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Help with Bridles/Halters

657 Views 17 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  HarmonywithHorses, 
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Just for a quick backstory, so I ride horses at my barn who have owners who don't necessarily seem to care for their horses. It seems like people tend to come and dump them there, as my barn has rates fairly cheap compared to other places around.
My latest project is a small QH. I've only used her bit twice, but it looks very similar to a curb bit, I'm assuming low to medium port. When I was trying to use it, she would toss her head a lot if I would try to keep her speed down, so I stopped using it. I don't have any of my own bits, but I'm thinking I might end up buying one if I have to.
Lately, I've just been using a halter to ride her. I ride in an enclosed arena. I have no issues with her if I use a halter, none with her going too fast, or getting upset if I try to slow her down. I do want to do trail rides, in which case I would likely have to use a bit.
So I guess I'm wondering two things: 1) Is it really ethical to be riding in a halter? - I've even been jumping her in it without issues, but I just want to make sure that there's no health issues that this could cause. 2) When I do decide to whip out the bit, what bits should I shy away from, and what might be good ones to try out?
Thanks for taking the time to read this :)
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iiliana.eqq said:
For sure! I was going to buy one a while back, but they didn't have any options for it under $80... but my $30 halter was already quite versatile in terms of size so it can fit any horse I wanted to put it on. It's definitely in my plans at some point!
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You could also look into a sidepull or jumping hackamore, as those might be cheaper options and would be closest to functioning similarly to a halter with clip on reins.




However, if you're not competing, there's nothing wrong with riding in the halter if she goes well in it!
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