Control headcoller or rope halter?

[Beausowner]

I am going to start leading my horse in hand out of yard and he is going to be very nervous and spooky. As he tends to barge when he's nervous I am going to get either a control headcoller or rope halter. He is very strong and I am still suffering with my shoulder from four months ago when he spooked backwards while I was leading. There are so many types - parelli, "magic", dually etc can anyone let me know which would be the most effective?

[Esther.D]

I have used both the Dually and the Parelli halter....personally I prefer the Parelli type one, however they work in very different ways - if you were to use the Parelli halter in the same way as a Dually it would be very harsh as it is thin rope, but it is designed to be used gently, whereas the Dually reminds me of a 'half-check' collar on a dog - I have found it good for short term really bad manners but not needed long term. Long term the Parelli halters are much easier to handle them in as they are less likely to run 'through' a thin halter whereas they can lean on a wide one :)

[aliw]

My mum's just bought one off ebay from lyndashorsewear. It's no particular type, just one of her own she made.

[Portia]

Kelly Marks' book 'Perfect Manners' has a very-reader friendly chapter on leading ... something I referred to a lot when I had a similar problem last year.

Tried the dually halter, not really effective partly because the mare was in between sizes - either too tight or too loose. Tried the be-nice, that was marginally better although it can be quite severe is used insensitively. After a few barging/rearing episodes did a fair bit of ground work with her which has helped enormously.

Eventually went back to an ordinary halter, and she's better for it I feel, not so anxious. She'll still spook and jump at at unexpected things (monstrous crisp packets ?!?) BUT she wont barge me.

[Bay Mare]

I prefer the Dually though I only tend to use it for groundwork these days. I would also tend to use a longer lead line or lunge line for leading a 'difficult' horse (especially as you've been injured) as it gives them the sense of 'freedom' which can lessen the flight response when they think that they are confined and is safer for you too!

[Bacharel]

rope halter

[Beausowner]

Thanks everyone.

Bay Mare - if they have a long rope is there any chance when they spook (mine does very impressive sideways leap) they would spook sideways into you? When I'm leading if he's scared he tends to walk as close to me as possible (and will not go out! This is a 9 year old we are talking about!), so I've always tended to hold close to the headcollar - which is why he pulled my shoulder out when he jumped back! I used to hold the headcoller itself on the noseband above the buckle which gave me more leverage on his nose if I needed it but then someone told me he could break my fingers so I stopped doing that - think I should do another post on the best way to lead!

[RodeoDreamer33]

I would do what Bay Mare says and give him his space to walk, if you hold onto his halter it is going to make him feel tense because it is like you are grabbing his face for some particular reason. Hold ATLEAST 6 inches to one foot away from the actual clip of the lead rop or lunge line.

I LOVE this rope halter. It is a bit expenisve, but I use it for everything! :) If you decide to get it, when you first order it, get your horse used to the pressure points. Walk him a few steps forwards, stop and back-up. Do a few different maneuvers with it so he gets used to the pressure!

Here it is! :p
The halter is at http://downunderhorse.chainreactionweb.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=7&products_id=43

[Yann]

Are you planning to take him out alone? It might be a better idea to let him follow a safe bottom first to get him used to the idea a few times. If you're going to use a pressure halter then make sure you understand about releasing the moment you've got him back where you want him rather than using it to try and drag him back into position, or you could potentially just make the situation worse. Use a longer line and wear hat, gloves and body protector. And don't go on a road if you can't rely on him being sensible, it would be asking for trouble.

[Bay Mare]

Unfortunately there is always the chance that he could spook sidewards into you but then he could do that anyway. In my experience they are more likely to jump away from you unless he is between you and the spooky thing in which case he could come towards you. As Yann says, hat, gloves and BP are a good idea!

RA's teach that you need to have a 'bubble' around you and that the horse shouldn't come into your space and needs to be taught that. You are also taught to lead with a 'smile in the line' (not have the rope taught) so that you aren't too close to the horse. This, obviously, gives you a better chance of moving out of the way!

I would never hold the headcollar to lead, firstly they can feel constricted which can make them more tetchy and secondly I know someone that broke a finger when the horse slipped, he wasn't even trying to get away or spook, he just missed his footing. Also, when you think about it, if he's going to go he will go, none of us are strong enough to stop a horse if he doesn't want to be stopped.

At 9yo he can still learn to lead 'properly'. It may take some time in the school for him to get the idea but it's definitely worth working on. Perfect Manners explains it but essentially when they start to walk ahead of you, you stop, turn around, bring the outside hand onto the lead rope under the chin and back them up (but without pushing them, it's all done with pressure and release). This means that you are controlling their direction, they catch onto this very quickly and will very often stop and even start to back up as you are turning around. It helps them to respect your space though it's got to be ongoing, it's not just an exercise for the school but for ANYTIME that you are leading.

I have been working on this since November with Saff and the other day I had a lot of time and decided to 'trust' Saffy to come with me of her own accord. I put the headcollar on but put the leadrope over her neck. She walked all the way down the field like this, at my shoulder, not coming into my space .... this is some way forward from when she used to stride ahead of me! I DID tell her to show me the way through the muddy patch (the Mark Rashid bit of NH, to put some trust in her decisions rather than expecting her to always follow me) and only when I told her did she walk ahead of me but did stop when I asked her and even stopped of her own accord to wait for me. This was a huge breakthrough and she even waited a few feet from the gate for me to get the leadrope to get her through the gate and lead her up the lane :D

Good luck :) I just want to pick up on one point in your first post though:

I am going to start leading my horse in hand out of yard and he is going to be very nervous and spooky.

Try not to decide in advance what he's going to do! I know that it's easy to do especially if they tend to behave in a certain way but they are so sensitive that if you expect them to misbehave then the likelyhood is that they will! Of course we always need to be aware that something could happen but if we're expecting them to be nervous and naughty then we are going to treat them as if they're going to be nervous and naughty (and maybe are a bit nervous ourselves) which transmits to them. They pick up that we're nervous about something and figure that there must be something to be nervous about so they are nervous and we are nervous and it becomes a huge, repetitive cycle :) If you got through all that you deserve a medal :D Anyway ... try and decide that he's going to behave himself, be confident and lead him with the thought that he's a good boy and will behave impeccably :D He may just surprise you :D