PaintHorseJournal-2010-December V2:Layout 1

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE
Article: Carol Rushby Main Photo: Tania Hobbs
You have a horse that is hard to catch, a foal that you are halter training, or a hood
that needs a halter over it to hold it in place, and it makes so much sense to leave
the halter on; you have checked the paddock or yard to make sure there is nothing
that could catch on the halter, so you feel safe in leaving the halter on and your life
is so much easier.
Most people don’t realize just what a dangerous
piece of equipment a halter can
be, however. A halter can snag on a onecentimetre
protrusion and it is a very
rare horse that will just stand and wait
for help when they are unexpectedly attacked
by a gate, tree, or tap, let alone a
hind foot that is suddenly locked to their
head! Horses are a prey animal and you
can never completely over-ride millions
of years of instinct which has taught them
that the way to survive attack is to flee.
Even a quiet older horse may panic under
these circumstances.
The ‘western’ rope halters are particularly
dangerous as they are made not to break,
and the rope used is not only strong but
is also quite a small diameter.This concentrates
the pressure over the poll behind
the ears, and can cause extreme pain if
there is several hundred kilos of horse
trying to escape whatever is attacking it.
Never ever leave one of these rope halters
on a horse unless you are standing
beside it!
The following instances are just a
few examples of what has happened
when halters were left on.
• A Quarter Horse foal with a training
halter left on to make it easier to catch
her for handling. She managed to get a
hind foot caught in the side of the halter
when scratching and broke two legs
in her struggles. Cause of death – euthanized
when the vet arrived an hour later.
• A lovely show mare turned out for exercise.
The inside heel of the shoe on her
hind foot caught on the cheek-piece of
her halter and she crashed down the side
of a hill. Cause of death – broken neck.
• A lovely Paint foal at a show for a Weanling
Futurity. The halter was left on to
stop the hood from dislodging.The foal
was found in the morning hanging from
the stall gate, with the underneath of the
halter caught on the 5cm knob of the
sliding bolt on the outside of the gate.
Cause of death – shock after severe
trauma to front legs.
• A two-year old Appaloosa gelding, a little
hard to catch sometimes; turned out for
a run in the arena. He reached over the
rails at the end of the arena to scratch
his chin and the halter caught on the end
of the top rail. Cause of death – broken
neck.
By far a better alternative is to practice a
lot of ‘catch-and-release’ with your horse.
Don’t expect him to want to be caught if
the only time you catch him is for work
or shove a drench down his throat. Make
being ‘officially’ caught a part of his daily
routine. “You-no-catching-me” means his
feed walks away and doesn’t come back
til the next day (if necessary).
Start out by demanding
a touch on
the neck in exchange
for
the feed,
then extend
that demand
to getting touched
and rubbed around
the neck and face,
then he must have
a halter put on before
he gets the
feed. Once the
horse gives in, you
put the halter on
pat him and then just remove it again. A
bit of time spent in establishing the rules
can save a lot of problems down the track,
particularly with a youngster
If you absolutely have to leave something
on a horses head, you can purchase ‘breakaway’
halters which have a weak spot built
in; or alternatively, use a ‘thoroughbred’
neck strap, which also has a built in breakaway
buckle tongue. You can make your
own breakaway neck strap from an old
webbing halter. Cut off the cheek straps
and noseband (shadowed), leaving the jowl
to chin under-jaw strap and the straps that
normally go under the jowl and over the
poll. If possible use bolt cutters on the ring
under the chin and just thread a short
length of plaited string through the loop
where the ring was. Do the ‘neck-strap’
up fairly snugly around the horses
neck, just behind the ears, and
DO NOT put the end of the
strap back thru the buckle.
This will provide an additional
weak point because
if the horse does get caught
up the buckle-tongue will
give way quite easily. Anything
else left on a horse is
simply an accident waiting
to happen.
You may think you are
wasting a lot of time trying
to catch a recalcitrant
horse, but remember –
he will be easy to catch
if he is dead!
December 2010 - February 2011 | PAINT HORSE JOURNAL 43