I’ve always been a firm believer of never leaving a halter on the horse in turnout or stall as I have seen too many tragedies or near tragedies happen with them. However, I have a “special” guy now who has decided I am the only one who can halter him (I suspect it is less of an issue with the halter and more of an issue with the person or persons holding the halter but that’s another issue). In the meantime, the only way he will get handled during the day when I’m not there (he’s boarded) will be if he basically lives in his halter so no one has to struggle to put it on him to get him turned out daily. He’s a sensitive thoroughbred so I’m leaning towards a leather turnout halter (adding fleece if he starts to get rubs) fitted correctly. What is your favorite leather turnout? I need something that has some durability, suppleness, and the hopeful ability to break away in an emergency (no triple stitch) although I may tie baling twine to the buckle just in case. Recommendations please?? 
Do you have field halters there with no metal? We have these lightweight halters with no metal and some velcro that will break away. They are super light and don’t rub. If the horse is good to be led, leading to and from the field in them is fine.
I’d go with a quillin turnout halter in that circumstance. No fleece–it will just collect dirt and rub worse. Maybe buy two halters so you can trade out frequently to clean.
My leather halters are either shipping halters or grooming halters. So I don’t have an all-leather halter to recommend But, I love the nylon break-away halters with the thin leather crown (the break-away part). They DO work - and I have simply ordered a replacement crown piece. Now, to be honest, mine are usually out naked. But there have been times when they needed a halter on nearly all the time (grazing muzzle. etc.). And I’ve found these to be very durable, adjustable and safe.
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I found an all leather halter at our feed store. Cheap, non stitched, and the leather is light and thin so it would break under pressure much faster than the higher quality leather halters I have. It doesn’t rub my mare and has held up well to full turnout in boarding situations and occasional use at home.
Agree that turning horses out without halters is optimal, but that isn’t always possible.
Quillins are my favorite. Last forever with minimal care. Otherwise buy a couple cheap leather haters from Dover and rotate through.
Hundreds of TB broodmares and yearlings live 24/7 in Quillin halters in Ky. After a couple years of mud and neglect, the crownpiece can get stiff, but hose it off and soak in a bucket of oil, and those halters clean up nearly new.
Very few horses get rubbed, as long as the halter isn’t too small.
Make it a break away- I tied a loop of leather shoe lace onto the halter to clip the throat latch instead of the metal ring. Cheap and easy to replace, far easier than a new crown piece!
I’ve had this one no kidding for 15+ years and LOVE it. My mare wears it as her daily.
Tory Leather Raised Leather Halter
https://www.equestriancollections.co…brass-hardware
I’d get whatever is low-middle range for leather halters, and more than one, if horses can play halter tag. We bought a few from the Amish that definitely broke if horse pulled back hard enough (or another horse chewed it), but durable for everyday use.
One barn I was at routinely left leather halters on for turn out (but not in stalls) and the horses were fine; sometimes halters had to be replaced, but no one got stuck in a halter that wouldn’t break. I prefer all leather halter, to breakaway ones, just so it can break in more than one place if needed.
Thanks for all the suggestions, I’ll look into all of them. I’ve never heard of Quillin but if it’s generally well thought to be safe for KY broodies & babes it’s a good endorsement:winkgrin:
I used to use those single-ply Gatsby India leather halters. They could be well-oiled, were cheap and never rubbed. Mine lasted a long time (on an easy-going gelding).
I bought this halter during a sale when I wanted something for showing in hand at local open shows. Ended up using it as a turn out halter and I’ve been happy with it.
Quillin turnout halter. The whole thing is single ply leather so whatever needs to break to save him from injury will. The crown wears out first but you can get the double buckle style and replacements.
Whatever brand you buy I would recommend making sure the crown is single ply, if not replace the crown with a break away halter replacement crown (like the green and leather one above). I find those crowns break much quicker (in case of a struggle) than the stitched crowns: just last month my mare pulled back with her Tack Shack of Ocala triple stitched halter on and struggled for 30-60 seconds without it breaking. She pulled back a second time, later and after struggling again for over a minute was able to break the crown. The nylon breakaway halter we previously had would snap within the first second of her pulling back, but held up to everyday use.
I do love my Tack Shack of Ocala halter, and they offer several designs and even customization if you can’t find exactly what you are looking for. Not to mention they are very reasonably priced ($70 ish for a custom halter with name plate and shipping)
