Custom Made Halters

I have trouble fitting my Icelandic horses with off-the-rack halters. (If you think Icelandics are hard to fit, I REALLY have trouble fitting my mules.) My solution is to make custom fit halters. It takes a little work but it is not as hard as you might think. In fact it turned out much harder to write this description of how to make halters than it is to actually make a halter.

Halter Hardware

First we will start with a discussion of the hardware we will use to make halters.

Knot Eliminator

This piece of hardware looks something like a ring in the shape of a 3-4 inch high keyhole. They are made for 1/2 inch rope. A loop, or bight, of rope is inserted in the flat part, or bottom, of the key hole, up and over the top of the key hole and locked over the back. Thus the rope is attached to the bottom of the keyhole with a ring protruding from the other end. This hardware is pretty standard fair in tack stores that sell halter and lead rope hardware. I use this for the ring under the chin to attach the lead rope to. The picture of Idunn shows a good view of this ring.

Rings

Rings of brass and/or stainless steel are available in most hardware stores. Various sizes of round rings are usually available. I have even found square rings (if a square thing can still be called a ring).

Rope Clamps

These clamps have four tabs which bend down to hold two pieces of rope together. Most rope clamps have a deeper groove on one side; this is to permit you to insert a rope buckle. Rope buckles are discussed below. Light metal rope clamps make it possible to open them up and adjust or repair a halter; however, these light rope clamps come open sometimes when you don't want them to. Heavy metal rope clamps never come apart whether you want them to are not.

Rope Seizes

I have taken to using seizes rather than rope clamps. A seize whips two ropes together. A length of string, or light rope, is whipped, i.e., wrapped, tightly around two ropes. Seizes are surprisingly strong! I usually use the nylon string from my feed bags to make seizes. (Cheap, aren't I?) The usual advice is to make the seize about twice as long as the diameter of the ropes being seized. To seize two 1/2 inch ropes together it takes about 6-7 feet of feed bag string--fortunately that is about how long the feed bag strings are. For a rope buckle, I use two seizes with the rope buckle on one of the ropes between the two seizes.

The mechanics of the seize are as follows: when tension is applied to the ropes, i.e., when you pull the ropes in opposite directions, the seize works to squeeze the two ropes together increasing the friction between them. Thus the a seize works best on ropes under tension and is not necessarily the best thing to use on the two ropes under the chin because these two ropes split to go to either side of the horses's jaw and the force is a combination of shear and tension. For a PERMANENT solution a heavy metal rope clamp works well. I still use a seize at this point but I use nylon cord such at carpenter's chalk line. One could even use parachute cord here; or a leather shoe string.

Rope Buckles

These are harder to find. You may have to special order them through you hardware dealer. When I find them I buy them up so you may not be able to find them in tack stores near Longmont, CO.

I use two kinds of rope buckles.

  • 1. The rope buckle refered to above is a strip of metal bent about 45 degress. One end of the bend is shorter with an elongated hole. This end fits over one of the two ropes between the two seizes described above or within the two bend-down tabs on a metal rope clamp. When inserted correctly it lifts up and down like a hinge and lies flat along the rope when it is down. The long end of the bend has two holes. When a 1/2 inch rope is inserted in one hole, out the other and pulled snug, the rope is held so it won't slip, i.e., the two ropes are buckled together. By working the rope through these two holes the length of the rope can be adjusted. I use this buckle on the head strap on the off side of the halter in order to be able to adjust the halter at this point.

  • 2. The other rope buckle looks something like the knot eliminator described above: a 3-4 inch keyhole but with both ends flat. The bottom of the keyhole works like the rope eliminator: a bight of a 1/2 inch rope is inserted into the bottom of the keyhole and looped over the top down on the back of the buckle. A bight of another 1/2 inch rope is inserted into top of the keyhole. On this end of the buckle there is a tang to loop the rope over to prevent the rope from coming out. Thus the two ropes are buckled together. I use this buckle on the near side of halter to buckle the halter on the horse and to be able to remove it.

    Leather Fuzes

    Before we start contructing a halter we need to make a couple of fuzes. You can make halters without fuzes but I don't. The fuze is designed to break under severe stress. I make them from leather because nylon rope, braided parachute cord and even braided mohair are all TOO strong. I want them to break before the horse's neck does; or before the tie points are pulled off my trailer. The trick is to make them strong enough to hold up under normal every day use but weak enough to break before real damage is done. Most of my horses never break a halter fuze but a few of them break one every so often, maybe once a year. I figure this means the strength of the fuzes I use are about right. I do use stronger fuzes on my mules but then a mule is less likely to injure himself this way.

    I have made fuzes a number of ways.

  • 1. If you have access to leather straping about 3/4 inch wide, this makes a good fuze. Cut a piece of strapping about 6-7 inches long. You want the fuze to be about a short as possible-- about 3 inches long. Double the leather over a ring, or buckle, back on itself, punch a hole in both pieces and rivet them together. Do the same to attach the hardware to the other end. The fuze always breaks at one of the rivets. The holes for the rivets weaken the leather and pounding the rivets flat also weakens the leather.

  • 2. Another way to make a fuze from leather strapping is to cut a little longer piece of strapping--about 10-12 inches. Make slits about 2 inches from both ends of the stap, put a ring and/or other hardware on the strap, put one end of the strap through the slit in the other end. Then put the other end of the strap through the slit in the first end. This double slit technique is often used in leather to keep from having to tie a knot.

  • 3. A fuze I like is made from a leather shoe string. Often times a single strand of leather shoe string is recommended for a fuze. I use at least two strands and for a adult horse I use four strands. An easy way to make a fuze from a leather shoe string is cut the shoe string to the appropriate length, put a 1 1/4 inch ring on the string and tie the two ends together. Leather shoe strings hold a knot very well. If the length is about 9-10 inches long, the fuze will be about 3-4 inches long. Feed this loop through the bottom of a rope buckle rather than a rope and up over the top of the buckle. So I have a rope buckle with a fuze on the bottom end. The ring will be on the other end of the fuze.

  • 4. For a adult horse I use four strands. You have to start with about 18-22 inches of shoe string in this case. Tie the ends together, feed the loop through the bottom of the rope buckle and up and over as before. Now slip the 1 1/4 inch ring over the loop on the free end of the fuze. Feed the loop on the free end up through the bottom of the buckle and over the top as before. This time you will have double strands where single strands were before. And as before the rope buckle will be on one end of the fuze and a ring will be on the other end. With this type fuze I like to wrap the loose strands together with leather lacing material just to hold the strands together and to improve the looks--string can also be used to wrap the strands together. The wrapping is for looks only; it neither adds to, nor detracts from, the breaking strength.

  • 5. You can also use a single leather shoe string about 36 inches long to braid a grommet which is about 4 inches across with a ring on the grommet. But this comes out 3 stands on either side of the grommet or 6 stands of strength. This may be too strong unless you are using pretty weak leather strands. We are custom making these halters so we can taylor the fuzes to the individual.

    So far we have attached a ring on one end of the fuze and a rope buckle on the other end. The ring is used to attach the fuze to the cheek/jaw strap on the near side of the halter and the buckle attaches to the head strap.

    The second fuze we need for a halter should have a ring on one end a just a loop on the other end. This loop attaches to the head strap on the off side of the horse. If you are going to wrap the fuze in lacing material it is best to wait to wrap the fuze on this side until after it is attached to the head strap.

    Some examples of fuzes are show here:

    Braided Nose Band

    I use mohair to braid the top half of the nose band to be as comfortable on the horse's nose as possible. This contradicts the philosophy of using hard knots to apply pressure to the bridge of the horse's nose but I guess it depends on the horse you are making the halter for.

    I use four six feet strands of mohair to braid about two feet of eight strand flat braid--this makes a strap about 1 1/4 inch wide. The four strands are doubled over a 1 1/2 inch ring (I like the square rings if you can find them.) This gives you eight strands to braid. If you need help braiding, try the following book. It sure helped me and the authors sell braiding material including mohair and parachute cord.

    "How To Braid Quality Custom Tack", by Rebecca Albertson and Cybele Geideman, published by the u-braid-it Braiding Supply Co., Stevensville, MT 59870 USA.

    After you have braided up the material you will have about 2 feet of braid. Feed this through another 1 1/2 inch ring and double it back on itself so you have a double layer of braid about 1 foot long with a ring on either end. Sew the two layers together using a colorful strand of parachute cord--a cross stich makes a nice design. Sewing braid is easy and makes a strong way to attach the free end of a braid to a ring. A pair of forceps can be inserted through the braid and used to pull the string back through. No, you don't have to sew this much braid together just to attach the ring but I like the way it looks and feels when it is doubled.

    For the bottom half of the nose band I use four stands of parachute cord each about 6 feet long. Double the strands of parachute cord through one of the rings which are now attached to the top half of the nose band. So you have eight strands of parachute cord to braid. This make a flat braid about 3/4ths to 7/8ths inch wide. Use colors and patterns which are appropriate for the horse, e.g., pink for a mare and blue for a stallion. Use your imagination! Double the braid through the other ring and sew the two layers together as you did with the mohair braid. But fit the noseband to the horse before you sew it. Once again, you don't have to sew this much braid together just to attach the ring but I like the way it looks and feels when it is doubled. A solid color for the braid and a contrasting color for the cross stiching make a nice pattern.

    A braided nose band is shown here. The bottom of the noseband has not been sewn yet because the nose band has not yet been fitted to the horse.

    Cheek, Jaw and Chin Straps

    Use 1/2 inch nylon rope. Cut about 5-6 feet of this rope and double it in half to form a bight. Put the knot eliminator on the bight to make the chin ring and make a temporary seize about 6 inches back from the chin ring. If you measure this chin strap on the horse from where you want the chin ring to be under the chin to the back of the jaw bone, you can make this seize permanent if you want to. The loose ends coming from the seize will form the jaw strap, attach to the fuze, form the cheek strap and attach to the noseband. But don't assemble it yet.

    A picture of this chin, jaw and cheek contraption is shown here. The seizes on the two loose ends are temporary and just for illustration; they will be attached to the nose band later.

    Head Band

    We still need a head band. Start with a piece of 1/2 inch nylon rope about 3-4 feet long. On one end form a bight with the short end about 7-8 inches. Half way up this bight make a seize, slip the short end of the type 1 rope buckle (see above) over the short end and make another seize so the buckle is between the two seizes. The buckle should work like a hinge and lie flat along the long end of the rope when the hinge is closed. Now take the long end of the rope and feed down through the distal hole, the one furthest from the rope, and then up through the proximal hole, the one closest to the rope. Work the rope through these two holes until the head strap is about 1 foot long. This is just a starting point--it will have to be adjusted to fit the horse. So the head strap is a length of double rope with a short bight on one end, a long bight on the other end and a rope buckle holding the two bights together.

    A picture of a head strap is shown here. The off side fuze has already been attached to the head band.

    Assembling a Braided Noseband Halter

    Make the following components:

  • 1. The braided nose band.
  • 2. The cheek, jaw and chin strap contraption.
  • 3. The head band.
  • 4. A fuze with a ring on one end and a type 2 rope buckle on the other end.
  • 5. A fuze with a ring on one end and nothing but a loop on the other end.

    Attaching the Nose Band to the Chin Strap

    Attach the cheek, jaw and chin strap contraption to the bottom of the nose band by releasing the bight in the chin strap from over the chin ring, slipping the nose band between the nose ring and the bight on the chin strap and slipping the bight back over the chin ring.

    Securing the Nose Band to the Chin Strap

    The chin strap will slip back and forth on the nose band unless it is secured to the nose band. This is not desirable so it should be secured somehow. A short leather thong works well for this (knots hold well in leather.) A short piece of parachute cord can be wrapped around the chin ring and nose band (knots don't hold in parachute cord but strands of parachute cord can be melted and fuzed together.) Nylon cables ties (as from Radio Shack) can also be used to hold the chin ring to the nose band. The cable tie can be run through the braid (as with sewing), over the chin ring and back through the braid. One thing to watch out for is that some cable ties deteriorate in sunlight. But not all cable ties do and anyway they are cheap.

    Attaching the Nose Band to the Cheek Strap

    Take one of two loose ends of rope coming from the seize in the chin strap and run it through the nose band ring on the near side and double it back on itself. Make a guess (about 15 inches) at how long this cheek/jaw strap should be and make a temporary seize to hold the doubled back rope to itself.

    Do the same thing for the off side.

    Attaching the Head Band to the Fuze

    Slip the loop, not the ring, in the off side fuze over the short (about 3 inch) bight on the head strap. Bring the ring on the fuze through the bight in the rope. Snug it up and it is attached to the head strap.

    Attaching the Off Side Cheek/Jaw/Chin Band to the Fuze

    Slip the ring on the off-side fuze over the cheek/jaw strap on the off-side. Make sure the fuze is on the inside of the halter. Slip the ring well down the cheek strap to form a fair sized bight. Bring the head strap, fuze and all through the bight and snug it up. Now the head strap is attached to the halter via the fuze. The position of the fuze can be adjusted to make the cheek strap longer and hence the jaw strap shorter or vice versa.

    Attaching the Near Side Cheek/Jaw/Chin Band to the Fuze

    Slip the ring on the near-side fuze over the cheek/jaw strap on the near-side. Make sure the buckle and fuze are on the inside of the halter. Bring the buckle and fuze through the bight and snug it up. Now the fuze is attached to the halter. As on the other side the position of the fuze can be adjusted to make the cheek strap longer and hence the jaw strap shorter or vice versa.

    Attaching a Bit to Use as a Halter/Bridle

    The rings on the outside off the halter are convenient places to attach bit straps if you like to use a halter/bridle as I do. If you didn't keep the fuzes on the inside of the halter as you slipped the rings on the cheek strap, you may have to reattach one or the other of the fuzes so that the rings open on the outside of the halter.

    You now have a complete halter. Try it on the horse. The nose band should fit since you measured it before you sewed it. The cheek/jaw/chin strap will probably have to be adjusted. Make the adjustments and try it on again. When you are satisfied that it fits, make permanent seizes to replace the temporary ones. Enjoy the halter--your horse will.

    Cowboy Rope Halters

    If braiding is not your bag, halters can be out of rope. So called cowboy halters are very popular here in the West. You can buy them reasonably or you can make them. Instructions are available from many places--the best I have found is from the source of the braiding book I referred to above. These halters use NO metal hardware which makes them easier to wash in the machine. But I HATE the Fiadore knot which makes the loop for the lead rope. Also my farm help (kids and wife) refuse to tie the sheet bend for the rope over the head--they are knot tying challenged. Furthermore, if you make the halter out of light (5/16ths inch) rope, is is too flimsy for my tastes. If you make the halter out of more substancial (1/2 inch) rope, the Fiadore knot becomes HUGH. My solution is to use some metal hardware and eliminate both the Fiadore knot and the knot which ties the rope over the horse's head. I would rather hook my lead rope on a metal ring anyway.

    Rope Halters With Metal Hardware

    The rope halter I am constructing is different from the ones you usually see. It will have two strands of rope over the top of the noseband which is usually but it is made from three separate pieces of rope rather than making it from a single piece of rope which is common. Making it from separate pieces of rope makes it easier to adjust to fit the horse and easier to replace worn or broken pieces. Plus this halter incorporates fuzes.

    Seizes are used to tie the pieces together. As mentioned above seizes are surprisingly strong. Plus the seizes are used in places where minimum strain is applied when the horse pulls back on the halter.

    The same fuzes, cheek/jaw/chin strap and head strap will be used here as were used for the braided nose band halter.

    Constructing A Rope Halter

    Make the fuzes, cheek/jaw/chin strap and head band as above for the braided nose band halter. Attach the off side fuze to the head band just as before.

    Rope Nose Band

    Start with about 5-6 feet of 1/2 inch soft nylon rope. Or in this case you can wait to cut the rope until you fit the nose band on the horse. A nose band made from hard nylon rope might be better for training young horses because more pressure would be applied on the bridge of the horse's nose (like a bosal). But I have given my horses sores on their jaws by using nylon rope that was too hard; so be careful.

    Make a loop large enough to go around the horse's nose. About 4 inches back from the end seize the two ropes together. This will fix the size of the nose band so you should measure it on the horse before making the seize. Run the two ropes together about 11-12 inches back from the seize and make another seize. Cross these two ropes so that the loose ends of the rope will be on the same side of the nose band. Leave about 4 inches beyond the second seize. You will want to cut the rope at this point but, before you do, now is a good time to try the noseband on the horse again for size. It is still possible to adjust the size of the noseband by redoing one or both of the seizes.

    Here is a picture of a completed rope nose band with the two loose end bent back ready to attach to the cheek bands.

    Attaching the Nose Band to Cheek Bands, etc.

    Using the short end of the rope coming out of the seize on the lefthand side of the nose band, bend it back to attach to the left hand side of the cheek/jaw/chin band contraption which we made for the braided nose band halter. Allow about 4 inches of rope, bend it down and attach it temporarily to the lefthand side of the nose band just below the seize on the nose band. Now attach (temporarily) the short end from the nose band to the left cheek band. So you have three seizes in the shape of a "T" attaching the lefthand side of the nose band to the left hand cheek band. Now do the same thing to attach the right hand side of the noseband to the right cheek band. Attach the chin band to the bottom of the nose band as we did for the braided nose band. Just as we did with the braided nose band halter you can also attach the fuze on the near side and the fuze/head band on the off side.

    This picture shows a completed halter although the rope ends are still held together with black plastic tape. This black plastic tape can be replaced with a seize when the halter becomes more permanent. I would use the halter for a while first to allow for stretching/shrinking. Good old duct tape can also be used for this purpose.

    Seizing Power

    As noted before seizes are surprisingly strong under tension. In either the braided or all rope halters the strain will be from the chin ring, up through the chin strap, through one, or both, jaw straps, through the fuzes and over the head band. The only seize in this line is on the chin strap. The need for strengthing this seize has already been discussed.

    Unless the horse is ahead of you and you are trying to hold the horse back, there really isn't much strain on the nose band and almost no strain from the cheek band on the nose band. The nose bands on both halters are much stronger than necessary; I don't want to be anywhere near the wreck that would break either one.

    Go back to: HOME page