Why a Rope Halter is Better Than Webs & Buckles

Rope halters are better than webs and buckles because it creates a stronger hold and even pressure on the horse's head, making training more efficient. Use rope halters instead of buckled halters with helpful advice in this video on horseback riding.

Hi, I'm Rick Gore out here at Travis Equestrian Center. Today, we're going to talk about why a rope halter is better than the web halters with all the buckles, snaps and other metal parts. If you notice here on Tanner, he's got a nice rope halter on. There's no buckles here, it's complete rope to rope. There's no buckles around here, we've got a nice rope halter knot. That's not going to give, it's not going to get tight, no matter how tight this horse pulls, I'll always be able to untie it by just bending that little neck back and sliding the rope through. So I don't need a buckle because this rope has no buckles or knots, it's going to be nice and strong. When this horse pulls, he feel these two ropes across the back of his ears, which is uncomfortable. He also feels pressure here when I pull it down, to where he lowers his head. And he'll also get a little rope pressure here, when I pull him forward. All of this gives a horse a much better queue than the web halters, which basically is nice and comfortable. You'll see some web halters with fur around here. You'll see fur around the ears, you'll see all kind of things that make a halter comfortable for the horse. This rope halter is not uncomfortable at all for this horse. It's a much better training. I can jump on this horse and ride this horse, with this halter. I can work this horse with this halter, I can lead him, I can tie him. I can do everything with this halter that I can do with a web halter. Except, I don't have to worry about buckles, snaps. I don't have to worry about him cutting him, I don't have to worry about him breaking and cutting his eye or flying and hitting someone else. The weakest part of a rope with a snap, is the snap. This rope is very strong and it's rope against rope. So you have a good strong tie point, you have a good strong halter around a horse. Since the weakest part of a rope is the buckle, and this rope halter has no buckle, where it connects here, where it connects here. These halters are much better for working a horse, controlling. They're also called what's called a Cowboy Halter. Because back in the day, before snaps and buckles, it wasn't easy to get all the hardware. So you made a rope halter and you had a rope and that's how you led your horse. This is a thinner rope than this rope, they're both just as effective. Some people like the thinner rope, some like the thicker. To me, it doesn't make a difference. I know, I'm messing up your eating. As you can tell, this rope halter isn't going to hurt him. This has a couple extra knots right here, across the nose. Some people say, that's better to make him listen, etc. A rope halter works well because it gives the pressure. If you notice, on this rope halter, this is, this rope is a little bit thinner. We still have the same knot, you have this excess rope here, which I usually tuck just underneath the collar here to keep it out of the way. If the, if the rope halter, if you tie the rope and this rope is going this way, you've tied it wrong. You don't want this flapping to hit and interfere with the horse's eye and sight, you'll get spooked. I know, I'm sorry, here. So tuck it right back here, it keeps it away from the eye, it keeps it nice and, it keeps it nice and out of the way. Again, this horse feels pressure behind his ears. He also feels it over his nose. And I can get this horse to do just about anything with a very light touch because he knows that if he pulls, he feels uncomfortable. So that's why a rope halter's going to give you a little bit better feel with the horse. And he's going to be a little bit more responsive, when you ask him to do things, back. Hey, back, good boy. That's why, a rope halter, I believe is a lot better than any of your web halters with buckles. Good boy.