A little tale I heard today...

[vicijp]

A top vet inspected a horse at a 'NH demo' in this country, much to the 'experts' annoyance.
The horse had been prone to rearing.
The vet found a series of spikes under the headpiece of the headcollar, thus sticking into the horses poll whenever pressure applied.

 

[happyhack]

 

[Loupride]

Poor demo horse

 

[Tierra]

omg.. thats horrendous

 

[MurphysMinder]

My God, that is awful, what hypocrites.

 

[Tharg]

Serious?, was anything done about it?.

 

[GinaB]

 

[Tinypony]

Facts? Which demo? Which "experts"? If this has truly happened then it will be public knowledge so I'm sure you can share.

 

[henryhorn]

I do hope that isn't true..sounds horrible.

 

[Daisychain]

How bad were the spikes? it sounds like good old pressure and release system to me.

 

[vicijp]

I dont know the extent of the 'spikes'. Perhaps something similar to a studded dog collar would do the trick, whatever they were it is extremely misleading.
The vet is a top dog, and I heard off someone he has told. He writes in H and H from time to time so perhaps we may hear of it next week, I certainly hope so.
The 'expert' was female.
From now on I will swop 'expert' for the phrase 'someone who likes to make out sorting out horses is difficult, to con people out of money'.

 

[Fairynuff]

. Why would anyone want to do something like this? Theyre just waiting to be found out!

 

[Tinypony]

Who was the expert?
Be Nice halters have studs on the inside don't they?

 

[Donkeymad]

Any documented truth in this???

 

[Tinypony]

Well, before I get too wound up about this I need to know who the trainer was, where the demo was, and what branch of "NH" they are purported to have been promoting. It sounds very strange to me, I find it hard to imagine circumstances where a vet would march up and inspect a demo horse, and if it had happened then I'd expect places like the Kelly Marks site and similar forums to be buzzing with it by now.

 

[YorkshireLass]

Sounds like chinese whispers to me! The studs on a dually halter become spikes in the telling..... *yawn*

 

[yellowpony]

I sincerely hope it isn't true, but if it is then I assume the vet will be taking appropriate action

 

[zigzag]

Dually halters have studs on them ???!!!

 

[Skhosu]

I'm guessing since it was female it may well have been an above mentioned person, I wouldn't be surprised by anything but would like to see proof.

 

[jesterfaerie]

I hope this isn't true, if it is poor horse

 

[LeneHorse]

[ QUOTE ]
Dually halters have studs on them ???!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

yep, small rounded studs on the underside of the headpiece where it touches the poll. Don't have one personally but have seen one. They could not be described as spikes though!

 

[Tinypony]

No they don't

You're talking about the Be Nice halter!

 

[Nari]

I have a Dually & I can assure you it doesn't have studs, spikes, buttons or anything else it. The only thing it has is a thick double cord noseband below the normal headcollar noseband - nevertheless it's a very effective tool on some horses.

 

[truth]

As Nari says, Dually headcollars do not have studs nor anything else that could be described as a spike by the wildest imagination. Be nice halters do but these have not been used by Kelly Marks for a long time. Anyone suggesting that they would not be surprised at Kelly using such equipment on horses should understand how she works before insinuating that she may be anything other than for the good of the horse on a public website.

 

[air78]

Dually halters do NOT have studs on them- they are a normal headcollar with an extra bit of 'rope' across the nose. I use one with my boy, and would never put a 'spike' anywhere near him!!!!!

 

[Flame_]

The initial poster didn't mention any names. If people have drawn their own concusions who their talking about they probably have good reason to based on their own experiences. I feel bad for the horse but I'm not surprised either.

 

[LeneHorse]

well the one I saw was at a car boot sale and the person selling said it was a dually so I just took her word for it. As regards the 'be nice' my friend's horse was started by Richard Maxwell a few years ago and he gave her a 'be nice' head collar and there were no studs on it, it was just a rope thing that tightened if the horse pulled against it.

 

[KatB]

Dually does not have studs. However I have heard similar stories of similar type "spiky" devices used on hard to load horses by a well known male handler..

 

[Persephone]

[ QUOTE ]
well the one I saw was at a car boot sale and the person selling said it was a dually so I just took her word for it. As regards the 'be nice' my friend's horse was started by Richard Maxwell a few years ago and he gave her a 'be nice' head collar and there were no studs on it, it was just a rope thing that tightened if the horse pulled against it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I am right in saying that Max uses his own tied pressure halter, not be nice halters.

 

[Persephone]

In fact, I have experience of all three!

Richard Maxwell tied rope (pressure and release) halter. No spikes/studs

Monty whatsit Dually. Normal headcollar with extra rope across the bridge of the nose.

Be nice halter. structured nylon rope halter with brass domes on inside of the headpiece.