Fitting and Tying a Rope Halter

Blog Fitting and Tying a Rope Halter

I'm afraid this is one of my pet peeves. Some people love them, others hate them. I feel that they can have a place in training but as with every piece of equipment they must be correctly fitted and fastened_.

Warning! It should also be mentioned here that rope halters are not designed for use when travelling or tying a horse, they can cause a lot of soft tissue damage and worse when used incorrectly.


	As with all halters, the noseband should sit two fingers width below the horse's cheekbones and have at least 2 fingers clearance all of the way around between the horse's nose and the halter. The jowl/throat strap should sit up in the throat groove and not down across the cheekbones. Ideally, the headpiece should sit just behind the ears, though not so close as to cause pinching. The jowl strap in this picture is a touch too far forward, and the noseband is perhaps too loose if we're being picky.
The following picture shows an incorrectly fitting halter. It has been exaggerated to show the overly low noseband and jowl/throat strap.

As with all halters, the noseband should sit two fingers width below the horse's cheekbones and have at least 2 fingers clearance all of the way around between the horse's nose and the halter. The jowl/throat strap should sit up in the throat groove and not down across the cheekbones. Ideally, the headpiece should sit just behind the ears, though not so close as to cause pinching. The jowl strap in this picture is a touch too far forward, and the noseband is perhaps too loose if we're being picky.

The following picture shows an incorrectly fitting halter. It has been exaggerated to show the overly low noseband and jowl/throat strap.

When tying your rope halter, there are many ways that you may have been shown. However, there is only one correct way which will prevent the knot from slipping and thus loosening the fit of your halter, a correctly tied halter is also much easier to undo.

Step-by-step Guide to Tying Your Rope Halter

Tie your rope halter, following the images and descriptions below, for a proper fit, that won't slip:


	Thread your long end through the loop on your halter, coming down and away from your horse's face.
	Slide the loop up the long end of your headpiece until the halter is sitting correctly. Now pass your long end behind the loop towards your horse's face.
	Pass the tail back through the loop you have just made so the tail points away from your horse's face. Make sure the knot sits around the original halter loop before drawing tight.

Loosening A Rope Halter

Tying your halter, in the above way, means that to loosen it, all you have to do is push the top of the original halter loop up and away from your tied knot, as shown below:

Original Knot Push loop to break the hold Loosened Knot