Halters on or off in the stall?

[Alagirl]

[QUOTE=RedmondDressage;7882107]
Off. I have four horses at home and keep their halters hung on hooks just inside the front sliding door of my barn. We also built a big paddock off of the stalls so I never lock them in unless I absolutely have to, mainly because barn fires are my worst nightmare. I only do leather halters - not only do nylons not break, they melt in fires.

I once saw an emergency halter setup, wish I could remember where. They had a rack of them, one for each horse. The halters in that picture were red nylon - good for visibility but like I said, terrible for fires. I’d do something like that but with leather halters if I had a big barn. You could do red cotton leads to achieve the eye catchiness.[/QUOTE]

if the fire gets hot enough to melt the halter on a horse, I think you have bigger problems.

But in reality, unless you barn is brick and steel, you will not have much time to throw on halters in an emergency…

[beowulf]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;7882325]
if the fire gets hot enough to melt the halter on a horse, I think you have bigger problems.

But in reality, unless you barn is brick and steel, you will not have much time to throw on halters in an emergency…[/QUOTE]

I think she meant that the nylon halters were against a wooden wall - I know what picture she is talking about. In case of a fire, they would probably melt before being put on the horse.

I think the best contingency plan is to build appropriately and have extra halters in an outdoor trunk outside of the barn, or somewhere like that.

[sid]

Off…unless it is a breakaway. Even then, not nylon…leather with a thinner breakaway crown piece.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Calvincrowe;7882324]
The potential for daily harm occurring to horses who wear halters 24/7 vs the very small possibility of a barn fire is what drives my decision to leave them off. Good barn design (doors outside and inside, fire prevention and cleanliness) make more sense.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this.

Not to mention, while loose horses might get hurt or hit by a car, if they are left inside, they will die. I’d take my chances with just chasing them out the door – with luck, you have an enclosed place to chase them into…but even if not…get them out, asap.

My stalls are open 24/7 into a paddock and pastures. No horses are ever closed in overnight so we’re much safer than other barns I’ve taken lessons at.

No matter what, though, I think that staff should have a plan – what to do if the fire is under control and there is time…and what to do if the barn is engulfed and there is no time.

[Lilykoi]

Everyone has valid points. Our barn is what it is, stalls do not open to paddocks and no way of making that happen. We do have doors at each end and in the middle. The leather halters hang outside the stalls, lead ropes attached. Fire extinguishers in barn. Owner lives in sprinting distance. But when barns have burned in our area it just makes it more of a scare for some reason. Thanks for the input!

[goodhors]

We have emergency ropes, to make a halter with for the horse. Making an emergency halter, practicing with horses so they handle with this halter, is a very fast way to get horse under control and out the barn.

At a barn fire clinic, training session for horse owners and Firemen, we all did the haltering of horse practice. The emergency halter time beat out putting on a halter, hands down. This is even with experienced horse people putting on the halters. The newly trained Firemen could beat the horse folks in getting on the emergency halter over using a true horse halter, be out the door with the horse before true halter even got buckled or pulled on!! Really quite amazing to see the emergency halter person win time and again over the other methods of controlling horse to lead him out.

We were taught that seconds DO COUNT, you probably don’t have a full five minutes before barn it unsafe to be in! Heat will burn out your lungs and horse’s too. No one’s life is worth a horse life, GET OUT, do not go back in!!

That photo of emergency halters is a joke should a true emergency call for using them. NO ONE has time to get them down, one at a time!! Looks good, but not going to work in a real emergency situation. Picture keeps reappearing, never used as a BAD example like it should be!!

Our clinician was a Fireman for many years, in a variety of burning building situations, with horse barn burns in his location being common. Seemed like a lot of folks would just “work around” safety to get them burnt IN SPITE of good precautions to fire situations. Junk piled in the aisles. Exits to aisle, doors, blocked with stuff. Not keeping things clean or maintaining the sprinkler systems. Showed us photos of a brick barn with sprinkler system not kept up, burned out the interior of barn when a small gator type vehicle parked on a dirty, hay covered aisle and started a fire. Walls WERE still there, not much else.

Being safe, clean, keeping things prepared for emergencies takes CONSTANT WORK. Like training horses to lead in emergency rope halters! Having things marked for Firepersons to know where stuff is.

Do you have an emergency paddock? How will anyone KNOW where to put those horses led out of the barn? You can’t count on horses staying out of the way of Emergency personell who come to fight your fire!

He said the old story of horse running back into burning barn are TRUE. He did not know of any that ever ran out without getting burnt rumps from falling objects!

Know that Firemen CAN NOT remove ANY part of their fire clothing once dressed and in a fire setting. With insulated gloves on, they can not work buckles, snaps, trick latches on doors. This is why the rope emergency halter worked so well, no fasteners! MOST Firemen are AFRAID of horses, not used to large animals to control a horse in a fire. Horse who doesn’t stick his head out for rope halter is not going to be saved, Fireman will move to the next animal he MIGHT be able to get haltered.

Again, even with air tank, there is LITTLE TIME to try getting livestock out of a burning barn. NOT WORTH a person’s life, to save animals. Those animals who don’t calmly cooperate will be left behind as Firemen are evacuated from the building. Harsh, but true.

[beowulf]

how was the rope halter configured, @goodhors?

[Paks]

[QUOTE=Alagirl;7882325]
if the fire gets hot enough to melt the halter on a horse, I think you have bigger problems.

But in reality, unless you barn is brick and steel, you will not have much time to throw on halters in an emergency…[/QUOTE]
According to my daughter’s boyfriend who is a fireman/paramedic you have 7 minutes from the fire start to get any thing out when it’s a barn fire.

As part of my fire prevention I don’t store hay in my barn. It’s in a nearby shed. We only bring in what is going to be used in the next feeding. No smoking is allowed anywhere on the property. I have ground fault protection and I check the wires regularly.

[Simkie]

[QUOTE=beowulf;7882614]
how was the rope halter configured, @goodhors?[/QUOTE]

I’m also curious!

Perhaps like this?

http://fastonline.org/CD3WD_40/LSTOCK/001/ITProv_May_2005/h4340e%20Horse%20Healthcare/p004a.gif

[Frostbitten]

Off, with good contingency plan in place. I have seen one horse who scooped his eye out when he got his hind hoof through the side of the halter when he was trying to scratch his face. Halter was well-fitted but he still managed to slide his foot in there somehow. And another, a pony in a tie stall who broke his neck when he got his back foot stuck in his halter. Only two incidents I’ve seen over many years but it makes you realize how fast a halter can become a hazard. Not to mention the many and varied things that can snag a halter even when you think you’ve horse-proofed a stall! Horses have a good dose of monkey hijinks in their DNA that enables them to find danger anywhere.

[sascha]

Off.

I’ve taught all my horses, and any that I handle regularly to be led naked with just a hand under their mandible. A useful trick for getting them in and out of stalls without putting a halter (back) on, and maybe useful in an emergency.

I once rescued a horse from his leather halter at a show once. His owner had accidentally left it on him and shoved him in his stall. Unfortunately, she had also put one of those portable hook thingies on his stall.

The horse got a bit itchy and just happened to rub himself on his stall such that his halter got caught on the hook rack thing. Halter did not break. The hook rack thingy did not break. Horse and I were lucky to not get injured in his mild panic about having his head stuck to the front of his stall.

So, halters off and nothing hanging inwards over the stall that is wider than the space between stall bars.

Just yesterday, I cautioned a new boarder setting up house to NOT hang a tack rack on the front of her stall because sometimes staff get rushed/distracted/forgetful and a boarder’s halter may get left on once in a blue moon.

[js]

Break away halters are left on. My horses have 24/7 access to the pasture directly from their stalls/paddocks. There is no way anyone would have time to put halters on horses in a fire emergency, best thing is to have exterior doors on each stall that can be opened for horses to get out. You really don’t want humans entering a barn on fire and trying to go to each stall, halter a horse and lead it out, there will be no time. The smoke may be such that the rescuer’s may not be able to see or find ropes, halters etc.

[gottagrey]

Perimeter fencing at my barn (boarding) the horses could be run out of either end of the barn into large paddocks. Doors are sliders with easy lift latch. My old barn had double stall screens that were fastened w/ double end clips - be impossible to get horses out of those stalls in a hurry - they’ve since change the doors.

[Sparky_Boy]

Off. Recently pet sitting for a friend and found her horse attached to a feed bucket one morning. Person who fed the night before left halters on.

[Drive_NJ]

Just my opinion
and having had one horse survive (but was injured) in a barn fire
I prefer halters OFF
and I will not use anything synthetic - leather ONLY

IF our horse had been blanketed at the time (late OCT) or had a nylon halter ON - he would not have survived the fire
the blanket and halter would have melted onto him

he now has to wear a blanket almost 24/7 and I sometimes worry about that but it cant be avoided

(he is able to NOT wear a blanket or cover while IN the stall and in the right moderate temp)

stall have front and back doors to open outside
and stalls have a halter and lead on the door

[DJohn]

OFF, but within immediate reach of the door.

Although, it would never hurt a horse to have a breakaway halter with a piece of light leather on for in the stall/turnout.

We have horses that live outside 24/7 in halters and in 25 years, there hasn’t been one incident with a halter getting caught up etc. I would leave a halter on my horse (he lives out 24/7) but he plays halter tag non-stop and can have his halter off in 5 seconds flat with the help of a buddy!

[Guilherme]

It’s a balancing of risks.

There are risks to keeping horses haltered in stalls, most revolving around the halter getting caught on something or the horse getting cast in the stall and getting a foot caught in the halter.

On the other hand in case of a fire you’ll likely have to lead the horses out. The barn, even on fire, means safety and security for the horse; they have no natural fear of fire as we do. There are multiple, credible instances of horses being released from stalls and driven out of a burning structure returning to it and perishing as a result.

So, what risks are you willing to assume?

G.

[goodhors]

[QUOTE=beowulf;7882614]
how was the rope halter configured, @goodhors?[/QUOTE]

Pretty much a figure 8, with loop behind hears and other loop around nose. You could hold both rope ends or make a quick knot under jawbone, then jogged off with horse beside you. 5 seconds or less with more practice, to get the rope emergency halter on and leave.

We used lengths of nylon braided rope, about 12ft long for our emergency halters. Cheap rope, soft on horse, easy to make a coil of to hang on a central location or stall door. Heat of fire is not going to melt rope or kill you, before the air temps burn your lungs out. There is no fixing burned lungs, on human or horse.

Some folks at the clinic suggested tying a metal ring on the rope end, they would make loops go thru the metal ring, save having to make a knot while putting the rope on horse head. Plain rope, rope with tied on 2" ring, both worked well. Even a binder twine for use as emergency halter would work, to be fast getting horse out the barn.

[Zu_Zu]

This ! what beowulf states !

** This ! beowulf is ‘spot-on’ here

[QUOTE=beowulf;7882311]
Off, always.

I boarded (briefly!!) at a barn where horses had to wear halters on 24/7, including in stall. BO’s orders - reason was that if the horse was cast or caught or panicked or loose it needed to be able to be restrained, quickly. I respected that.

However, the horses would get caught on things constantly – one horse hurt himself getting the metal ring on the halter caught on the metal slot that holds the water bucket… Since it was metal to metal, there was no safety mechanism or quick release… and the horse seriously injured his neck breaking free.

Personally, not a fan and I’ve seen way more go wrong leaving them on than leaving them off.

I think everyone needs to sit down and draft a ‘in case of fire’ emergency plan… Most barns don’t, which can be damning when your barn goes down in flames. Having a set of spare halters/leads somewhere outside the barn easily accessible, with a barn formatted in a way where horses can be set loose in case of catastrophe is really best.[/QUOTE]

[red_mares]

Almost every horse in the barn I board at has halter on 24/7. The ones that don’t are supposed to. There a couple leather ones, but most are nylon. The biggest concern is grandkids leaving a gate open & horses getting out. It doesn’t happen often, but often enough.