Dually halter-Any good?

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lunarlove

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After sucess/not so successful stories, Have been advisd to try one with my lad by a Kelly Marks/Monty Roberts prodigy thats been helping me to try to put a stop to him bolting when being turned out, I'm sceptical, if he wants to go, he goes, even with a chiffney he has still p****d off me in the past?
 
I've got one and have found it very effective with a bolshy horse. Haven't tried it in the circumstances you describe though. If a chiffney doesn't work I wouldn't expect a Dually to do so, but you never know!

It sounds as though you already have an IH person to help you, which is good. The headcollar has to be fitted and used properly. For anybody who doesn't have an IH person involved I would strongly suggest they don't just buy one of these and try to use it themselves!
 
I use one on our 13'2hh pony, he bombs off for a past time. Its the only thing that works for him, leading him in a bridle of chiffney doesn't make a difference. I really that they are successful...however I guess different horses react differently.
 
very good and effective how ever you must do the training otherwise it will be as pointless.
They come with a DVD and the best advice is get someone out to help train both of you. Go to the Intelligent horsemanship website and find someone local to you
 
I have one/use one and it's a brilliant piece of kit - my horse really respects it and rarely tries to mess around when I'm using it. I would recommend having some groundwork lessons from your IH person while your horse wears his dually - get him used to it and teach him what is acceptable and what isn't! Good luck :)
 
lunarlove said:
After sucess/not so successful stories, Have been advisd to try one with my lad by a Kelly Marks/Monty Roberts prodigy thats been helping me to try to put a stop to him bolting when being turned out, I'm sceptical, if he wants to go, he goes, even with a chiffney he has still p****d off me in the past?
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VERY VERY effective with my big bolshy lad. Marvellous to ride with (don't think you are meant to!). But like anything practice makes perfect and you have to have a lot of patience. My boy will still grab and hay tubs when he walks down the ailse in his dually, even if I reprimand him a dozen times. Stood there talking to someone in their stable the other day after bringing him in from teh field, he must have tried a dozen times to grab hay out of the tub outside this horses stable despite be using the dually on him in increasingly hard movements as he refused to listen to me.

But generally leading, lunging (I lunge in mine which is better for my horse than a bridle) and for loading I find it effective, although the loading issue keeps rearing its head from time to time.

I don't think I was really taught how to use it, although I went to the Monty/Kelly Marks demo. I was shown very briefly whilst attempting to load my horse but didn't have first hand experience of the horse rebelling against it like the tub scenario. Think I could do with a lesson from one fo the Inteligent Horsemanship people but the cost is very expensive.
 
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Found it brilliant for loading. My horse became wary after his back legs slipped off step up trailer and I couldn't get him on a box or trailer.
Chifney made him worse and he wouldn't take a step forward (only very useful leading him in from field ect) so i got a dually & practiced in hand for a few days getting him used to pressure & release and it worked perfectly he loaded in 10mins and I have used it since and he is brilliant to load.

Guess it is worth a try.
 
I prefer the Dually to string halters, the Be Nice (it's not nice at all) and chains across noses. It's a bit more sophisticated than using a rope around the nose but the principle, if used correctly, is much the same.
Another alternative that works with some horses, is having a second person with a lead rope on the other side using an ordinary headcollar. Although that's not always practical if you're working on your own.

ETA;. Dually worked well with my lot with the exception of a Nob of a Cob who is incredibly clever at launching himself in the direction of lonely haynets.
 
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I agree with the above - very useful as long as it's used in combination with appropriate training. Nothing would stop my horse bolting in hand, but training him and me to curb the behaviour before he bolts using the Dually has been very effective.
 
Silmarillion said:
I agree with the above - very useful as long as it's used in combination with appropriate training. .
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I think this is the key here. Appropriate training. I have never been into training my horse which is a shame really. I just feel that time is so precious that if I can ride or halter train I will ride every time. Ihave lunged about four times in the last twelve months so do very little on the ground as you can see. At the start of the loading problem I was practising two or three times a week with loading but it never seemed to make much difference so I gave up.

So I think that if I put in the time I would have a much more obedient job. But when you ahve been at work all day and don't get to the yard until its dark and
 
In short terms yes incredibly effective

My mare went through a phase as a 2 year old of stopping then ****ing off throwing me completely off balance she knocked me into an electric fence & I decided enough was enough, I had 1 for my previous mare to load so knew they worked

When you get it take him in the school & work him with it on back him up until all you have to do is flick the rope or point & he will go
Get him to fix his head with you & move his quaters round you again as above you should only have to point in the end

Back him up make him stand in his own space & come when you put the tiniest bit of pressure on the rope

From this you should be able to walk & he stops when you stop .

Do a few sessions then use it to the field if he rushes or even thinks about being a **** stop him & back him up. The 1st few times you may spend 20 mins getting to the field but it won't take him long to realise hes fighting a loosing battle :)
 
I bought dually halters for both of mine. Then I got a trainer in to show me how to use them properly. My big horse hates it and gets stressed when I use it. It worked amazingly on the little pony after he managed to pull my husband over and drag him 10 yards down the field wearing his dually halter. Probably not the best thing for the pony but he has never pulled since and beforehand he was a terror :D
 
I love my dually. My youngster responds brilliantly in it. Agree its best if you can train with it - key is to use it BEFORE the major bolt kicks in but when he is thinking about it. Recommend using a long line as well with something that bogs off, as you can hang on and it will get fed up rather than winning by getting free. Would add that I always wear hat and gloves if i think this may happen!
 
Thanks for all your replies, I'm in regular contact with an IH lady and she is being great and until I can afford to get her out for a one on one the advise she is giving me is very useful. I'm going to get one, watch the DVD and take Rosie's advise, last ditch attempt and all that. :)
 
I have got one, quite exspensive but very robust and adjustable, I have found it very useful and can lead my formerly bolshy greedy cob past grass and control him perfectly, in fact I can now just use a normal head collar. I also use it for long lining and lunging.
 
Used it on my big old boy, and after plenty of groundwork in it he was fine in a headcollar. If it was actually a case of horse disappearing into the next county, I wouldn't say it's as strong as a bridle, but take him in an enclosed space and do some manners training with it and hopefully it will help :)
 
I don't like this sort of halter, I prefer a simple rope halter. It's proper training that sorts these problems out not gimmicks. If a horse can't lead quietly and stand properly why would you get on it? Madness, lol.
 
I used it on my 5 yr old welsh x warmblood. He was very bolshy and would try to walk all over you when he first came. I spent a few months doing in hand exercises in the school with it (Walking and turning him and asking him to stand. If he didn't listen I made him back up, stand and then walk off). I led him up to the field with it and if he tried to walk through me I'd do the same exercise I did in the school. He eventually got the message that it is not acceptable to walk through me and he is a lot more polite now. I don't even need to use it anymore as he has improved so much. I'd definitely recommend it.
 
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