Flat halters or rope halters for the trail horse?
The other day I noticed one of my old webbed halters in the barn. It’s 30 years old, maybe more. It was full of dust, not used in years. I asked myself, why did I actually switch to rope halters? The honest answer might be, ……because everybody else did? I am not expressing an opinion in this article, I just want to discuss the advantages and possible downsides of the 2 types of halters for the trail rider.
The Halter:
Think about how often we use a halter on a horse. Probably the most used piece of tack. And how much thought do we spend over it…? Usually not much. It’s the first thing we teach a horse, it’s the first thing we put on a horse, it’s the first thing we give to a novice horse person. As trail riders and horse packers, our horses wear the halter all day long, sometimes all night long. When you look at old paintings or photographs of horses, often they wear halters, it’s not an invention of modern times. I wouldn’t be surprised if the halter goes all the way back to the domestication of the horse. When I used to milk cows, we would often make simple rope halters for the cows. A loop around the neck and one around the nose and tie them together at the bottom of the chin. I would imagine the first halters were probably made just like that, from rope or leather straps. Think about it, rope was probably the easiest piece of material to get, so, the rope halter probably goes back thousands of years. Much later, when a person was judged over what horse he had, it became important that a halter looked good, had shiny metal pieces or arty leatherwork involved.
As far as training goes, the rope and the flat halter always had different applications. The pull of a rope halter has more severity on the horse’s face than has a flat halter, and it is easier to get the horses attention back. However, a flat halter allows the trainer to run a rope or even a chain thru the metal rings and over the nose, under the chin or thru the mouth. But most likely the rope halter was mainly used in the day-to-day use, and in the round pen. It was less expensive, and easy to fix or replace. The flat halter, be it leather, webbed or later off synthetic materials was used to go “to town”. The Natural Horsemanship celebrities brought the rope halter back into fashion, and also made it a widely accepted tool. So, I think nowadays we have a similar scenario, like in the olden days, where we see people use rope halters all over, but in the show world, that is where you see fancy flat halters.
Anyway…., let’s look at it from the trail rider’s and horse packer’s point of view:
The rope halter on the trail or in the mountains:
The rope halter is generally inexpensive and it should be. It is light and easy to stow into a saddle bag. These two traits make it attractive for the horse packer. When we turn out a bunch of horses for the night, hobble them, and take the halters off, it is handy to walk back to the camp with a bunch of light rope halters. Halters get lost and it’s a good idea to bring an extra one on a mountain trip, and a rope halter won’t take up much room in a saddle bag. If we lose one, not a lot of money is gone.
The fact that a rope halter applies more pressure on the horse’s face, is considered an advantage when training a horse. On a pack trip though, I don’t want to train my horses, and I would consider this fact more of a disadvantage.
I find a big problem of the rope halter, is that it can have the tendency to slip and stretch. You can put one on a pack horse and all of a sudden that nose piece moved all the way down to the nostrils. I have seen this happen to packhorses again and again, and I find it annoying having to tighten a halter on the trail. The nose band over the nostrils can also possibly hurt a horse.
I don’t use clips on my lead ropes, I don’t like how they dangle on a rope halter. It is very easy to tie a lead to a rope halter (with the sheet bend), because it is rope against rope. If you undo it daily, it won’t tighten to the point where it is hard to remove.
Rope halters can deteriorate, which is debatable as a disadvantage, considering the price to replace one. However, if the rope starts to go on a long trip, it can be annoying.
The flat halter on the trail and in the mountains:
The flat halter is a sturdy piece of tack, and I like that simple fact. You put it on a horse, and it stays there, it doesn’t stretch or move. If you don’t lose it, you will have it for decades. If a buckle breaks, it’s easy to replace. If you buy a simple one, they are not expensive either.
But, they are bulkier and heavier. If you are out with 10 horses, you will carry a load of halters back to camp, and out again the next morning. Bringing an extra one is always a good idea, but putting it into the saddle bag takes up too much room, it will have to go into the pack box. As for the lead, tying it directly to the metal ring of the flat halter is a bit trickier, but can be done. Clips definitely work better on a lead that is used on a flat halter, and they do dangle less than they do on the rope halter. Again, we are adding more weight to everything.
And what does the horse think?
A trained trail horse won’t care much which halter to put on him or her. I never had a sore on a horse from a halter, but I have seen marks of the rope halter after a horse was pulling.
I strongly believe that a halter belongs on a trail horse at all times (except at night, if turned lose). The bridle goes over the halter. I don’t believe in riding without a bridle on the trail. You simply don’t have enough control over the horse’s head with just the halter. Riding with just a halter (or none at all) is fun, in the arena, but on the trail, things can happen where you need to be able to control the horses head under stressful situations.
It can be argued that the rope halter applies unnecessary pressure on the horse’s head when under the bridle. For the flat halter it can be argued that it is too bulky under the bridle. Not too important arguments, I think.
At Blue Creek we sell both types of halters.
Our rope halters are made in house and use double braid nylon. Very good quality and very smooth. We also make a 4 knot rope halter.
Our flat halters we bring in from Weaver, they are simple and of excellent quality.
I’ll leave you with these thoughts, I’m always happy for feedback.
Enjoy your horses, and ride lots!
Donat