Did you know you can spend over 100$ for a leather halter? Not a show halter, a normal halter. (omy, check out page 6 - you can get them with colored padding!)
I was thrilled to finally find one that cost a third of that, and one that meets my criteria of two crown buckles, adjustable chin, that particular cheek snap (that I never, ever use cuz I'm American), padding, and white stitching.
Below is the halter that will be retired to hang from one of our oak trees. (In my former life I used to hang halters from trees around town.)
Funnily, I found a halter in exactly this condition on ebay recently - "lightly damaged" it said. They wanted 20Euros. WTH people, it's dead!
On to something new....
Oh my goodness, it's so pretty I think I'm gonna keep it in the house. Not that anything can mold in this weather, but the mice like to chew things like this and it's too cold for my cat to hunt.
It's not top quality, as you'd expect for only 35E.
The padding is so soft. I like using a soft halter for when my animals are sleeping off sedation and hang their heads as they're tied.
I was looking for a halter exactly like the old one, and I think I've got it.
The lead rope ring is long gone on the old one, thanks to Mara.
Baasha's. It's a shame not to use such a perfect halter, but I can't do it. Mag has his own Arabian Hamilton like this, but dang these things do not break. I've seen horses try and fail. It kind of freaks me out. Mag can wear his under supervision.
Breakable goodness. Cob != Arab. I'll have to trim that strap. See Bellis? She wanted something nice too. His Hamilton has slowly become hers.
Mag discovers the tag and tries to put it in his mouth.
It's no good to photograph horses while you stand directly beside them, but I wanted to get the details.
He followed me as I went down the hill to dump the wheelbarrow, "Can I come down there, it looks fun!" "Sorry Mag, maybe next Summer."
New leather "stands up" on its own: ) I've been playing with it, it'll soften up soon.
Speaking of things that stand up on their own - did you know that from 2007-2017 I had no clothes dryer? Germans hang laundry. So my bath towels stood up on their own, I'm serious. Using them was unpleasant. But we finally have a dryer, and no one has enjoyed soft towels as I do now: )
I'm gonna send a thank you to the halter's manufacturer (Heinick) now. I wonder if they repair broken parts....
Update: They answered and said they do know someone who will repair halters, but it would cost 25E, so better to just buy a new one. Good to know.
I was nervous but I did it - on my new halter, I trimmed that extra piece off, shown below:
I colored the cut piece black with a German Sharpie.
Not too bad, I'm now a leatherworker *lol* I may have to add more holes to this piece and trim it again if the halter stretches out over time (or do they shrink?).
Anyway, there's way too much ice and snow to do anything with the horse. My paddock is an ice rink with permanently attached piles of poop. I walked outside today and it hurt to breathe, and I admit for a moment I thought I'd go insane if this keeps up.
13 comments:
That is a beautiful halter. You have such good taste in tack. As you know, I've already copied you by getting a white bridle and reins.
I've never had a leather halter! It looks very nice, love the black, though it does look like you repaired the old one nicely too. (you can buy a simple ring as a halter ring if you still want to use it). I did once try a padded leather one for Major, "horse" was giant (like for a draft!) and "cob" was too tiny. I'll have to try a different brand!
My halter hangs on a fence outside 24/7, so I previously used nylon, but have now used rope for years. True, it will not break, though the lead rope snap will!
NM, is it possible for me to subscribe to your blog?
Irish, sorry, I didn't repair the old one, I just shortened the chin strap on the new. The old one is now hanging from a hazelnut tree in the orchard. Mag was like, "What are you doing trudging through the snow in the orchard? Take me, Take me!": )
Funny that you mention your halter hangs on a fence all the time, cuz last Winter when I boarded, the barn owner said I should not leave such a fancy leather halter on the fence out in the snow. I said, "This thing is close to retirement." I was right - Mag "retired" it, by chewing it up. (I'm a huge Blade Runner fan, so I like this word.)
But you're right, we must all decide which part we want to break. Halter, lead, snap, horse....?: ) Everything in that list, if German made, breaks, so Germans do not have this problem.
Irish, Sorry, I just saw how I wrote the story in a confusing way, so you'd think I'd fixed the old one.
It's interesting how you never use the cheek snap, I hardly ever use the crown buckles myself. I prefer a halter with two buckles for adjustability and symmetry though.
Every time I use my dryer I think of you without one. It is true that they are not environmentally friendly, but I almost think I would rather give up having a car before losing a dryer! Last summer that was actually the case! (although living carless was not related to having a dryer.)
New tack is always fun! Looks like a pretty nice halter, even though I'm a rope halter person. (Don't judge me!)
Mags is a helpful sort!
I'm also a big Blade Runner fan :0)
Video: I always love your wind chimes in videos.
Halter: you'd never think that a tough Dragon like Fee would be thin-skinned, and she isn't...except on her head. I can't use leather or nylon halters long-term for her, because the buckles and rings wear the fur and skin off her face so quickly! I have to use smooth rope halters or a string halter if I want her face intact at the end of a trailer journey!
Her biothane bridle is constructed so the stainless bits don't touch her and the seams all face away. Never had a problem with that...but I do love looking at leather. Sigh.
K, J says our electricity bill is different now, since the dryer arrived. I only dry underwear, towels, and sheets, and I hang the rest. But it's still an energy hog.
Shirley, I own a rope halter but it's not a nice one. If I manage to get a chance to use an arena to lunge in, I use it for lunging because my horse tries to run away on the lunge line.
Aarene, your rope halter looks so pretty on Fiddle. It's elegant. I want one like yours.
Aarene, the wind chimes are Fred Meyer, only 30 bucks! They're tuned, that's why they sound like that. I have to take them down if it's windy out. My hoof trimmer said they drive her crazy. Germans don't hang wind chimes, must be an American thing. Hope you noticed the rooster also. The neighbors tried to breed their own hens. Guess what happened? 5 new roosters. FIVE AARENE! But recently we convinced them to keep the garage door shut in the morning until they let the chickens out, because the crowing mayhem starts at 5 and goes to 8. It echoes in there terribly (it's 10 meters from our bedroom window). But with the door closed at least, it's possible to sleep through that noise. Well, some days. Often they start crowing at 3:30AM when the newspaper arrives.
Also, I saw a professional photo of a grey Arabian, a portrait, and she was wearing a thin rope halter just like yours but in black, and it was so elegant it looked like she was wearing an Arabian show halter! Gotta get one of those. I'm making a Riding Warehouse list right now - so far a new Toklat woolback girth, a new pair of Irideon Windpro tights, and a 12' lead rope (30 bucks for a lead rope!). Their rope halters are 25, I thought that was a lot, considering my Hamilton was 15.
Update: It's supposed to get cold this weekend. Like, this is not!? Down to -20.
-20 degrees. That's not Hoth, that's Hell. Gahhhh.
Sky Evans in Oregon makes the pretty string halters. They aren't expensive, either. PM me if you want her email address. She can do black (bo-o-o-o-o-ring) or colors. She does say that you should NOT tie a horse with the string halters, because they are made with "220 cord" meaning that 220 pounds of pressure will break the string. I tie Fiddle with it because...Fiddle.
We are going to eat our misogynistic rooster. Just waiting for a break in the weather so we don't have to harvest and pluck with numb fingers. Good riddance.
Pretty halter! Even prettier on pretty horse!
I must admit that I go out of my way to get halters withOUT the throatlatch snap! I tried one once, and half the time I forgot and unbuckled rather than unsnapped. And right now several of my boarders are tall warmbloods and TBs, so slipping the crown over their ears is impossible! (It seems H/J folks down train a head-down cue.)
Evensong, I think it goes back to the 80s when I didn't use halters with cheek snaps, so I learned using the buckle. Here in Germany ALL halters have the check snap, and often the buckles aren't really buckles, they are a buckle-like thing that you adjust once to fit the horse, and never touch it again. I confused people at the boarding barn last winter because I'd hang up my halter from its nosepiece, with the crown undone, hanging down, every day, and they'd have to "put it back together" every day. Eventually I felt bad for them and started re-buckling it so they could just use the snap. I'm sure it's better for horses to have their ears messed with every single day, their way. But like you said a lot of horses don't make it easy for us.
Another item that I am incompetent with - hoof picks with brushes on them. I guess I never owned one until recently when I saw one on closeout for 1.50E. I tried to use it and the brush kept poking me in the wrist. There's probably some technique that I've never picked up, so I gave it away.
Now that I've caught up with my few comments- I have read your halter post! Really like your new one! Looks like incredible quality for any price! Your trim is something I've done a few times & the colors sharpies work great!
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