Rope Halter vs Nylon Halter

So when I bought my now yearling in the winter the lady gave me a rope halter...to be honest I thought she was nuts. I had never heard of using one I have always used leather or Nylon so I looked up the use and why of the rope halter which I found very helpful. I still use the one on my yearling for training and also bought one for a mare I am re training I like them lots now. My question is once they are trained in a rope halter do they have to always be in one or can you use a nylon or leather. Also who likes which better and why?

I alternate between my nylon break-away and a rope halter. It really depends on what I am doing, and how the horses are acting. If we are trailering them or if we keep a halter on them in a field we use the break-always. If they are being hard to handle or if I am doing groundwork I use a rope halter as it provides a little more "bite". I also often ride in a rope halter.

You don't have to stop using a halter because the horse is "trained." Just keep in mind that rope halters are really hard to break, so it could cause problems if, for example, you leave it on while they are in their field and get it caught. Also, using a nylon/leather halter, they could break if a horse really struggles, so that is pretty bad in certain situations.

I don't really have a preference, just depends on whatever I am doing with the horses at that time.

I always uae a rope. It doesnt hurt the horse at all. It just tells them what you want. Makes it more clear .and they are safer than nylon

:)

A rope halter has pressure points. They can be somewhat harsh especially the smaller diameter ones. Me personally, I use them on trail. Picketing and trailering I use a nylon halter. In pasture they do not wear any halter.

It all depends on what you use one for. For turn-out you want to go with break-away halter (although I don't think the horse should be turned out with one on). For ground work, leading, etc. I find cheap rope halter to be most convenient.

If trained in rope and respectful of halters, they can be trained in either nylon web or leather aswell.

How do I know? Well let's just say my horse used to destroy nylon and leather so I stuck him in a rope halter for training and now he respects both of them :)

I would NEVER EVER trailer with a rope halter though. Either nylon web or leather (my preference.)

If you turn out, never do so in a rope halter because they don't break. And if they don't break, then the horse is going to be stuck in whatever situation they got themselves into.

I make my own rope halters to use for groundwork and round pen work, but to put out to pasture, trailer, tie at shows, etc. I use a nylon or leather one.

Agreed with Sky. Restating: NEVER trailer in a rope halter, and especially not in nylon. If your horse freaks out or there is a trailer accident, you want them staying safe and sound.

Otherwise I love basic rope halters for training, leading, and riding (trails too). When tying I always use easy quick release knots, so if there is an emergency I can release the horse. Unfortunately I have come across more than a few horses who have discovered how to release themselves ;)

Cheers,
RSS

Nylon halters are fine if they have a breakaway crownpiece or leather tab. I've even heard of people trailering in rope halters with a breakaway tab, but that's not something I would condone.

I don't ever turn Huey out with a halter, but I guess some people do - what is the reason for this? I just think of the 500 things that could go horribly wrong, and they're so frightening that I don't get any further than just thinking about it. I also haven't trailered him yet - we're not up to Show Quality, and the bugs are so bad around here that trail riding is pretty miserable.

That said, I only use a rope halter on him. The person I learned groundwork from swears by them, and I found that once you get used to it, they're actually less work to put on than a nylon or leather halter. (this is my experience, at least). The less "hot" horses on the farm wear nylon or leather halters when being handled on the ground, but the ones with any real spirit - including the ponies - wear rope halters.

You can get some beautiful ones, too. I got one for Huey at Equine Affaire from Kensington that is hunter-green with a tan cord braided in with the green to the bosal.