I adore my gelding’s Quillin halter and will be getting my mare one “for Christmas.” 
I got it in 2009, used it for shipping and shows, then started using it regularly about a year ago. I’ve cleaned it once and it looks gorgeous. They come ready to go - very soft and supple out of the box. I was amazed.
The nameplate is lovely, with very deep, heavy, and dark engraving.
I have had several Quillins, an Albright and a few Tack Shack halters. The Albright is my absolute favorite for workmanship and quality of the leather, but the Tack Shack runs a very close second, a tiny whisker of a nose ahead of Quillin. However, for a fairly nominal fee, Tack Shack will customize your halter in the measurements you need. I ordered cob and horse-sized halters and discovered my boy had horse-sized jowls and width to his head, but a teeny little cob nose. Tack Shack was awesome about me sending the halters back and making me a special one to order. I use it daily and it hangs outside his dutch door (under an overhang, but still fairly exposed to weather) when not on his head. Two years later, it still looks fantastic, and I am not diligent about cleaning tack. :winkgrin: I also have a duplicate as a show halter.
The day-to-day halter has a tag from HalterTags.com. It’s fine, although some of the blacking has come out of it. For show halters, I love the plates from The Engraver. The Quillin plates are nice and heavy duty, with good deep engraving, but I don’t like the font.
Word of advice: I am fond of a throatlatch snap, but have learned over the years to prefer an English (fixed) chin. This is where the customizing option at Tack Shack really came in handy.
[QUOTE=Sing Mia Song;7883005]
The Quillin plates are nice and heavy duty, with good deep engraving, but I don’t like the font.[/QUOTE]
You can request Roman font (same font HalterTags uses) from Quillin! (Looks much nicer than their default font, which, I agree, is icky).
Nice comparison of the three - I also had a custom-sized halter made by Tack Shack.
I love my tack shack halters and I really like the custom options. I will never own anything other than an english chin and I kind of demand that the throat latch snap close to the horse side, not up. Also I seriously love their leather leadshanks - I have a leather shank (no chain) and a shank with a leather sleeve over the chain. Each with a nameplate with my initials of course. ALL THE THINGS MUST BE IDENTIFIED. ALL OF THEM!!!
I always say Tack Shack is like OBS - KY quality without KY prices. 
[QUOTE=pattnic;7884299]
You can request Roman font (same font HalterTags uses) from Quillin! (Looks much nicer than their default font, which, I agree, is icky).[/QUOTE]
Ah, but their Roman is still not as nice as The Engraver’s Roman (to me, anyway–I am a little bit of a font snob)!
Also I seriously love their leather leadshanks - I have a leather shank (no chain) and a shank with a leather sleeve over the chain.
Oh, yes, they are lovely! I also have two of the ones with the leather sleeve.
[QUOTE=Sing Mia Song;7886236]
Ah, but their Roman is still not as nice as The Engraver’s Roman (to me, anyway–I am a little bit of a font snob)![/QUOTE]
Fair - my saddle plate is, indeed, from The Engraver in their Roman font.
[QUOTE=mroades;7879697]
Walsh makes a beautiful one, I think its size 7 for cob?[/QUOTE]
Walsh is still my favorite and I bought several of the 3/4" cob ones, just perfect for a cob or finer, more delicate face. Once they are broken in they are the most supple IMO. I have bought several Quillin halters as well and they are excellent quality. For less money, Perri makes some very nice halters and lead shanks.
[QUOTE=RolledAway;7881702]
I guess I’ll be the odd man out and say Perri’s. I love my padded leather Perri’s halter, super soft and I love the hardware.[/QUOTE]
I love my Perri’s halters as well. I have the track halter with the fixed chin and throat snap. I usually order 2-3 at once and they look great, the leather is soft right out of the box, they are affordable and they last extremely well! I had a few break in turnout with a group of geldings playing halter tag, but now that halters get removed in turnout, I don’t have to worry about that anymore.
I agree that Perri makes good quality merchandise at reasonable prices. Their halters are very nice and I have a lead shank I like better than Walsh’s leadshank. Its soft and supple right from the start, I think it is pre-oiled.
[QUOTE=OnlyByNight;7880000]
Does anybody have any comments on the hardware of these halters? I’m not sure what it is, but they just appear cheap to me. Not saying that they are actually cheaply made, but something about them doesn’t do it for me. I think it may be the finish; that shiny “gold” vs the brass. Reminds me of the cheap-o $20 halters you can get at any tack store.
Is this the new fashion? The Quillin, Tack Shack, and Albright halters I looked at online all seemed to be like that.[/QUOTE]
Albright’s is solid brass
[QUOTE=RolledAway;7881702]
I guess I’ll be the odd man out and say Perri’s. I love my padded leather Perri’s halter, super soft and I love the hardware.[/QUOTE]
Perri’s padded leather halters are by far my favorite. My bay mare looks so good in the Havana with pumpkin padding halter. The leather is soft and gorgeous. 
I like an English chin, too, but it doesn’t always work out well in terms of sizing. I got a couple of track halters for turnout with English chins and they fit my TB perfectly but my WB’s big nose wouldn’t even go in! He doesn’t need an OS halter, but he does need an adjustable chin.
fousocks, he needs an OS halter with a horse crown! When you order the track halters, it’s like bridles, you can mix and match
Lido needs two year old halter with a yearling crown. Small nose, short face length, BIG jowl
I love my Albright’s, they don’t run big, the regular size actually fits my cob sized guys. Five Star Tack has a totally lush looking one if you’re looking to spend some.
I like the Stubben halters best. But even the padded ones do run large on my 2 warmbloods. So I have the walsh halters for backup, unpadded. I like both of these brands very much.
My horses have one Hermes halter, so I’m looking for another one so each will have his/her own Hermes.
But the Walsh halters are just fine, and cheaper than the nice padded Stubben halters. (I gave away some of their Walsh halters but then bought some more as they are so handy and nice.)
ETA If you want OS, the Stubben halters in “regular horse size” run large.
Oh, geeze- I didn’t need to know that. Well, considering that Steve has about five leather halters right now (including a very luxe shipping one that he is mildly afraid of), he’s just going to have to struggle along - somehow- without a custom-fit one for the moment! :lol:
[QUOTE=DMK;7888828]
fousocks, he needs an OS halter with a horse crown! When you order the track halters, it’s like bridles, you can mix and match
Lido needs two year old halter with a yearling crown. Small nose, short face length, BIG jowl[/QUOTE]
Hah, Robbie used to run to the corner and stick his face in it when he saw the “fuzzy halter of doom”!
Decided to go with a Quillin for now! I asked for a Cob sized as my guy really does have a small head for his size, so I hope it fits!
Walsh! I have some that are 20 years old and still beautiful.
I have a couple Quillins. Lovely halters. They have options to customize various features and I did so for a refined foal I had to showcase her head.
I also bought a black leather/chain lead from them and when it came it had a gouge out of it. Not a huge thing, but I said something to them and they shipped me a brand new one at no cost, and didn’t ask for the other one back. I was shocked. I was just hoping for a little discount or something. You just don’t get customer service like that anymore.
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