I wish I had met your cowboy in the early years. If he had kindly removed the rope halter from my hands, I would have less to regret now.
Thanks for sharing the story.

The cowboys and cowgirls I know who use them consider them severe, and not to be used on youngsters ever.

I bought one for two reasons: a cowboy was watching me work with a horse that was a tank and a bully, used to intimidating people and getting his way. I was teaching him to ground tie (give his mind something to do while enforcing manners.) The mafia boss was doing moderately well.

Cowboy said “why aren’t you using a chain?” I said “It would only make him harder to handle. He’s a challenger. No chain is going to intimidate this guy. Boring him to death would work quicker.” (I meant this seriously.) Cowboy said “The girl’s got it going on.”

He reached into his truck (farrier) and tossed me a rope halter. “I’ll show you how to fit it. You gotta be extra careful with it, but he’s one smart dude. You’ll only need it for 10 minutes tops.

And he was right. I never pulled on it, yanked on it, or did anything aggressive. Mafia Boss moved a hoof, I tapped the hoof lightly with a dressage whip until he picked it up, and made a suggestion of a backing up movement with the lead. The halter used in this way gave a finer tuned feed back than a flat halter.

I am positive I did not hurt the Mafia Boss. And I am positive that halter could have done real damage and been incredibly cruel if used in the way you use a regular halter, or without being correctly fitted (this one had adjustable noseband so you could move the knots)

We talked for a while after that. He said he would never start out teaching a horse to ground tie in a rope halter, but with some horses, there can be a moment where switching out can help them “get” exactly what you mean.

I asked why he had one. He said “I had to take it off a guy who was killing his horse and didn’t have a clue.” Keep it in the truck for emergencies. Sometimes if you have a freaked out injured horse, they don’t feel nothing and something like this can get their attention enough that you can help them.”

I bought one. Never used it again on the Mafia Boss – didn’t need it. I fleece padded the thing and use it as a bodywork halter because it’s so light, and doesn’t weigh down on the poll *unless you pull on it*. Not on every horse. Just the ones unlikely to act out. And if there’s a horse that is injured and out of body, it might be good to have around if time is limited and you just have to get the bleeding stopped NOW. Again: not all freaked out horses would respond positively to it, some would freak out more. You have to know your horse, what you’re using, and why.

I LOVE the tie ring, BTW. Genius. Overall, I’d say thumbs down on the rope halter, though it’s worked well for me in very specific circumstances. There’s just too much misinformation.

The use of rope halters, I agree, is a topic very worthy of close scrutiny.

Frequently therapists find problems in the poll, and in particular horses that pull back, but it is equally likely that rope halters are not helpful in this department.

There seems to be confusion over issues around poll pressure in general. Ray Hunt, preponent of (generally) a gentle method of horse training, still made the mistake of tieing horses up before they adequately taught to come forward from poll pressure. Ray then used a plastic bagged on a stick, and the horse pulled back, before eventually standing. “Some die”, he said and that “you must tie high” (to minimise damage on the poll and spine, supposedly. So I guess we can all make mistakes.

I find that once horses are taught to come forward from pressure in hand, they can then be transitioned to tieing up. There is a great tie-ring promoted by Clinton Anderson http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/products2.cfm/ID/665/name/Aussie-Tie-Ring-2-w–Mag-Lok—Stainless which allows the rope to slip if the horse applies excessive pressure – very humane, and useful for young ones and also if tieing up to feed (in case horse brings head up under rope.

Given the many nerves all over the horse’s head and nose, it is worth reconsidering the use of rope halters, and to consider one’s gear. Often (but not always!), we find that the ‘old masters’ did things for good reason. Therefore perhaps the lunge cavesson may be more humane than a rope halter in many instances in training.

Obviously, a horse shouldn’t be left unsupervised in a rope halter, and he should never be turned loose in or transported in one.

Keep up the good work!

As usual, you get me to thinking, and remembering how careful I have to be with my words:
“Folks who start young horses exclusively in the rope halter and lead often have trouble teaching their horses to get and stay in balance for this very reason.” Notice I said, “Often.”

Re:”It is perfectly possible to bloody a horses face with a snaffle bit or a rawhide hackamore.” I’ve seen both. The one and only marketed gizmo I like from Clinton Anderson is a tie up ring that allows a horse to pull back safely. It’s a crutch, and a learning tool, and a safe thing to have.

“There are some schools of western training that scorn the use of a halter, especially for a young or green horse.” It’s interesting how easy it is for a horse to learn to push or pull against anything used early on to “control” him. Your use of liberty work would be the ideal. But most riders are not so gifted or experienced. If you are a novice, you have limited options in groundwork, and limited skill in applying those options. Therein lies the danger. Believe me, I’ve been there.

Rope halters, stud chains and other training halters are all shortcuts, in some sense. Traditional training often emphasizes control, rather than creating a willing horse who wants to perform.

Regarding tying, I’ve stopped tying to anything solid, I’ve seen too many bad accidents involving rope halters and nylon halters where the fence broke before the halter or lead rope did.

Still, I like rope halters. I use the parelli style ones, which I think are similar to The Halter Lady ones. Then again, I do not use much pressure or force at all when leading or training, so there’s not that big of an advantage of a rope halter for me. I like their softness, that they are light weight, and how easily they fit under a bridle.

“Folks who start young horses exclusively in the rope halter and lead often have trouble teaching their horses to get and stay in balance for this very reason.”

I’ll argue against this. I think it depends entirely on the trainer and training methods.

Interestingly, there are some schools of western training that scorn the use of a halter, especially for a young or green horse. The horse’s head is very sensitive and some advocate a neck rope for leading, tying or training. The horse can then be very light and soft in the hackamore later on, if he has not learned to pull and push against the halter.

I enjoy doing much of my training at liberty. I find this keeps me honest. We often use halters and ropes to MAKE the horse do things. At liberty, I have to find ways for the horse to want to participate, I have to keep him calm, interested and engaged.

Just some thoughts. In general, I agree completely with you and the article, I think too many rope halters are used with excessive pressure and are probably unpleasant for the horse.

Mary
http://stalecheerios.com/blog

Horses will always find a way! Don’t beat yourself up about it – horses don’t hold grudges and forgive quite easily.

HI

Can you imagine a horse pulling back in one of these things while tied to a trailer? Can we say… garrot?