The Head Collar

In an equestrian world filled with gadgets and gizmos, it can sometimes be confusing as to what sort of equipment we should use for our horses. There is one piece of equipment that we use more than any other, the simplest gadget in our tack room... Or is it? It seems to me that most people opt for a traditional headcollar, while the 'natural horsemanship folk' tend to opt for rope/pressure halters. Then of course there's Monty Robert's own line of Dually halters... So what's the difference and what's the significance? 

There is only one principle to do with head collars that I would call an absolute and that is the fitting of the noseband. Anyone who fits a headcollar to a horse needs to understand that toward the end of the horse's nose, the bone structure becomes very thin and then non-existent, leaving only cartilage. It wouldn't take a vast amount of pressure to damage the cartilage or fracture the end of the nasal bone. For this reason, the noseband of any headcollar (or bridle) should sit high on the nose; the general rule is two fingers' width below the protruding cheek bone. 

The horse's skull - notice the thin nasal bone

Another commonly known 'rule' when it comes to head collars is that if horses must wear one when travelling in a horse box or when loose in a field, it should be made of leather. This is because leather head collars are much more breakable than synthetic ones; a point that could prove life saving, or at least help prevent some serious injuries/traumatic experiences.  

A horsewoman I greatly respect once told me I should always know why I'm doing what I'm doing with horses. When I first learned about natural horsemanship, I thought rope halters were great! But when I began to think about why, I started having second thoughts. Here's a short picture gallery: 

Diagram of a rope halter 

Rope halter on a horse 

Traditional head collar 

Monty Robert's Dually - notice how the rope attachment works 

Horse's facial nerves 

The rope or 'pressure' halter is designed to do exactly that - apply pressure through points around the horses face, particularly via the two knots either side of the horse's nose. It is designed with narrow strips of rope as opposed to the traditional head collar which is has a wider, flatter surface area which allows for a more even distribution of pressure. 

The Dually halter is similar to a traditional head collar, but has a rope attachment beneath the noseband which works in a pressure-and-release manner. If the horse was pulling forwards, for instance, the rope piece would tighten round his nose. As soon as the horse slows back down, the rope piece would give a little, so rewarding the horse and encouraging that behaviour. It utilises the principle of negative reinforcement and makes it easy to apply. Some people simply put the lead rope around the horse's nose whilst leading for the same effect (it's a lot cheaper than spending £40 on a Dually I suppose), although the release isn't quite as smooth. 

After some thought about 'reasons', I decided to just use a traditional head collar. It turns out I don't need a pressure halter because I trained my horses to respond to the lighter pressure of their head collars. And I don't need a Dually because I was able to use timing instead of a sliding rope piece to utilise the pressure-and 

-release principle. I don't disagree with rope halters or Dually's by any means, but I do wonder if a lot of people really know why they use them and whether they actually need to, that's all. (And also, if I were a horse, I think my preference would be a comfy head collar and an understanding handler.) 

I try to make it my aim to use as little pressure as possible to get the response I want with my horses; a supposed common aim of many people in the 'natural horsemanship' world. If I'm honest, I can't quite understand why so many folk see the need to use pressure halters when half the time they are working 'at liberty' (with no halter at all). I've seen some people grimace at the use of thin bits which exert more pressure in the mouth and yet they feel the need to use thin ropes that exert more pressure around the nose. Again, I don't disagree with bits and I don't disagree with pressure halters; I just disagree with using them the wrong way and question whether their use is really necessary.  

Pressure halters have pros and cons. They are nice and light and don't seem to jangle around the horse's head the way most traditional head collars do, but then that depends how either are fitted. They can also be very useful in that they give the horse a more pronounced and accurate signal when used correctly. In the wrong hands, however, they could cause the horse significant discomfort and I wouldn't feel comfortable letting anyone with limited experience handle my horses in one. 

At the end of the day, I think it all comes down to the hands that are using the tools, not the tools themselves. This principle applies to bridles too (not to stray too far off topic) in that a bitless bridle (often seen as 'humane') used the wrong way will probably cause the horse a lot of discomfort, whilst a bridle with, say, a French link snaffle, fitted and used the right way will not cause the horse any discomfort whatsoever. I personally use a bitless bridle which has a rope noseband with a slight pulley action, but the noseband and head piece are both sheep-skin lined and my boys have learned to stop from only a slight signal. I'm considering changing to a bridle with no pulley action, especially since I'd like to be able to ride them bridle-less at some point. 

So does it matter what kind of head collar we use? Not necessarily... What matters most is surely our knowledge, our skills and our attitude toward the horse.