Field safe headcollar - Le mieux breakaway

[Ginger Bear]

My horse can be a bit of a pain to catch in the summer so wears a leather head collar. He’s just broken his one (that’s probably about 7 or 8 years old) so am looking for a new one. Has anyone used a breakaway field safe one? Looking at the Le Mieux breakaway one but wondering if I was to catch him & he decided to try to pull away from me if the mechanism would break from the pressure from pulling on an attached lead rope (if that makes sense). Wondering if I’m still better off with a normal leather one. TIA ??

 

[Midlifecrisis]

I use the Hy field safe head collars...they ve lasted well and are worn daily as the fencing is so poor at our yard I want them catchable if they escape. My mare can be strong in high winds and they haven’t failed in those situations.

 

[HashRouge]

We had a field safe one for our tricky to catch gelding (can't remember the brand) but he kept managing to lose it in the field. He wears a leather one now, which would be my preference for longevity I think.

 

[whiteflower]

I used a le mieux one but sadly wasn't impressed, it's certainly strong enough to lead in, infact so strong that when it got caught on some fencing whilst on the horses head the leather breakaway bit didn't break, in the end the metal rings on the noseband did ? it's made of very strong rubbery type stuff which also rubbed. I've gone back to either my horseware ones or old leather headcollar. I was really disappointed but maybe I was just unlucky but wouldn't risk it again as i want it to break in an emergency

 

[TPO]

When I've had anything new or difficult to catch I've used a field safe with the thin rubber rings or velcro. I attached a short length of plaited twine to the ring to make it easier to get a hold of.

Usually when they feel the pressure of the twine being held they are then fine to get a normal halter on top and be led safely.

I wouldn't want to lead anything in a field safe and I wouldnt want to turn anything out in something that does break away fairly easily

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I had a Libby's one; the headpiece part of it had a velcro fastening rather than the normal buckle.

It was OK..... ish. It was fine for leaving on the horse in the field and then being able to go up and grab something quick, but not for leading.

 

[Ginger Bear]

Thanks all, as I’ve used a leather one for years with no problems, think I’ll just order another one. Thank you ??????

 

[Widgeon]

I used a le mieux one but sadly wasn't impressed, it's certainly strong enough to lead in, infact so strong that when it got caught on some fencing whilst on the horses head the leather breakaway bit didn't break, in the end the metal rings on the noseband did ? it's made of very strong rubbery type stuff which also rubbed.

Thought I'd add my experience, in case anyone looks up this thread - I've had no problem with the LM headcollar breaking under pressure - in that respect I found it works very well - but the rubbery inside of the relatively narrow straps rubs my horse's nose (I have his grazing muzzle attached to it). It's a shame because it's a good quality headcollar, but I've been having to pad it with sheepskin and am now on the hunt for a new one with a wider, non-rubbing noseband strap.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I had a field safe one but it broke. I then got an old head collar, 1/4 some baleing twine and used that where the rings would be on the head collar. Safe enough to lead in but also would easily break if caught.

 

[Pippity]

I don't trust leather to break. I had my horse in a leather headcollar, tied to an equiping, tied to 1/8 baling twine. When the horse startled and jumped back, the first thing to go was one of the metal rings on the headcollar. I'm with TPO in that, anything that's safe to turn out in isn't safe to lead in.