Out of curiosity, what brand of break away have you used that didn’t break? I’ve never had one fail.
I’ve seen multiple leather and “breakaway” halters fail at the hardware, not the crown or other leather/breakaway points, countless times. Probably at least 100 times, if I had to put a number on it. After 25+ years in horses, I’d be hard pressed to name any particular brand.
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Not sure what you mean by the hardware failed - the leather strap did not break when the horse pulled back? Or did? That is the breaking mechanism. The hardware may or may not break though most clips will bend with enough pressure.
I can see break always being an issue with ponies or young stock.
Honestly I have no idea why anyone still uses a nylon halter. Or even worse, rope. They both make me shudder.
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Totally agree. Nylon doesn’t really belong near horses IMO. I do love rope halters for in hand training though. I use them on youngsters but would never leave them on in a field or the potential for a tied horse to sit back on them.
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Often, the leather (especially good quality leather) DOES NOT break - the hardware does instead.
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I use rope halters for day-to-day handling and training because they fit a variety of horses and teach horses to respect the halter/rope. I only use leather when traveling and with horses who are 100% trustworthy NOT to pull back under any circumstances.
I finally get what you are saying. Yes, hardware will fail even on halters that aren’t break aways, especially those with a clip on throat latch. I thought you meant the break away failed to break period which is why I was confused. As long as the halter breaks, I’m happy.
I think what @Montanas_Girl is saying is that even on break-away halters they find that the halter hardware breaks before the designed breaking part.
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Yes, exactly, @trubandloki! Except for on those horses who have learned the exact right angle to toss their heads back and bust out of the breakaway crownpiece at will, of course. 
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Rope halters are fine when you are actually handling the horse, but you would never leave one on in the stall or the field, would you?
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I would never leave ANY halter on in the stall or field, as I previously stated. With the only exception being when a grazing muzzle is needed, where a very, very thin breakaway halter becomes a necessary risk.
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For what it’s worth, I rode at a Pony Club-affiliated barn for a bit, and they didn’t keep the halters on in stalls (perhaps that’s only at rallies?) but did on horses in the fields (with leather breakaways). Not everything at that barn was PC-approved, though, anyway. I’d always assumed it was easier for a kid to clip a halter than put one on a horse that was balky about being caught, or if a horse got loose from a kid (which did occasionally happen).
Yes, it is required at rallies.
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Fit racehorses are a different animal to catch once loose. A person on a fast horse, with lasso skills might help, but a halter is better.
Not a lot of fit racehorses at Pony Club rallies, though, last I checked… 
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Yes, but wasn’t the discussion a general one about leaving halters on in the stall?
Your response to @jvanrens caused me to believe it was.
I never left halters on mine, but we were out in the countryside and my gelding, the only time he was out and to my great surprise, came running when I called his name. If the mare got out she’d stand and let you catch her.
He was also the only horse I’ve ever had that would not leave if I parted company with him out hacking. I had him from weanling to 18 years old and I went off him twice (I don’t count the time when I asked him to canter and he fell down.) It was refreshing not to have to walk home. 
I do miss him.
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My initial post (and the start of this entire threadjack…sorry OP) was to point out that Pony Club has a lot of rules that are NOT backed up by science and some that are just plain unsafe. My example of an unsafe rule is their requirement that horses wear halters at all times on rally grounds, including when stalled. No one here was talking about racehorses, so I’m a little confused where you got that idea?
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Some of the hardest equines I’ve ever had to catch were ponies. YMMV, but that was mine. They’re very quick and normally really agile. And if they’d rather be free than in a stall, good luck! LOL
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Haha. That’s very true. But I’ve never found that leaving a halter on a truly hard to catch horse makes a bit of difference, as they know not to let you get anywhere near their heads. Brats.
Edited to add: Prevention is really so much easier than cure! Life’s too short to own horses that are difficult to live with (million-dollar race horses obviously excepted!).
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