They have fantastic prices! I’d never heard of them before. Thanks for posting this. 
[QUOTE=hoopoe;7879709]
Hands down Quillin
stunning value. Beautiful leather and craftsmanship for not very much. Customizable for the hard to fit head and a wide range of sizes from baby to big guy
I never shipped in anything else. I considered mine a very important item of safety equipment.[/QUOTE]
I am a Quillin’s devotee as well.
In fact, DH often complains about this. I have the no-frills turnout halters for both of mine for daily use and the nicer triple stitched sales halters for when they show. I also tend to get halters for all my friends when they get their first horse… and the dogs both have Quillin collars.
My suggestions are to get a double buckle crown and a throat snap in the sales halter for showing. The breeding plate is the one with smaller font on the lower line of printing, so that is where I put my name. I don’t bother with the English chin, but I know many people who prefer this.
Would any of these guys be able to make a custom halter for me? I want one with a buckle on the nose piece but I can’t find anything off the shelf.
OK, so I have to modify my previous opinion on the nicest leather halters. I needed to buy a new halter and figured I wasn’t going to go wrong with any of the top suggestions (even though my personal favorite had always been Tack Shack). Because Albright’s is the only one of the “top four” (Quillin, Tack Shack, Albright’s, and Walsh) I hadn’t seen in person, I decided to order one of their halters.
The Albright’s halter arrived yesterday, and it is gorgeous. I still love my Tack Shack halters, but the finish and the stitching on the Albright’s is nicer, hands-down.
Tack Shack is still the best deal, but I think in the future I will pay the little bit extra and get Albright’s halters. Fantastic customer service, as well! (To be fair, Tack Shack also has great customer service… Quillin is good, but not quite on the same level. Walsh is the worst of the four).
So for a full (mare/horse sized) triple-stitched 1" halter with a fixed/English chin, rolled throat, throat snap, and double-buckle crown, here’s the breakdown on pricing as of today, 12Dec2014:
Tack Shack - $50.95 (sale halter)
Quillin - $59.45 (sale halter)
Albright’s - $60.00 (sale halter)
Walsh - $106.00 (British halter)
In order of preference, I rank them:
1 - Albright’s
2 - Tack Shack
3 - Quillin
4 - Walsh
Honestly, I think a Walsh halter is nicer than a Quillin, but the much higher price and poorer customer service put them below Quillin.
[QUOTE=Catnipped;7900948]
Would any of these guys be able to make a custom halter for me? I want one with a buckle on the nose piece but I can’t find anything off the shelf.[/QUOTE]
For something really custom like that, probably Tack Shack would be your best bet. Albright’s would be my second choice. Quillin seems to try to stay away from truly custom.
[QUOTE=pattnic;7905043]
OK, so I have to modify my previous opinion on the nicest leather halters. I needed to buy a new halter and figured I wasn’t going to go wrong with any of the top suggestions (even though my personal favorite had always been Tack Shack). Because Albright’s is the only one of the “top four” (Quillin, Tack Shack, Albright’s, and Walsh) I hadn’t seen in person, I decided to order one of their halters.
The Albright’s halter arrived yesterday, and it is gorgeous. I still love my Tack Shack halters, but the finish and the stitching on the Albright’s is nicer, hands-down.
Tack Shack is still the best deal, but I think in the future I will pay the little bit extra and get Albright’s halters. Fantastic customer service, as well! (To be fair, Tack Shack also has great customer service… Quillin is good, but not quite on the same level. Walsh is the worst of the four).
So for a full (mare/horse sized) triple-stitched 1" halter with a fixed/English chin, rolled throat, throat snap, and double-buckle crown, here’s the breakdown on pricing as of today, 12Dec2014:
Tack Shack - $50.95 (sale halter)
Quillin - $59.45 (sale halter)
Albright’s - $60.00 (sale halter)
Walsh - $106.00 (British halter)
In order of preference, I rank them:
1 - Albright’s
2 - Tack Shack
3 - Quillin
4 - Walsh
Honestly, I think a Walsh halter is nicer than a Quillin, but the much higher price and poorer customer service put them below Quillin.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the update, next time I need a halter I will try Albright’s. I have only bought Walsh halters from a tack shop, so had no idea about their customer service.
Can you get white stitching on the Albrights halters? The brown stitching looks foreign to me, not sure if I’d like it.
I’m not sure, as it is not something I asked about. But contact them and ask - I found them to be very responsive. Really, though, I think brown is more standard than white - Quillin and Tack Shack also do brown… Walsh is primarily white, but for some of their halters brown is the only option and for some brown is an available option.
[QUOTE=pattnic;7905168]
I’m not sure, as it is not something I asked about. But contact them and ask - I found them to be very responsive. Really, though, I think brown is more standard than white - Quillin and Tack Shack also do brown… Walsh is primarily white, but for some of their halters brown is the only option and for some brown is an available option.[/QUOTE]
Really? I haven’t come across many (any?) halters with brown stitching. Guess it isn’t so common in my neck of the woods.
I’ll fire them an email to see about any stitching options.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
