching her with your halter to get her used to it. You need to bond with her more, if she can't trust you, why would she let you put a halter on her?

See, next time you catch her, feed her a treat, and I've found that my horses really appreciate a bath every once in a while.