About Horse Halters and Lead Ropes

Function

A halter is a device made out of leather, nylon or rope that fits around a horse's head, applying pressure to certain areas, thereby controlling the animal's movements and actions. By using pressure points on the nose, cheeks and poll (area behind the ears) of the horse, a human can exert only a fraction of the overall strength of the animal and still control it. Lead ropes provide an extension to the halter,and maintain contact from a distance.

A halter will have a nose band, which fits in a circle around the nose and the jaw, connecting to cheek pieces that run up both sides of the horse's face and around the poll. These are the main elements of the horse halter. In most cases, there is a throatlatch, or piece that connects the two sides of the cheekpieces together underneath the horse's jowls. This provides additional control and support. Leadropes are usually a single long rope that connects to the halter underneath the horse's jaw.

Nylon is the most common material used to make horse halters. Nylon is economical; easy to clean; resists rot; is very durable; and comes in a wide variety of styles and colors. Knotted rope is one of the oldest materials that halters are made from, and are very popular as they have no hardware to break. The other common material for halters and leads is leather, which is more costly, but also more traditional and "classy."Most show halters are made of leather.

A "breakaway" is a nylon halter with a thin leather piece in place of the nylon behind the horse's ears. These are safer for the horse as leather will break, where nylon will not. The breakaway piece reduces the risk of the horse snapping its neck in a panic if the halter gets caught or if the horse struggles against being tied.

The benefits of halters and leads is that you can control, from a safe distance, the actions and reactions of a horse. Without the use of a halter, it is not easy to guide a horse. There is really not another place on the horse's body that provides as much control as the head. If the horse should startle or move away from your hands, you will be able to avoid dangerous interaction with hooves and teeth, yet maintain firm control.

Many horse handlers will halter a horse and lead it with their hands only. While this is an option, and better than simply trying to lead the horse by pulling it or pushing it, using an attached lead rope is safer. Because of his great strength, a horse can simply jerk his head and rip the halter right out of a person's hand. But connected by a lead rope, even if the horse does get his head away, he is still controlled by the human hand at the end of the line.