Pressure halter pros and cons?

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soloequestrian

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This has probably been done to death, but a quick search didn't find anything specific - if anyone can point me to an old thread that would be great!
Otherwise, why do some people love them and some hate them? Haven't used myself but considering for a youngster....
 
What about headcollar rope around the nose, I've used that on a couple of bargey horses v successfully.

I'm naive though, never heard any negatives about pressure halters, but I'm sure there are..

Fiona
 
I love them rarely use anything else except for tying up in the trailer. I do find the release is easier and cleaner and I get more respect and focus - even my horse on box rest who is allowed a few mouthfuls of grass now and again. He doesn't come up for air unless I have his rope halter on.
 
you have to learn how to work the pressure release of a pressure halter, you cant be tug tug tug every step of trying to hold a horse back, you have to let them hit the slack and feel the pressure kick in the give as soon as they stop.

i personally use the be nice on my 3yo. just for loading/un loading and for leading to and from the field. He had a small blip as a 2yo when he set sail to the field on his owna couple of times (was always perfect coming in/general leading round the yard etc) and so now its just there as back up. He plods along on a long rope but its a safety net if he has *a moment*..........and if he does have a moment, hes allowed to hit the slack HARD then immediately i release the pressure he has to back up out my space in a submissive manner and then we head off again on a long rope, i dont use it to hold him in tight/hold him back etc. He's only tested it twice (in quick succession) learnt his lesson and now doesnt even think about it.
 
I use one for my loaned 5yo, although I actually think he's getting close to not needing it soon. His owner dually halter trained him as he was really bargy and had learnt his own strength with previous owners.
Having got my youngster with this already in place I didn't question it, and didn't see how he was to lead with a normal halter. However I have had to use it to it's full potential a few times and 99% of the time he respects it and backs down from whatever he's trying to do. When I first rode him (bringing him back into work after being broken the summer previous & turned away) I did with this halter over the top of his bridle to give me a bit more control. Never needed to use it mind, and now ride in just his bridle.

It helped me to learn to handle him confidently and he learn that bargy behaviour will not be tolerated. As I mentioned above, he's now very good and I wouldn't think twice about putting a normal halter on him to lead him anywhere (partially because he's improved, and partially because I've improved).
 
Im a bit on the fence about them. I have used them in the past, but i prefer not to use them everyday. They are useful to use when your horse needs reminding about their manners for a few days. I think there are other ways that end up with the same results.

However, there are types that dont use them- Michael Peace for one. He is interesting to watch, its not at all about using pressure to get a horse to do something and just instead about calmness, consistency and giving them time to understand that there are no options other than what you want.
 
I have used them with a couple of horses that were a bit cheeky loading, you know the sort, sometimes just decided not to load but fine once on the lorry. Both learned very quickly that they couldn't run backwards and pull me off the ramp and would load first time in the pressure halter. Occasionally I'd forget to put it on the old TB and he'd say, "no thank you, not today" but as soon as he had it on, he'd walk up the ramp as nice as pie. I think it's important to do proper training with them so they understand that if they barge or run off they get a nip on the nose but they can release it by behaving politely. I found it much less useful with horses that planted but perhaps my technique wasn't quite right. I wouldn't be without one.
 
Like any tool pressure halters are not in themselves "bad" or "good". It is how they are used. Different styles have different pressure points and different people have different views on what works best for them. But like anything else - it is first and foremost a tool and is only as good - or bad - as the user. I have seen them misused - someone associated with a popular discipline beginning with P used one on my horse in a manner I considered then and stand by now to be nothing but sheer cruelty. (So did he!) But the fault is with the person not the tool.

I have both a rope style one (although I can't bring it near the horse mentioned above or he will panic) and a dually. (And more than one horse in case that sounds a bit odd?!) Both have their uses. You just need to learn how to use them. Different things work for different horses and different people.
 
I think they are great and use both a dually and pressure halters on my youngsters. As long as you learn the pressure release technique they are brilliant and fair.

The only thing I am dead against is a chiffney, because of the damage they can do.
 
I use them on just about every occasion, except for when they *need* to be tied up, such as for travelling or bathing. We buy ours completely unbranded from a local farm stores. I dislike the branded ones, as I find them too thin and so far too unsubtle. Some of them are very complicated to put on as well, I prefer simplicity in all things.

For some horses we find that the rather more elastic versions with more give work better, while others respond best to those which don't give at all. My Draft mare has one with a broad, flat webbing noseband, which she knows she can't take advantage of. They should never be used harshly but I do find that horses which like to set the pace in a headcollar don't do so in a halter. We came upon them by accident over 40 yrs ago, when a farmer gave us one for our first horse and, having come from a traditional horseman, he was used to it. We have used them on every horse since.

Having said all that , we don't routinely tie up to groom, etc. Our horses are trained to stand still without being tied. You cannot tie and leave even for a second in a halter.
 
i really like the benice halters for teaching manners and for youngsters. I would never tie up in one though as they tighten and can cause nasty injuries. I cant see why you wouldnt tie up in a normal rope halter though?
 
Don't know if it's what you mean but I used a Dually with my big horse when I needed to walk him through 3 paddocks to his mini field when he went onto restricted turnout after months of box rest. He came to me with impeccable ground manners and on the whole, even though he was over 17h, a child could have turned him out and caught him in, but after a long period of box rest that would have been a bit much to ask. A short familiarisation session in the stable so he understood what the Dually was about and it did the job perfectly for the first few weeks of very limited turnout. Never needed it again, but it's a useful thing to have around, and I lent it to lots of people subsequently.
 
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