The Benefits of Haltering Your Horse Correctly

[@epona9166]

Your point about avoiding the "pressure clutter" when dealing with horses and equipment is such a valuable one. For literally every interaction we have with our horses. It's so easy to exert a little pull here and there without realizing you're doing it, when they REALLY realize you're doing it. I love that. Btw your new place is amazing. The pipe fencing, the trees. Looks like heaven for a horse person.

[@Oliveriscrazytoo1]

Yippee! Finally someone who suggests fixing the lead rope to set the horse up for a comfortable catching!!! I do this every single time!!! And teach it, too! I never let a student into the paddock without seeing them fix the equipment in their hands first.

[@BoldEquine]

Bundy is a paid actor XD the bombastic side-eye he gives you when you are doing it wrong perfectly exhibiting why not to do it like that LOL

[@triefranch]

Thank you for showing the correct way to halter. Incorrectly haltering has always been my pet peeve!

[@snakesonn]

You’re welcome sweetheart

[@MsDormy]

I can’t believe how patient my two lovely mares were, all those long years I had them - using old fashioned badly taught methods of horsemanship. Thank the Lord for Warwick and other brilliant trainers, sharing their knowledge. ❤️🙏

[@dr.b865]

Thank you. I am training a young draft horse. I have him lower his head while haltering, but was putting myself under him- I recognized this was not safe. I will be using your technique moving forward. Thanks Warwick!

[@WarwickSchiller]

The other part is, you are lowering his head but by being under him, you are making it hard to lower his head

[@TheTeapotte]

I always throw the leadrope around their neck before haltering, and halter the way you showed - I learned that way of haltering from Rick Gore's videos

[@lcaryfrog]

Yes... taught my horse to hate haltering by doing it the wrong way. Now have to unteach.

[@1sacoyle]

As usual, great advice! I'm 5' so putting my arm over my horse's neck is not always the easiest thing to accomplice. More often than not I do it the wrong way you demonstrated as his natural tendency is to keep his head up. Time to work out a strategy to get him to lower his head and stand while I halter him.

[@jenniferlehman326]

Great advice Warwick!! And I start all this with the foals I work with. Because I have to put some ground manners on the foals I deliver or watch being delivered every year from December to March. The owners who hire me to do this for their mares, expect this service from me. I also train them to pick up their feet for a CJF to rasp the foals feet before they go home to their owners as well. I don't handle the foals at all though until they are 4 weeks old. So momma and baby have a very strong bond, but momma has bonded with me from September to birth, so there is never an issue when I start handling their babies. And I use the method you showed when you were in Australia. Works like a charm every time!! Best Regards from a Retired Paramedic,and a S&R Dog and Handler Team Trainer and Horse Trainer in Ontario, Canada, Jenn 💖 🇨🇦

[@pilatesfitinbalance]

what i think is, that the moment your horse trusts you and is comfortable with the material of the halter and your hands moving/touching around its head and starts to relax 'into your touch' (also with the halter) - it doesn't matter which way around you put the halter on, it's like a 'gentle touch -thing' only with halter and in the end the halter is tied, the horse still feels relaxed :) hope that makes any sense... of course, if a horse isn't that relaxed with your hands/ropes around the head or doesn't want to be caught its different. Then this here absolutely makes sense :) Well, i would always invest the time needed to have my horse feel relaxed and even enjoy the thing with the halter so THEY want to put their head in there on their own. With our horses i kind of offer the halter to them and they slip their muzzle through waiting patiently and relaxed for me to tie it, no matter which way :) Or they come to us because it's nice standing together in the paddock and we start brushing them (without a halter), they just stand there with us and enjoy being there, then eventually before we want to go out with them, we put the halter on but it's just one of many things we do, like care for the hooves, brush, massage etc... it's just part of being with them :) Maybe the important thing is, how you think about haltering your horse: 'i need to catch you and control you' vs. it's nice and gentle to touch your head, having a soft feeling inside :) thats how i feel :)

[@KingsMom831]

Just got your book on the mail 5 minutes ago!!😁

[@EagleSoul]

So true!!! It's great that you show us and make us aware of the potential risks of something supposedly "simple" yet, there's a safe method to do it🤓. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Cheers from Silvana from South America Uruguay 🇺🇾

[@jessica-walt]

I was a Parelli person and this was one of the first things I learned!

[@platyadmirer]

Such a wonderful concept. One of my favorite things about horses is every concept used with horses can also be applied in everyday things not related to horses. I become a better person when I learn about horses

[@dorothycarwile7571]

As a barn worker this makes sense as I have to catch several horses from different owners. ! Ty ! Again!

[@jessicarecknagel2120]

Very helpful for newbies. I appreciate how you can simplify the subtle changes and explain the benefits.

[@AssortedFruitss]

Thank you! I was taught wrong with many things from when I first started out. I'm going to always keep this in mind for now on when I go to halter any horse.

[@skylermirck678]

So much sense. As a new mom, now I think about all of these things. A busted rotator cuff is much better than a brain injury. He will toss me (and said rotator cuff) out of the way and run off (possibly), before he hits my head. Had this happen in Louisiana with a perfectly sweet lesson horse, in a flooded barn situation with a hurricane- he saw a small snake in the water come and coil up from the water to the tree, and my 13 year old self got a broken nose. Unavoidable situation at that place and time, but always scared about haltering, and now I don’t have to be.

[@faiththeblind]

Yesssss!!! Constantly trying to teach the public this! Also how to properly tie the rope halter in addition to proper location on the head!

[@DavidToppMelanieScot]

Flipping brilliant. As usual. Thank you!

[@angeloddrev]

I love this channel! Thank you Warwick for teaching amazing pearls of wisdom ♥

[@lauraalbertson7821]

First of all … Liking your longer Hair 💁🏻‍♀️. Looks good on you . Now this was a wonderful video. Explaining the correct way to halter , is so important. The story of the person who was injured, Was helpful. Because you gave Us a way to prevent that . I’m thinking my Brain has now been protected . Pretty major point ! Thanks again. My husband and I are both fans of yours. Hope you come back to Sacramento soon 🙏🐴🙏

[@roughwater3454]

I show the halter to my gelding, and wait for him to step into it. So it's his idea. Thoughts? I will pay more attention now to see if I'm protecting myself.

[@00katydid00]

Love the video. You always explain things in a way that makes so much sense for me.

[@randomvielleuse527]

Excellent advice and so clearly demonstrated. Thank you!

[@laurawagner9569]

Love all of the video! Can somebody please tell me what are those pillow things with the hay inside? Thats genius!

[@WarwickSchiller]

They are slow feeder hay bags that we put on the ground so they eat with a natural head position

[@laurawagner9569]

@@WarwickSchiller thank you! Aren't you worried for them getting tangled up in them? Do you use them for horses without shoes only? So they are the normal bags that you can also hang up in the box or are they especially for the ground? I couldn't find anything like it online.

[@RobinColemanChannel]

Fantastic video thank you for making this ❤

[@susanlewis3068]

Any tips for a very short person, haltering a tall horse? I have a hard time, as Im so short, and I already have a brain injury, from a car accident…

[@kbernardi9767]

And bridling too! I see so many people holding the bridle in a wad over the horses nose trying to shove the bit in the horse’s mouth and meanwhile the horse is sticking his nose high up in the air trying to avoid the whole situation

[@debtompkins5363]

I would have liked you to include the horse who doesn't want to just stand there and needs the lead around his neck until the halter is on. Yes all my horses come when called, but newbies often have other ideas.

[@SuzanneKritzDPT]

Hi Warwick. Great video. Can you do a video on bridling? Thank you!

[@realStevenAlex]

Hello gorgeous 😊, how are you

[@comesahorseman]

Makes sense. 👍

[@jordanterry6319]

Warwick: I just released a book- Me: googles, buys!!! Thank you! I’m so excited

[@hunterG60k]

Hi Warwick, really interesting video as always, but this may be the first bit of your wisdom I've ever found myself questioning. If I was using your technique I'd feel that I was in a more vulnerable position than coming in from the side. The first thing a startled horse will do is throw it's head up in the air and, best case scenario, it wrenches your arm up and knocks you of balance, worst case it collides directly with your face. When I'm haltering a horse I'd always ask them to bring their head up to me, rather than bend down to them anyway; partly to avoid a collision of skulls should they spook, and partly to reduce the likelihood of said spook, by making sure they've definitely noticed *me* approaching so I'm not going to startle them. Maybe this just comes from many years of working with ex-racers, while they were still traumatised and I didn't know how to help them, so I just learned to protect myself.

[@cherylyoung440]

Thanks to me everything is a big deal I’m trying to relearn and I need all the help I can get

[@kmsch986]

Any suggestions if the horse is way to tall to put arm over their neck? Mine are both over 17.1h. Is a head down cue first taught then over neck? I’m worried that if he popped head up and he’d hurt shoulder bc he’s so tall.

[@andreakohler897]

Same. Although mine's only 16.2/16.3 My tall guy also seems to instinctively pop his head up when I put a hand over his poll. We've been working on a head drop cue, of course, but he has actually wrenched my shoulder a couple times. I feel very vulnerable with a arm over him...

[@paulmajors9590]

I agree with you and have had success using the loose rope portion of the halter to apply pressure on the top of their neck to teach them to put their head down first. Then once their head is down, I use the same rope to then pull the halter up onto their face as Warwick shows here. I also encourage them to bend their neck slightly toward me as the slight bend helps them discover the good feel quicker

[@raphaellepelissier264]

What would you do when the horse bites His halter and lead rope when you try to halter him?

[@Windsongwoodshop]

Can you please tell us where to get the rope bridles you use? Thank you.

[@Originaljelly77]

Great vid 👍🏼

[@josephcantor481]

Awesome video as always. Is that a new hat or new band, it is a good look.

[@WarwickSchiller]

Old hat, got lots of sweat stains

[@JulieHill-f5x]

Very sound advice, thank you. I do have another problem when haltering this way as my horse will sometimes swing his head towatds me and try to bite. He usually gets the rope but has nearly got my arm. Any suggestions? I have tried to interact with his muzzle first but he still does this!

[@gainup]

Thank you for such a simple technique! This Arizona girl really hopes a kangaroo never jumps out from behind a tree! ;)

[@fleetandfunfeet6818]

Never thought of haltering as something I should think of... Hihi. Interestingly, now that I am thinking of it though, I most often find myself needing the horse to bring their head up from the ground to halter them. The new question is then... How do I accomplish that?

[@redstoneranger1404]

Thank you Warwick for reminding me of the basics. The more I advance, the more I tend to forget beginner lessons. And..: Never eat a banana while haltering your horse :)

[@elizabethgrayson530]

If I did that my horse would lift my 100lb body off the ground! Plus he is so tall I can't normally get my arm over his neck :/ this doesn't work for all horses/people. I for 40 years have come up to my horses and opened the halter and they put their noses down into the halter and I buckle it over the back of their ears, it gently flaps over and no one has gotten hit in the eye.....now I do remember using this technique for ponies! Because it is easy because I am tall and they are small!

[@TheTayseen]

Gosh...even putting a halter on can result in a TBI...another thing to be anxious of around my horse

[@WarwickSchiller]

Only if you dont prepare right

[@TheTayseen]

@@WarwickSchiller for a person with anxiety disorder its just one huge disaster scenario after another. LOVE horses but so anxious and can't even enjoy riding them anymore...

[@JulieHill-f5x]

Very sound advice, thank you. I do have another problem when haltering this way as my horse will sometimes swing his head towatds me and try to bite. He usually gets the rope but has nearly got my arm. Any suggestions? I have tried to interact with his muzzle first but he still does this!