Pressure Halters...

[HairyCob]

OK, so I'm thinking ahead here;) I've recently started 'getting into' the idea of natural horsemanship in terms of training, and would like to do some groundwork with either a) Dolly if she ends up with me (and I think she'll need some!) or b) whatever horse I end up with if she doesn't work out :eek:

I've searched the forum, and have found LodgeRopes from Austrailia mentioned- and their prices seem very very good.

I am on a tight budget for all things horse, as I'll be just about cleaning my savings out with the purchase price, so the cost involved is important, though obviously not as important as the equiptment being good!

Has anyone got any suggestions for 'cheaper than Parrelli or Richard Maxwell' training halters and 12ft ropes other than LodgeRopes, and also any experience of LodgeRopes equiptment?

[Tootsie4U]

HC, From what I've read and seen (on NR), LR's equipment is respectable. I dont know about their prices.

Ya know, though, you can make the stuff yourself - very cheaply too. There is a thread somewhere on here where Harry Hobbes put together instructions (with pics) on how to make all the Parelli equipment yourself. Have a search and if you can't find it, I can try to narrow it down for ya.

[HairyCob]

Thanks Toots, I was thinking of making my own, but would be concerned about making a halter in case I got it wrong and it put pressure on the wrong bits!

Will search for Harry's thread tho- where is he these days? Haven't seen much of him lately!

[Pink's lady]

Some very very cheap one's on ebay.

99p halter (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NATURAL-HORSEMANSHIP-TRAINING-HALTER_W0QQitemZ7213774172QQcategoryZ109453QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

£5 for a 22ft rope (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/22ft-Communication-Line-made-by-Natural-Equipment_W0QQitemZ7213974255QQcategoryZ109453QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

£5 halter in various colours and sizes (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Horsemans-Halter-made-by-Natural-Equipment_W0QQitemZ7214504795QQcategoryZ109453QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Same people selling a 12ft rope - £5 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12ft-Communication-Line-made-by-Natural-Equipment_W0QQitemZ7214505091QQcategoryZ109453QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

'Buy now' halter for £8.99 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Natural-Horsemanship-Rope-Halter-Diff-sizes-colours_W0QQitemZ7214251792QQcategoryZ109453QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

[Bay Mare]

You don't actually need a 'training' or 'pressure' halter. If used correctly they can be of help but they're not necessary and in the wrong hands (not that I'm saying that yours are 'wrong' hands :) ) can have an adverse effect.

I think that it's Michael Peace who advocates using a 'normal' headcollar/halter.

I find that a long lead rope (I got one from ebay quite cheaply) is very useful but apart from that have a Dually headcollar which I rarely use!

[Yann]

A heacollar and leadrope are fine for the basics, that's all I used. A training halter of some kind becomes more useful with a particularly difficult horse or if you want to work with a bit more finesse, but they aren't essential.

[Zingy]

I got a RM pressure halter, but just bought some rope from B&Q for a long rope. Put an old leadrope clip on it and anchored that in place with cable ties. Downside is it's nylon, so I never use it without gloves and even then it could give a nasty burn if you have a horse that really pulls. I've not had more than a warm hand from it though!

Incidentally, while I was buying the said rope in B&Q I came across some thinner stuff that looked amazingly like the pressure halter rope ;) :D

[Kate F.]

Hi Hairy Cob!

Be a bit care careful - all rope isn't the same. Cheap rope is usually hard and is too rigid to have the desired effect. A good NH halter is an investment worth making - it doesn't have to be a "name" brand - but one made from good quality rope, that is soft and has a good "feel". Usually marine rope is the best quality - and while a bit more expensive, definitely worth it.

Also, make sure you know what you want. Rope halters (Parelli style and similar) are NOT pressure halters. A pressure halter (like the Monty Roberts and Maxwell ones) closes on the head if the horse pulls against it and therefore exerts a pressure greater than the horse is putting into it. A lot of practitioners (myself included) don't like them for this reason. Pressure halters (because they close on the head) can also set off the horse's natural claustrophobia and can therefore be counter productive. Rope halters do not tighten - and the horse will only ever run into his own pressure.

The thickness of the rope is also important - the thinner the rope the more potentially severe the halter. A thicker rope communicates just as well as a thinner one but is safer and milder. With thicker rope (7 or 8mm +) you can tie the horse up safely and do anything you would with a normal halter - with thinner rope (eg the Parelli style) you need to be careful as the horse could hurt itself if it pulls against it.

I'm sure LodgeRopes can advise you.

Good luck!

[Francis Burton]

Talking of "hard" rope... I was astonished to discover how hard and rigid the rope that Rob Oakes used in his demo/clinic was. (Edinburgh 2000? Seems like ages ago now!) Apparently it was a standard "roping" rope. I always wondered how cowboys manage to keep the loop from collapsing when they twirl the rope - when I tried to bend this rope, I could understand why. I've never come across anything like it here, at least not for use with horses.

[~Perdita.M~]

Just wanted to say Lodgeropes=wonderful. Bought a half bosal from them a while back, friendly, helpful and prompt service, even from all the way over there! :D And the bosal is beautiful and brilliantly made:)

[HairyCob]

Thanks for all your replies folks- I'm going with LodgeRopes- they get a good name on here, and their customer service (up to now!) has been second to none! Their prices are also very good in comparison to 'branded' NH halters and ropes, even with the postage added from Auz!

Just waiting for Dolly to arrive now, so I can take some measurements and e-mail them- made to measure at no extra cost- I think that's brilliant!:D

[smaggi]

Here's a company that I really like.

http://www.sunsethalters.com/ropehalters.html

Their Samson yacht rope has a great feel to it. I have mecate reins made from it.

[Susie xx]

Some great suggestions already and Ebay has been mentioned. Look under sailing rather than equestrian, I bought 30metres of 14mm rope & 30mt of 6mm rope for around £5 each. I always avoid anything marketed for equestrians, they don't realise the cost of keeping our horses leaves us with very little margin, i.e. 1kg of Limestone Flour is £3.99 in the Equi store, 25kg of Limestone Flour from the mill is £2.99, guess which I bought!
Susie xx

[LodgeRopes]

G'day all....
To follow on from susie's post, if any forum members wish to make their own rope halters, here is some info on what to look for when shopping around for rope to use. Here, we only use 100% polyester marine double braid (also called 2in1 or braid on braid). Polyester is a desireble material as it has great feel, high strength, low stretch and most is UV resistant. Our rope manufacturer use a high UV resistant thread.
Try not to be confused by similar terms...poly rope is not polyester, polypropelene rope breaks down at rates up to 30% per year when exposed to UV, Halter braid could be anything or a blend and if the rope seller cannot tell you what the rope is made from.....try elsewhere. These inferior ropes can stretch so much the halter is useless or they can break under strain.

try to get a deal on a good rope for the job. 100% polyester rope, of any design, will generally outlast other sunthetic materials.

As always, glad to answer any emails if members want a 2nd opinion on rope.

cheers from Downunder.

(btw, we have used LodgeRopes gear for well over 12 years and still using the first 12ft lead i .....ooopps....they made :0)

[LodgeRopes]

Forgot to mention, Thank you for the kind words Perdita, most appreciated :0)

Rob

[cvb]

Well I have a load of LodgeRopes stuff - natural hackamore, half-bosal, bosal... and more on the way ;)

You could tie your own - there was a "kit" on ebay... if you have the time and patience !

one of the plus's of LodgeRopes is that you can send your horse's measurement. All others seem to be "standard" sizes... this may not seem like a big deal but the one point of using a rope halter rather than a regular one is the fit - i.e. that it is snug, doesn't slide, doesn't hit any nerves it shouldn't etc.

leslie desmond commented at a clinic I saw that certain designs (:cough:parelli:cough:) had the proportions wrong - I think it was the side pieces. She advocated certain makers (US of course ;) ) to get a better proportion..

EDIT: the "cough" comment... a ":" followed by a p turns into :p.... so I'll leave it to you to interpret what it SHOULD say !

[HairyCob]

Thanks for all your replies.. am still planning to go with LodgeRopes IF i end up keeping Dolly... she failed the vet dramatically and I'm now in negotiation on price:(

[LodgeRopes]

CVB mentioned the shape of Parelli halters, we have seen the same problems here in Australia, we had put it down to the halters being made locally not in the USA as previously available Parelli gear.

The current parelli halter is difficult to fit correctly as the throat & cheek pieces have been greatly reduced in length. This has placed the cheek strap, throat pieces, gullet knot and neck knots on the cheek of the horse. This may not seem important, but should be considered for 2 reasons:

1) Possible facial nerve damage or injury
To protect the facial nerves that run down the cheek then spread out towards the nose, it is important the the rope halter 'frames' the cheek area, as any rope on the cheekcould damage facial nerves if the horse pulled back or exerts extreme pressure suddenly.

2)Stability.
With the throat pieces sitting behind the jowl, the halter is much more stable on the horses head. This results in less slipping/movement of the halter, giving crisper cues that, hopefully, result in better responses.
Added to this aspect is something we are real big on here at LodgeRopes, set up cues. We a big on giving the horse a set up cue before the set up cue for a specific response. This is common in many riding styles. We agree with the line of though that if we mentally & physically prepare the horse for a change,, the change can occurr with little or no oppositional response.
We are still playing with the whole thing, but one instance of real improvement was in the ground work yo yo game or asking a horse to come forward in a halter & 12ft lead. When a badly fitted halter was put our appy colt, when asked to come fwd, the pressure transfers from the rope,to the halter in a direct line to the poll area, resulting in a young colt raising his head in opposition to the poll pressure, he quickly then followed or gave to the pressure, dropped his head and came in. But there was that initial head raising that made the whole thing sloppy. We put a well fitted halter on the colt and repeated the exercise. This time, as the pressure was increased, initial contact was made to the jaw area as the halter throat pieces were behind the cheek/jowl. This initial contact acted as another cue and prepared the horse for the poll pressure. The extra contact point also encourages the horse to extend and lower its head as it moves away from the pressure. These 2 actions resulted in a relaxed but crisp transition from a halt to fwd movement.

Sorry that took so long, it's sad when your life is horses, rope and for something different, horse ropes :0)

cheers all.

[BeachRiding]

Rope halters work wonders on all the horses I have used them on!