Dually headcollar, has anyone used one or got any comments on them please?

mightymammoth

mightymammoth

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Hi,

I've got a problem with loading my horse (puts two feet on the ramp and plants) he isn't afraid and will load after an hour plus. He is very stubborn by nature.

I'm wondering if a dually headcollar would help. Does anyone have any experience of them especially with loading?

Thanks
 
They are a great tool once you know how to use one, and you need to do some training in the school so your horse understands it too. I would recommend getting a Monty Roberts Recommended Associate out to teach you and your horse, so you know exactly what you are doing. I did this for my sticky loader, and the RA worked out WHY he was being difficult, did lots of training exercises with him, and had him loading beautifully in around 4 hours. They are really worth the money :)
 
victoria1980x said:
Hi,

I've got a problem with loading my horse (puts two feet on the ramp and plants) he isn't afraid and will load after an hour plus. He is very stubborn by nature.

I'm wondering if a dually headcollar would help. Does anyone have any experience of them especially with loading?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Its not so much about the dually head-collar as the previous ground handling, he needs to follow you when and where you ask. Don't do trailer training till he is working with you on the ground, including backing up.
When loading be aware that he will be unable to move if he is tri-pod ie two hind feet are out behind, or if he is not straight on to the ramp.
If he presents like this you have to re-present until he does it properly.
You can face him as he is entering the trailer, but do not challenge him by staring at his eyes.
I assume you tried a bucket of oats?
 
Ive used both the dually and a pressure halter for help with loading, and as long as you use it right, and do work with it first, pressure and release work, then yep, I found it a huge help,
One of mine would not load without a pressure halter, then I swapped to the dually..

there used to be a lad work at the yard where i kept my mare, and he used to struggle taking her to the field, well she would drag him there (he was not tall and she took advantage) put a dually on her and no problem... funny now as said lad... now works in a race yard, riding and handling horses far worse than she was... with no problem at all...

Must say, Still got the mare and she is an angel now..
 
A friend had a horse who was a problem loader - just out of sheer bl**dy mindedness, he'd plant his feet on the trailer ramp and stand there for hours - took us 3 hours to get him in one day. She had a Monty Roberts associate out to work with him with the Dually and the problem was solved in one session. Most times he'd go in with a normal headcollar after that, she just used the Dually as a backup.
 
I've got a monty Roberts one and if my mare says no to loading pop it on and she just walks in like a dream never travel without it, mare 17hh and chestnut.
 
Never used one for loading but my friends mare cannot be lead in anything other than as she is so strong and very bulshy on the ground, it works wonders on her and in fact is now really just like a headcollar on her as she knows its on and does not bother all the pushing and pulling when its on.

Just out of curiosity if its a trailer your loading into have you tried leaving the front ramp down or front top door open, it may be that its closed in that he/she doesn't like going on (sorry if speaking out of turn, its just something I found with my old mare if front was closed up it was a battle of wills, front ramp down and door open, she'd walk straight in) so I always suggest it to try to help folk it if can :-)
 
devilwoman said:
Never used one for loading but my friends mare cannot be lead in anything other than as she is so strong and very bulshy on the ground, it works wonders on her and in fact is now really just like a headcollar on her as she knows its on and does not bother all the pushing and pulling when its on.

Just out of curiosity if its a trailer your loading into have you tried leaving the front ramp down or front top door open, it may be that its closed in that he/she doesn't like going on (sorry if speaking out of turn, its just something I found with my old mare if front was closed up it was a battle of wills, front ramp down and door open, she'd walk straight in) so I always suggest it to try to help folk it if can :-)
Click to expand...

Hi thanks for this yes when I try and load him I leave it all open, tried to load him and get him to just walk through following another horse but he doesn't want to know.
 
Yes, use one for my boy just for loading, can't get him on without it. I did have a Monty Roberts trained guy out to help in first instance and to show me how to use it correctly.

IMO they are better than Be Nice halters as these just make them rear.

Good luck!
 
yep, I find mine a very handy tool for training my sometimes bolshy youngster. I don't use it all the time but it has given him alot more respect for headcollars in general. I also long line in mine

As others have said its all about the release so make sure you at the very least watch the DVD it comes with (if bought from the proper channels) in full (we watched ours twice) to make sure you fit it and use it properly.
 
My opinionated four year old would plant on the ramp then do little rears and refuse to go in. Five minutes in the Dually and she walks in no problem. Best £40 I spent last year.
 
Brilliant things, my daughter bought one for her bolshy mare, then passed it on to to me, my lad had a bad experience travelling and it worked wonders, he now loads again with no problems, I'm about to use it on our new mare that has no manners
 
I use both the dually and the rope pressure halters, I love both but for different things with different horses. The key to either is to be absolutely perfect on the timing of release of pressure and only practice can get this right, both need to be used correctly to work. If you buy a Dually new you should get a training dvd with it, although I had an RA to show me how to use it properly, I felt more confident that way. I haven't used either for loading as our couple of difficult loaders load easily if we just place a bucket of feed on the wagon for them, they then load themselves.
 
I have one and I would never get rid of it! It allows me to control my horse as oppose to being dragged along :D they are not cheap, but last for ages. I've had mine a year and a half, and it has not shown the slightest bit of wear and tear, and I use it twice a day :) they are not cheap, but if you buy one directly from the Intelligent Horsemanship website, it comes with a DVD on how to use it etc :)
 
I have one for my cob - it will be 10 years old this year:D It is the only headcollar I use with her - with had bolshy cob issues:rolleyes: - and have also used it with a couple of poor loaders at the yard. We have had one of the RA's here to show us how to use it properly - was the best 2 hours we spent - it was one of the worst storms of the year at the time and the 3 horses who were poor loaders (rearing,plantng etc) were loading themselves within 30 minutes or so despite banging and crashing, pouring rain etc :D

I wouldn't hesitate to use one again on ANY horse or pony - but definitely worth learning how to fit and use it properly:)
 
I found it great for helping when the horse was on boxrest and getting bargy and I rode in it for a while. No idea about loading as he loves going in trailers/lorries, the weirdo!
 
It depends what you plan to do with it - it isn't a head collar to drag them into the trailer with excessive pressure. It is a tool to give pressure and release/reward.

My horse has recently been through the loading problems! It has been 'fixed' in 2 sessions with a natural horsemanship lady! She finds Dually's too severe and recommends a simple (& much cheaper) rope halter and a 12 ft line (not a lunge line as it doesn't have enough weight.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROPE-HALT...r_Equipment&hash=item256f312ae5#ht_500wt_1006

The key thing is you need to understand what you are doing with it. I would recommend getting an expert out to teach you however... As that isn't a helpful answer I will try to explain what I was taught:

Firstly you need to control their feet - they should be completely light to handle - they should back up at the waggle of your finger and come forward or side step at a simple pressure. This establishes you as leader. They must do this all the way to the trailer ramp. You must be in complete control. If they plant as soon as they move even a step forward you release the pressure.

The first aim should be a foot on the ramp, you release pressure - give them a pat and walk away. Then you ask for 2 feet, release pressure walk away. Depending on how long this has taken you may stop there on day 1. Basically you progress this asking for a foot at a time until all 4 feet are on the ramp and eventually all 4 feet are in the trailer. You can give them a carrot or treat as a reward but not as a bribe.

Don't go straight for shutting them in & 'trapping them' - the first time just stand them there give lots of treats and then walk away. The idea is a predator wouldn't attack a horse and simply walk away but if you shut them in trapped and them drive around vibrating and making awful rattling noses then they will basically never trust you to go in there again!

My horse took a week of doing it everyday and feeding him his tea shut in there until I could travel him anywhere. If you don't have loads of time to be patient then don't bother - one session where you are trying to rush the horse can undo all your hard work!!!

I don't want to preach, I just hope it helps! It has changed my young horses life - he is now polite, loads in no more than 5 minutes and is more supple and relaxed!
 
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Becki1802 said:
It depends what you plan to do with it - it isn't a head collar to drag them into the trailer with excessive pressure. It is a tool to give pressure and release/reward.

My horse has recently been through the loading problems! It has been 'fixed' in 2 sessions with a natural horsemanship lady! She finds Dually's too severe and recommends a simple (& much cheaper) rope halter and a 12 ft line (not a lunge line as it doesn't have enough weight.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROPE-HALT...r_Equipment&hash=item256f312ae5#ht_500wt_1006

I would recommend getting an expert out to teach you however...
The key thing is you need to understand what you are doing with it. Firstly you need to control their feet - they should be completely light to handle - they should back up at the waggle of your finger and come forward or side step at a simple pressure. This establishes you as leader. They must do this all the way to the trailer ramp. You must be in complete control. If they plant as soon as they move even a step forward you release the pressure.

The first aim should be a foot on the ramp, you release pressure - give them a pat and walk away. Then you ask for 2 feet, release pressure walk away. Depending on how long this has taken you may stop there on day 1. Basically you progress this asking for a foot at a time until all 4 feet are on the ramp and eventually all 4 feet are in the trailer. You can give them a carrot or treat as a reward but not as a bribe.

Don't go straight for shutting them in & 'trapping them' - the first time just stand them there give lots of treats and then walk away. The idea is a predator wouldn't attack a horse and simply walk away but if you shut them in trapped and them drive around vibrating and making awful rattling noses then they will basically never trust you to go in there again!

My horse took a week of doing it everyday and feeding him his tea shut in there until I could travel him anywhere.

I don't want to preach, I just hope it helps! It has changed my young horses life - he is now polite, loads in no more than 5 minutes and is more supple and relaxed!
Click to expand...

As with everything all the 'natural horsemanship' people will have an opinion on which healter is better - the Monty Roberts people will tell you a thin rope is harsher than the Dually which is webbing and rope - the idea of the Dually is multi-purpose - you use it as a halter/head collar for lunging, long reining and for riding in so is more versatile than the rope halters.

Everyone who has posted on here has said using it (which ever halter) correctly is the most important thing however. :)
 
Slinkyunicorn said:
As with everything all the 'natural horsemanship' people will have an opinion on which healter is better - the Monty Roberts people will tell you a thin rope is harsher than the Dually which is webbing and rope - the idea of the Dually is multi-purpose - you use it as a halter/head collar for lunging, long reining and for riding in so is more versatile than the rope halters.

Everyone who has posted on here has said using it (which ever halter) correctly is the most important thing however. :)
Click to expand...

Completely agree Slinkyunicorn! Pick your expert and take their advice! & the key thing is the correct use which I wouldn't have known without my NH lessons!

My Dually is going back on Ebay though as it isn't being used & is worth a few bob!!!!
 
I was advised to buy a dually for my old horse who was incredibly bolshy, had no manners, was always trying to walk all over you and enjoyed going from 0-60 across the fields with absolutely no warning, dragging you along behind her. I agree with what everyone else has said that you do need to learn how to use it, they need to understand the concept of it before it will work - watching the dvd or having someone who can show you how to use it correctly will really help, once you get the hang of it they are really brilliant. Once she worked out what it was all about she stopped misbehaving because she knew when it was on, so in the end I didn't really have to use it.
 
I would suggest going to one of the demos, to see them in use. You can buy one there. Or go to the Intelligent Horsemanship website & booking into a course. They do come with a DVD to help you use them correctly as well. Like any training aid, they are only as effective when used correctly.
 
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