Rope Halter Follow-up: They May Knot Be Natural, But They DO Have Their Fans

Yesterday I received a very long and thoughtful email response to my recent rope halter face-off article, up at Horse City; it was from someone who was obviously very much a believer in natural horsemanship and rope halters. I think he was sincerely trying to get me to see the error of my ways and bring me back into the folds of natural horsemanship.

I thought I would post my response to him here as a follow-up to that article:

“Thanks for writing; I actually agree with some of what you said. What I wanted to convey in my article is that the rope halters are just not as “natural” as people think – usually when you attach that word to things it gives people a warm fuzzy feeling. People also think snaffles are no big deal but we know in the wrong hands they can cause more pain than a curb bit in the right hands.

I just wanted to give a different perspective on the whole thing; I wasn’t even suggesting banning rope halters or not using them at all. I just know that a lot of people out there have no idea how much pain that things they use on their horses can inflict. I know that my horse gets kicked and bitten (she is on the low rung of the ladder as far as her position in the herd). But I am not bought into your argument there (I used to be). You see, my horse actually hangs around and is best buddies with the mare in her little herd who is just about the same level as her – not the one who bites, kicks, and bosses her.The boss of the herd of 4 is actually a big grey gelding who hangs out by himself a lot. I don’t want to be him. I started changing a lot of my thoughts on this in reading Mark Rashid’s books, and I found myself gravitating to his philosophy (so its not just my vet ). I just personally think its better if you can get results you want without causing/inflicting ANY pain. A fly can cause a horse to move too.

I have learned not to take any one person’s opinion as best for me and my horse; if you read my website, you will understand why. I sincerely and strongly believe that everyone needs to do what works best for their individual horse.

Also, I have a very sensitive horse, and the rope halter probably gives her way more correction than she needs. The other point of my article is that you need to figure out what is best for your own horse, not just what someone tells you to buy or what everyone else is using.”

Ultimately, if I can get my horse do what I ask without the use of pain or extreme discomfort, isn’t that better in the end?

I hope to always remember and respect the lightness of a fly and the spirit of my horse.

See also Mark Rashid’s article on Passive Leadership on his website.

p.s. just for the record, I receive NO benefit from the sale of any kind of halter