why shouldnt you tie up in a rope headcoller?

[skye123]

got to do an assignment on them and having never used one wondered why. is it because it will hurt their head etc if they pull back?

also what is the most popular make of the rope headcollar is it the Be nice?


thanks

 

[jumpthemoon]

Because if the horse pulls back the heacollar will tighten, so if they get scared they can injure themselves. The traditional rope halters are the same, but we used to tie them to the noseband before tying up so the rope didn't slip through (if you get what I mean)

 

[cazza]

What sort of rope headcollar. Ours are western style rope headcollars and you tie them up with a quick release by the cheek. If a horse pulls back the headcollar doesn't tighten and if you need to get the horse unattached for any reason you just pull the quick release on the headcollar and off it comes.

 

[Daphnelia]

Mm same, I always tie up in mine, Harry in particular started being a git and snapping the baler twine when I was out of sight, doesnt do it with the rope headcollar.

 

[rara007]

I thought the most popular type was like the ones they show some ponies in, no idea of the name though.

http://www.belchfordstud.com/images/pdylan1.jpg

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Echo every one elses points about rope halters getting tighter. Allso some rope headcollars are thin and could cut in, whereas a webbing head collar is flat so less likely to dig in. Another point could be that a some webbing head collars are more adjustable, possibly giving a better fit, less likey to get a foot through etc etc.

 

[Talan]

You need to be clearer about what sort of rope halter or headcollar you mean.
If it is a Be Nice (or Be Nasty as some call them!) then you don't tie up in them because they are presure halters and if the horse pulls back they will close on the face.
If it is a white rope halter like the one in the picture that would also close on the head.
If it is a normal rope halter, such as used by Parelli and many, many other people around the world, then there is no reason at all why you shouldn't tie up in them. They DON'T tighten. The only thing you have to bear in mind is that the rope is very strong and has no break points. So many people would only tie up to frayed string, and would never leave a horse loose wearing one. However, cowboys like Parelli DO tie up to solid objects, because they claim that they have taught their horses to yield properly to pressure. That doesn't quite allow for accidents, but then cowboys always have a good knife on their belts...
Rope halters aren't think enough to cut into a horse's head, but they do have less surface area, which can dissuade some horses from pulling and pushing into them. They are light and so they give a much more precise and soft feel than a webbing or leather headcollar, which is why they are so good to ride in.
p.s. If there is room for a horse to put it's foot in, then the rope halter doesn't fit and shouldn't be on the horse in the first place.

 

[cazza]

Talan, completely agree with what you have said above. when ours are tied up they are usually attached to baler twine which should snap but if there is a problem we do walk around the yard with a sharp knife in our pocket for those just in case moments anyway.

 

[Laafet]

Would like to point out that most of the rope 'NH' type headcollars come with a warning on them not to be used for tying horses up but from what I've seen people are too lazy to change them for normal ones when tying up. This can make horses that have pulled back in one of these very sensitive and funny about being tied up afterwards.

 

[Tia]

As the others have said, it all depends on what type of rope halter you are talking about. I use western rope halters; all of my horses and all the western people I know, teach their horses to tie to them because they will not break if the horse pulls back. This is normal over here; none of us put up with all this pulling back malarky that UK people have to deal with.

Our ones come with a nylon rope tie so that you can leave this on younger horses to get used to the rope flapping around their legs and it teaches them that if they stand on it then they have to reverse to get free. You end up with a great little horse at the end, however sometimes, depending on how stupid the particular horse is, they may end up with some burn marks where the knots on the noseband are.

Many horses are turned out with them on permanently, often they remain on when being ridden too. Sometimes I leave them on, sometimes I don't, depends how much work I am planning to do with the horse over the coming few days. I'd far rather leave a rope or leather halter on than a nylon headcollar on a horse permanently.

Over here the most popular rope halter is made by Weaver and it doesn't have any other name than rope halter.

 

[Talan]

[ QUOTE ]
Would like to point out that most of the rope 'NH' type headcollars come with a warning on them not to be used for tying horses up but from what I've seen people are too lazy to change them for normal ones when tying up.

[/ QUOTE ]
No, they don't. The pressure halters like Dually and Be Nice do, but normal rope halters are just halters made of rope and don't carry any special warnings.
I agree with Tia, people who use rope halters as a routine (like me) don't tend to put up with pulling back malarky.

I suspect that those of you who think that there is something wrong or lazy about tying up in a rope halter are thinking of the pressure halters, and we are in fact talking about different items of equipment.
I don't turn out with them because I have stuff in my field that they could get caught up on.