Certain halter/blanket clips that can hang up your horse

I'd heard that certain manufacturers make horse blankets/halters with snaps positioned incorrectly. That  horse can get hung up on a fence, for example. 

I never paid attention cuz I don't leave halters on during turnout unless they're leather (they should break on emergencies). But I've been leaving Bellis out with a leather halter and leather fly fringe because she doesn't have a fly mask.

I was wrong to think that was safe. (Photo below is the fly fringe I bought, which I've since posted on "Craigslist" lol.) 

 

I was in Seattle the last 11 days and on our last day got a Whatsapp from my friend who likes to drop by when we're gone to just hang out with my animals. 

She pulled up and instead of my animals running to her car neighing/braying in joy, there was nothing. 

Mag was standing at the gate silently. She went in and the donkey was standing in the stall facing the back of the stall, silently.

My friend thought Bellis was colicking. But Bellis had hung up her halter on the hay net. Because the cheek snap was turned 180 degrees the wrong direction, BY DESIGN, in the "catching onto things" direction. I had doubted it, but I doubt no more. (The last photo in this post has an image of the cheek snap.)

Poor Bellis was unable to move...and for how long? 

 

She rescued her and everything was fine, but today she called me, "How long do you think she stood like that?" 

I said, "How much poop was around her in the stall?" 

"None." 

"Less than 2 hours because she poops every 2 hours; both my animals poop a total of 24 times per day (12 poops per animal)." 

She laughed, "It sounds like your're a statistician when you say it like that."

I'm glad I paid attention, for her sake, she thought Bellis had been hung up all night.

 

As safe as I can be, it's never safe enough. Even a leather "breakaway" halter will not break if your animal does not panic or try to escape. If you have a calm animal like a donkey, they'll just stand there til the end of time patiently waiting and not employ the breaking feature of the halter. 

She said the halter was so tightly stuck it took her a while to free Bellis. 

Lesson learned.  

I ordered Bellis her own special donkey-friendly fly mask and she won't have to wear a halter in Summer with the fly fringe. 

Here's Bellis' supposedly safe turnout halter, in leather. I won't leave it on her again: