Have you used this? And have you found it effective?

Question

OK guys, since I live in a country that does not even have a tack shop here, I am looking into making my own headcollar with roping materials. Basically I am looking to make a pressure headcollar that will help with leading my colt because while we are still lead training (yes its taking a while cos he had no human contact before we got him!) and he likes to rush off and be pushy and decide to stop when I am not allowing him too.

Anyway, I found this website

http://www.cowboyshowcase.com/cowboy_training_halter.htm

Anybody used one of these and found it effective?

Or does anyone else know how I make an alternative rope pressure headcollar?

Thanks!

No neg comments please..

Answer 1

im not sure how effective they are myself, but i have heard and seen people using them.

they say it is a great short term alternative but not good in the long run.

actully you are wise because with normal headcollars, if your teaching him, if he pulls back on it, because of where the pressure is applied, it can teach them to rear.

I suggest you either buy a good headcollar online (from somewhere like ebay) and clip on your rope to the side, or get a dully halter by monty roberts.

i know he is not a very favoured person at the moment, but it worked wonders for my horse and you can even use them as an alternative bridle - you can ride your horse in one!

i dont know if your familer with them, but they look like this -http://database.grafiekas.nl/cfdocs/plug... and you clip your lead rope onto the side so it is a great start for youngsters.

good luck and let me know how it goes.

P.S. you can buy dully halters from ebay too.

Answer 2

http://www.naturalhorsesupply.com/tiehal...

This goes through how to tie the knots and how to make the halter including measurements and it also goes through how to fit the halter.

We made these for our cob and colt. The colt is very strong and we don't want him to know how strong he is - he's so much easier to handle in this.

I prefere using prusac cord - it comes in 5 - 8mm sizes. I use the 6mm usually, but you can use 7mm as well depending on what you can get. Prusac cord is used in rock climbing so is very strong and nice and soft. I prefere it because it is a lot softer than many cords available.

Point to note with the rope halters - they don't break so don't leave a horse in one unattended and also don't travel in them. We use them to load (under a headcollar) and then take them off once they're on the trailer.

I really like these and they are cheap to make - cost me about £3 per halter for the rope.

Answer 3

It looks more or less like a rope "be nice" halter, with the addition of the neck loop.  You couldn't use it all the time, of course. What do you intend to use it for - training purposes?  I've never found it necessary to use one, personally, but in some cases I think a few training sessions with a rope halter could benefit some horses very much.

Can you not purchase items via the internet and have them shipped to you?  Not that there's anything wrong with making your own tack - that is on my to-do -someday list, as it sounds like fun.

EDIT:  Durrr you already said what you wanted to use it for, sorry...I really need that second cup of coffee....

I would hesitate to use it on a youngster, as a young horse is probably not leading "nicely" simply because he is clueless.  Use the gentlest methods you can and if they prove useless, then you can think about bringing it up a notch.  But to me, this item seems like overkill.  

I would also never tie a horse with a rope halter or trailer/pasture them with one, as it creates a lot of pressure because it's so thin.  I know some people use them for everyday halters, but personally I would use them for leading, ONLY.

Answer 4

Would never use such a thing on any age horse.  Too harsh, cruel, painful, especially for a green baby.  Do you have access to any place that sells marine line?  You could make such a "halter apparatus" with 1/4" marine line and it would be much kinder, would not cause pain, is affordable, lasts forever, and is an excellent material for  communication.  Your baby would listen but not be offended or hurt.  Sounds like he is normal, green, and somewhat disrespectful.  Just be patient and help him.  good luck.

Answer 5

This is very effective however it can cause a lot of pressure and hurt the horse if you are not careful.  I suggest that if you try it and it gets worse....go on ebay and find a regular halter and get a lead rope with a chain....the chain can be used over the nose or on the gums...I don't suggest over the gums for him.  You can even use two lead ropes at once, one with the chain and the other hooked under the chin.....use the chain only to command attention.  Good luck....

Answer 6

Buying a halter would be much better ( but since you cant?) I guess that could be a ok alternative ... I've seen cowboys train horses with it.

Answer 7

Where are you?  Our tack store is shipping product all over the world lately - even into New Zealand because of the weaker than normal american dollar.

You can purchase a rope halter on line at many websites - the halters are maybe $20 - $100 depending on technology.

There are also sites that have diagrams on how to make these halters - you must be pretty focused and patient to learn from them however.

The "cowboy" rope halter that comes all made up has knots in key pressure places to get a horse to focus.

You might also look for a "Be Nice" halter that uses pressure to teach a horse to yield for leading and tying.  We have used these for years to start babies leading.

This website you show may work perfectly well for you and it's worth a try.

I know these rope halters can be gotten at our website www.thewirehorse.com (Michigan, US), but I am not sure they are on the site - we do have them in the store, so if you don't see one there, an email to the owner, Jenny or Julie will get you one from the shelf.  You'll need to tell what age the colt is and his weight to try to establish the correct size.

Now - really, although there ARE better training halters than others, you're teaching the horse to follow a feel.  The horse naturally goes THROUGH pressure - pressure on the poll of the head causes head raised and pull back - pressure on the nose causes head raised, run through - this is a natural thing for them.  You must teach them through patience to move AWAY from pressure.  Start at any point with 2 ounces of pressure, very light - let's say you wish to teach the horse to move it's hindquarters to the right - put a finger or two directly in the center of the hip, push lightly then slowly increase the push (pressure) until the horse moves weight at all to the right - as soon as he does, immediately (as fast as you possibly can) remove the pressure completely - that's his reward.

I've even started some leading with normal nylon halters, a regular lead and a soft cotton lead - loop the soft cotton (after de-sensitizing him to the feel of it around his legs) around his butt - so you can "pull" him forward - again using the 2 ounce rule apply light pressure in gradually increasing increments until he steps or even leans forward.  Release = reward.  10 tries and he'll be walking forward if you do this right.

Weaver has started making halters with cable on the nose and crown piece to combat poor leaders and ty-ers as well, that might be an option for you too.

Hope this helps!

Answer 8

I use something similar when I just want to move horses between fields.  As mentioned it is not something that should be used on a horse that doesn't know how to lead.  You can find good rope halters online, all day long or make your own:

http://www.naturalhorsesupply.com/tiehal...

This type of rope halter is recommended by most trainers as a first training halter for young horses.