I’ve been riding in the same slip ear headstall forever. Today, I put english reins on and after my lesson, my horse shook her head and the thing fell RIGHT OFF HER FACE. I was in the saddle, thankfully my trainer was right there, but this has never happened to me and I’ve ridden her in the same headstall setup for at least 6 months.
Its just cheekpieces and a slip ear. I don’t want anything else. Do I really have to add a throatlatch? 
I have a horse with tiny ears who can shake his halter off, so I’m sure it is possible. Assuming your bit is not way too low and needs to be adjusted I don’t think there are any great alternatives. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t want a throatlatch anyway?
Honestly it’s just because I love the way it looks on her head without it :insert shameful face hiding emoji here:
Maybe it was a fluke, totally up to you if you want to risk it happening again (perhaps when you’re loping, lol). Luckily it hasn’t happened to me, but I have seen it happen, usually when the horse rubs it’s head on it’s leg or something. I’ve seen a full english bridle (with noseband and throatlatch) come off too, but it was when the rider got launched over the horse’s head.
Yes, twice, which is why I only use a headstall with a throat latch now.
Yup, a green horse somehow shook off his bridle WITH a throat latch that was adjusted correctly, realized I had no reins and decided to start trotting and then loping away. I did an emergency dismount and stuck the landing 
LOL! Thankfully mine just stood there. I wasn’t too worried, I can actually sit on her as just kinda walks around sans-bridle but I am in no way in control, just a mere passenger on a chill horse.
I’m just glad I’m not the only person this has happened to! My trainer is a dressage trainer and he just looked at me like :eek: :eek: :eek:
Always good to know we’re not alone haha. Weird stuff just happens sometimes, at least for me! I was ironically in a lesson with my trainer too when the horse shook off his bridle.
Unfortunately it has. After galloping like idiots back home, got back down to trot, and the throat latch buckle had apparently died at some point and the whole thing just fell off. Fortunately she was a good girl and nothing else exciting happened!
I like the clean look of a slip-ear headstall but I bet you’d like it a lot less than the look of your horse’s head after that headstall has come off again – at the lope! 
I’d add a throatlatch.
In my world looks always take a backseat to safety. Just my preference!
At first I wanted to say something about that being common sense, then I remembered that I was on a horse forum, where common sense can never be assumed 
Yes but not in the head shaking it off kind of way. On a show headstall with silver that slides to adjust the bridle similarly to how stirrups are adjusted on a western saddle.
I guess the slide gradually worked it’s way up as I rode, I turned to run down for a stop and my whole bridle just fell off her face.
Mine hasn’t (as I ride English 99.9% of the time) but I’ve seen someone else’s fall right off during a trail ride.
Not mine either, but once, we were past a drought into some rainy years and needed a few more cows.
Found someone selling some after they lost a lease.
There were about 110 cows, most with half grown calves.
We looked them over and offered on 75 of them, so one nice morning early we hauled our horses there, helped round them up onto a fence to cut out the ones we didn’t want.
The owner and his helpers and the two of us stood there, letting the cows and calves mother up and settle.
I looked over and my boss was sitting there pretty, holding the reins, but the horse didn’t have a bridle on!
It was hanging below it’s knees, a cheeck piece had broken.
I pointed that out, got off, cut a string from the saddle and made a quick repair and put the bridle back on.
Boss kept watching the cows and calves, getting ready to make the cuts.
All went great after that, but I bet that seller and his helpers are still laughing over that one.
Back in the 70’s “Change-A-Bits” maybe by Farnam were all the rage. You chose the shanks and mouth pieces, many different configurations. Mine fell apart, shanks loose from mouthpiece. Good old boy just kept trucking, held the bit in his mouth like nothing was going on. I pulled on his mane to stop and hopped off to fix it. Rode home with a latigo tied in his mouth. I sure miss that horse.
Years ago, I was part of a high school mounted drill team/flag group. We thought we were pretty fancy, so we took those nylon headstalls and hot-glued all sorts of glitz on top of them. I did this to mine without doing the world’s greatest job of making sure it, you know, actually fit my horse’s head first.
Fast forward to the performance. We’re standing in columns as the grand entry is going on and all sorts of local rodeo dignitaries are proceeding along and my horse bounces her neck a bit. Whoops. Bridle pops completely off. Had to finish the rest of the pattern with my bridle acting as a neck-rope.
Not mine, but years ago I retired my one-ear bridle after a friend’s fell off her Arab on a trail ride. Horse lowered his head to drink out of a creek and it fell right off and went splash!
Nothing bad happened, but I figured it could one day, so ever since that day all my bridles have a browband and a throatlatch.
Happened to me in a main arena clinic at Equine Affaire many years ago…fortunately on a very steady horse and it was right near the gate where my ground person was watching so able to fix quickly.
I’ve never had it happen.knocks on wood
Any bit of mine that isn’t a snaffle gets a split ear headstall.
I’ve seen it mostly happen when people use a split ear on a snaffle bit, pull back with both hands, the headstall loosens and it slips up over the ears.
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