Halters on or off at night(in the barn)

[Thinking small]

At the moment we're taking them off at night and putting them back on in the AM before turnout but i'm curious what others do. Thanks.

 

[ruffian]

I never leave halters on horses unless I am with them. Absolutely never when they are turned out. If there's a place or way for a horse to hurt themselves with a halter on, they will find it, even if they have to use their own hoof.

So my vote is OFF in or out

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

NEVER leave halters on your horses! 

The only time they ever have halters on is if I am right there and won't be gone - even for 5 minutes. I have heard countless stories of a halter getting hung on something, the horse freaking out and jerking, and ultimately breaking their own neck. 

NOT worth it. 

 

[Genie]

We never leave halters on indoors or out, if unattended.

 

[minimomNC]

Until you see a horse hanging from a fence post dead, you don't really understand how horrible a death it is. So for us halters are only used when necessary.

 

[Minimor]

Halters off, always.

Having said that, I read something recently about a race track barn fire that happened quite awhile ago. One of the recommendations made by the fire marshall after that fire was that horses should have halters on while in the barn--reason being, in case of a fire, it is easier to evacuate horses if they have halters on. You don't have to waste precious time in trying to put a halter on a panicked horse. If the horse has a halter on you can just grab hold and lead the horse out of the barn. If the horse has no halter and you cannot get a halter on, or there is no time to even waste any of it in trying, all you can do is open the stall door & chase the horse out--and of course then the horse may very well turn around & run back in.

That is something to consider, but in that case I would make sure that halters are all breakaway halters that will come off if the horse gets hung up on something.

Being a paranoid sort about barn fires--I prefer no not keep horses inside. If possible mine are all outside with shelters 24/7. And they NEVER wear halters when I am not working with them.

It is just too easy for a horse to get a halter caught on something....anything....nothing almost. People say they leave halters on because their paddocks have nothing for a halter to hang up on, but I would suggest that those people may be very surprised at what little it takes for a halter to get stuck on something. I've seen a foal hang itself on a knot--a very, very small knot--on a corral rail. Believe me, I would NEVER have imagined that a halter could get hung up on such a small, rounded knot--but it happened. I was at the farm the day after the filly died--she was found hanging from that little wee lump on the rail.

 

[targetsmom]

Halters always off here. The halters are hung outside each stall or handy to the turnout, with lead rope attached and buckle undone. That way if I do need to halter someone quickly I can just grab a halter, slip it over the nose, buckle it, and lead away. Snaps would be faster, but not that much faster.

I even worry about leaving a halter on with the Equi-Page during Mare Stare, but then I use one with a breakable "fuse" and figure that if the mare did get caught, someone on MareStare would see her and call me.

 

[afoulk]

I also do not use halters on my horses unless I am leading them. Just too many things for them to get caught on.

Arlene

 

[Carolyn R]

No halters here unless I am tending to them (feet, shots, training, worming, grooming.....)

I don't even like using break aways in the trailer.

 

[~Lisa~]

I never leave halters on my horses with the exception of 2 things.. one when they are wearing foaling halters and then they were rather thin (somewhat cheapo) leather halters which have a cut (made by me) on the crown abit less then half way across the strap so that it would break easier in a emergency although they are on camera at that time but you never know.

Or if I am out there doing something waiting for the vet or farrier I do not feel they have to wait for me to halter horses so I leave them up in a front pen with halter on while I am out there cleaning stalls or something.

Never during turn out ever although i did have a foal who we could not catch and he did wear a halter like the mares foaling out with a short catch rope for awhile but not a normal practice for me.

In a case like Minimor is talking I do somewhat agree but if I had to leave a horse in a wood barn with a halter on it would be a leather one a large horse has a much better shot at breaking a leather halter should they get in trouble then a mini does unless you weaken the halter in places

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

Never use halters here either unless we are leading them or working on them. No horse in a field or in a stall wears a halter. Better safe than sorry.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I never, ever....EVER...leave a halter on for whatever reason (I do understand the foaling thing though, where the unit is attached to the halter....there are ways round the danger there, as Lisa has shown).

I lost an Arab mare, the best, the most loved, I have ever owned. I still remember it as if it has been embedded on my memory.

There was nothing for her to catch her halter on...nothing...BUT she found something!

She pulled back, panicked, lost her footing and broke her neck in a moment.

ONE moment...that's all it takes.

 

[REO]

Welcome to the forum!

Halters OFF (in or out)

 

[Thinking small]

Welcome to the forum!

Halters OFF (in or out)

Thank you for the welcome!

Interesting. See this is the first go with having horses at home prior to this my mum had her QH boarded out so halters had to remain on, some even insisted on it in the barn. So we slightly altered it being the minis are at our home to halters only worn outside during turnout.

Clearly an issue we need to re-evaluate.

 

[drk]

Halters off ALWAYS

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

My halters are only on when I am working with the horse. Otherwise they are all off, always!

 

[targetsmom]

Let me just add my welcome!!! And if you are used to big horses, one of the difference with minis is they are smaller and not as likely to be able to break a "breakaway" halter in an emergency. When I boarded my big horse, the rule was they were turned out in leather halters that - you hoped - would break if needed. I use a breakaway halter (the kind with the flimsy leather "fuse" attached to the near side ring) on my big horse when he is turned out. But I don't even trust that kind on the minis, except in the case of a mare wearing an alarm while on Mare Stare.

 

[Sandee]

I'm going to be the odd one out here. I never leave halters on in the barn because that's where mine will lay down and I don't want a foot caught in a halter on on a bucket etc. However, I have an ideal pasture set up where there is no place that they can't be seen and, at least right now, nothing that they can get caught on (fence posts too high). I also have a situation where I don't have a big herd to watch. My horses are trained that they never get out of the stall without a halter so they are anxious to put it on. I seen too many in my lifetime loose because a fence gave way (big horses) or a gate left open etc. and unable to catch them because they're scared - that's when the accidents happened!

 

[Sue_C.]

nothing that they can get caught on (fence posts too high).

One of the worst halter related accidents I have seen, is when my friend's Arabian mare got her own hind foot caught up in her halter. The mare wasn't caught for long either...but long enough that she had to be destroyed because she ruined her leg, and neck, in her struggle to get loose. When I got there to help, it was all we could do to get near enough to that poor thrashing mare to cut the halter off without getting seriously injured ourselves. Just for an added shocker...it was a leather halter she was wearing...so using a regular leather halter does not ensure even a regular sized horse will break it.

 

[ThreeCFarm]

Off here too.

Years ago, a co-worker told me how they had found their jenny hanging from a fence post with a broken neck due to her halter getting stuck. She left behind a very young baby. I said something about how I bet they wouldn't make that mistake again (leaving a halter on), but she said they didn't intend to change anything, and their animals would still wear halters 24/7. How could you even think that way, after finding the jenny hanging like that?????? I decided then and there they would never own any of my animals, as they certainly were incapable of learning from their mistakes. She said the jenny wasn't even hard to catch, that they just left halters on as it was easier.