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Krisean Performance Horses
Life with Blue-Eyed Wonders

HALTERS AND HALTER TOPS

Still sporting my cowgirl summer clothing on a warm fall day, I sauntered over to Commander’s corral. Commander, my perlino quarter horse stallion, had a perplexed look in his blue eyes. The fact that he wasn’t even periodically casting a glance at the mare pasture worried me. But then maybe THAT season was finally over!

“What’s up big boy?” I ventured.

“I heard them saying they were halter breaking today.” Commander responded with a worried look toward the barn. “If they break my halter, how will you take me to see the mares?!”

I should have known.... THAT season is never over in the eyes of a stallion!

“That’s just the term they use when they start breaking the young horses. They’re not breaking the halters!” I replied.

“Why would they want to break a horse? We’re much more useful when we’re in one piece!” Commander was indignant. “And we’re much happier in one piece too!”

I explained that halter breaking a horse meant teaching a horse, usually a young one, to first wear a halter willingly and then perform some useful actions like leading, backing, tying and trailer loading. It is the primary means of communicating with a horse when you are handling him from the ground and asking him to respond to your cues.

The term “breaking” came from the idea that you had to “break a horse’s spirit” in order for a horse to submit to the will of humans. While some trainers still use different amounts of force to “break” a horse there are proponats like Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli who teach that forcible breaking of a horse’s spirit isn’t necessary in order to have a horse trust and cooperate with you. This form of training has been called Natural Horsemanship. It is looking at things from the horse’s point of view and understanding what horses really need to feel safe, comfortable and confident. By learning to work with the horse’s instincts and natural behaviors a trainer can influence them through understanding and communication, rather than force.

“I like that Parelli guy! You should take some lessons from him and then you would see things from my point of view and let me go live in the mare pasture.” Commander has proven to me that blue-eyed horses are not dumb and very quick on the uptake!

“So a halter helps a horse halt”. This almost tongue-tied my blue-eyed-wonder! “What do they do for cowgirls? Cause cowgirls wear halters too, don’t they”. Commander commented, as the blue eyes gazed dreamily in the direction of the mares.

“Well, cowgirls do wear halter “tops”. I responded. Just where was he going with this?

“Do cowgirls wear halter tops on their head like a mare wears a halter?” He asked. Now there is a certain innocent look in those blue eyes when I know I am being set up!

“Noooo, cowgirls wear halter tops over their...er...chests.” I explain. “Like the one I have on today”.

“So you are haltering your udder”. Commander closely observed my outfit. “Just what is someone training it to do? And is that with force or instinctive behavior?””

“Commander!!” This is an udderly absurd conversation to be having with my stallion!

“No respecting mare would ever halter her udder! I think you humans have no udder regard for just what is natural!” There is nothing like a sarcastic drawl from a perlino stallion.

“Stop this udder discussion and halter your mouth!” It was my turn to be indignant.

“Can we get my unbroken halter and go see the mares now?”

“Commander!! Do not udder another word”!

Jill Smith is a Spokane, WA entrepreneur, international business owner, artist/potter and cowgirl at heart. She raises Arabian racehorses, Arabian/Quarter Horse palominos and Cremellos/Perlinos. www.kriseanhorses.com