Why rope halter

Tying a horse in a rope halter can be good training or can cause a problem if you have a horse that has a pull-back issue. We tie all our yearlings and older in a rope halter as they are learning to stand tied quietly. But if you have a horse that is already a chronic panic puller, the rope halter may make him worse by increasing his panic and fear when he pulls.

An important thing to know before you invest in a rope halter is that all ropes are not created equally and all halters are not tied correctly. With rope, you get what you pay for. Really high-quality rope that does not stretch out or break and works well in your hands is more expensive.

You may have already figured this out with cheap lead ropes that break and burn your hands. As with most equipment that you buy for horses, it is best to stay away from the really cheap stuff. Of course, the real benefit from rope halters is in the training techniques you use ot teach your horse obedience and ground manners. Once you invest in a good rope halter and training lead, use my video, Leadline Leadership, to learn specific training techniques and exercises to teach your horse to stand quietly, walk and trot off your body cues, back, circle and change directions so that he becomes focused on you as his leader.

All Rights Reserved. Your email address will not be published. Put a rope in your neck, around your shin, over your nose, … Put pressure on the rope and feel what this does. Do it roughly first. Give a sudden and hard pull.

How does this feel? Use a different approach: work in static phases: first very subtle during 5 seconds, then a little bit more pressure during 5 seconds.

That is because your body can get used to it. But if you go up a step, so a bit more pressure? And eventually another phase? At a certain point, even if your body can get used to it, there will be too much pressure that will hurt.

The problem is clearly that pressure is used too sudden, there is too much pressure, and that there are too many phases. Besides this, a rope halter cannot be used for all exercises because it starts to move and the knots can move against the face which hurts sensitive horses.

In that case you can better work with a cavesson like with working in a circle. A cavesson can be secured better, making it a lot more stable. But also with a cavesson you can use pressure too suddenly and too much of it.

Switching from a rope halter to a cavesson because the horse reacts sensitive to your high pressure is therefore not a solution. Flat halters have metal buckles and hardware, while rope halters are only made of 1 continuous piece of tied rope. Because there is no hardware to rust or break on a rope halter, they last much longer than their nylon counterparts. Cost efficiency. While the upfront cost for a good quality rope halter may be slightly more than a web one, it will last for a lifetime.

Nylon halters traditionally need to be replaced every few years due to breakage, stiffness, or rust. Many are starting to prefer the low-profile look of the rope halter. Depending on the brand, rope halters can be offered in a wider array of colors than flat halters and tend to look sharper when equipped. There you have it, folks! Rope halters feature numerous advantages over their traditional counterparts, and I hope this helps you make an informed decision when searching for your next halter.

Many brands make a good rope halter, but my personal favorite are the Andrea Equine 4 knot rope halters.