I can remember the very first time I bought a rope halter. I owned a mare who was horrible to load in the trailer. The professional I hired to help me teach her to load confidently and calmly recommended one. It was the first time my eyes were opened to a different kind of existence with horses, I’m embarrassed to say. I went my whole junior career and early days as an adult feeling a bit squeamish about the words “natural horsemanship” when strung together. It felt taboo coming from a show barn and being a rider that was “always in a program.”
Fast forward several years and every horse I’ve ever owned since has had an everyday halter, usually leather or breakaway of some sort (for safety) and a rope halter. The value of groundwork was instilled in me ever since those days with my stubborn mare. And I’ve vowed to be a good horsewoman to every one I’ve owned since. Not that the halter defines this, but it is a handy tool and effective way to communicate with your horse safely and confidently from the ground.
Often times when I take my sport horses off property, they wear two halters in the trailer. The rope halter first, and a leather halter on top. The leather is strictly for safety when they are tied, as a rope halter will not break. It looks a little funny but it is effective. That is, until I found a better way.
The Horse Education Company is a brand known for making a classic “hybrid halter,” incorporating the things I love most about my leather and rope halters and combining it into one useful product. The classic leather hybrid halter is beautifully made from high quality leather, and comes with different colors of rope to choose from. It offers the traditional knots along the noseband and cheek, with the safety of a breakaway system along the sides of the face and over the poll. The brass fixtures are strong and well made, and include a loop at the base suitable for lunging or the usual snapping of a lead line.
There are many options and looks to choose from on the HEC website – but I went with the classic mahogany leather and copper rope, which suits my chestnut Thoroughbred just fine. I opted to buy my halter pre-punched for a nameplate. The HEC also makes custom-fit nameplates, so you can get the full look all in one place. And I can only rave about the customer service at HEC, a woman-owned company. The owner is the one who handles all of your needs, and it really makes a difference. I only wish this halter existed those years ago when I first became curious of trying new and different experiences with my mare.