Head Stall

[Supernat]

I watched a segment of horse shoein time tonight and Mr. Cassey was speaking highly of a NOBLE HEAD STALL by Rick Weaks. Casey was saying this was a great head stall for farriers to own due to the pressure it applied and gave the horse the attention it needed. Ive never seen or heard of this and was wondering what the oppionon of you all had on this.... Thanks NAT

[Rick Burten]

It would make Phinneas T. Barnum beam with pride.

[Ronald Aalders]

I did notice a halter -a guy called- Monty Roberts uses. It's a pretty ordinary halter with a noseband that squeezes the nose when pulled. It's a nice halter and may be a help in some cases I guess.

But we're skipping an important issue here, are we to shoe the horse or train the horse too? If so adjust your fee accordingly.


Ronald Aalders

[Forgewizard]

Supernat,
I met the guy that designed and built those headstalls at a clinic put on by Ralph Casey. Got to watch the so called miracle headstall inaction too that day.Even have a client that got shucked out the big buckls for the thing to use on her paint stallion. Here's the scoop:

The "head stall" is really a heavy duty rolled steel noseband similar to a bosal. It is quite heavy. He has several different sizes for the various types of horses; minis, saddle horses, drafts etc and priced accordingly. The attachment points and shape of the nosebandare designed so that IF the horse holds his head in what the designer calls a "neutral " position there is no pressure applied to points on the horse's face under the noseband. This "neutral" posisiton is a head with the poll level with the withers and nose slightly tucked in. In theory it seems great, right? A relaxed horse carries his head low, right? And it IS nice to work with a relaxed horse.

In practice this is what was demonstrated that day:
The horses brought to this clinic were what many farriers encounter on a regular basis; unfamiliar horses that the owners JUST acquired, pretty horses that the howners just petted and loved on, spoiled horses that had no manners and draft horses that were intimidating to pick up their feet, not to mention the few raw youngsters.

According to Ralph and Rick, this "Novell Headstall" would cure ANY problem with handling any of these horses had. According to Rick Wheat (the designer/mfr) the Novell Headstall can be used to ride in in any discipline and even drivve with! Oooh JUST the panacea the horse world is looking for!

So in this ring we have an aged draft horse that is notorius for dragging around its handlers and not standing for the farrier, oh yeah and about 5 of Ralph's current and former students.

In the second ring (round pen) we have a 3 year old rawhorsegetting saddled for the first time. And being first handled by a student of Rick's, then by Rick himself.
I positioned myself between the two rings so I could watch the shows. While ring #1 became engulfed in dust from the draft horse dragging his boys around, the horse in ring #2 was getting a lesson in how to respect a rope and handler and testing the round pen rails.

I did NOT see that the Novell headstall was caling these horses or encouraging either one to stand still or stand relaxed. O.K. so give the guys a bit of lattitude- afterall maybe the horses had stage fright?

The premise behind the headstall as that if the horse moves his head away from neutral the noseband balance puts pressure on trigger points on the horse's face. Of course the other end of the noseband is attatched to the handler via a rope, and the handler is supposed to shake the noseband hard to encourage cooperation from the horse, then release and let the noseband be still when dobbin DOES cooperate. Which would probably work for horses that have already learned the pressure release tao.

In ring#1 the draft was teaching the theory of horsepower and showing how strong the rope was while the hnadler land skied around the ring. Two strapping young farriers to be were clinging to one of his forelimbs as he lumbered around. In ring #2 the 3 yr old was still racing the round pen at break neck speed but every now and then would stop and turn when the noseband was shook. Hmmm- maybe a bit of progress? Yes, I do beleive so and its only been 40 minutes!

To make a long story short the 3 yr old's handling was taken over by Rick himself. The horse broke 2 Novell Headstalls and when the third one was put on (Rick had brought a truckfull to sell, thankfully), Rick quit working the horse in the manner that created the broken headstalls and went to actually getting ON the recalcitrant beast! Now we all know that certainly any horse that you can ride can automatically be handlef fine from the ground, right? uh huh. A few times around the pen and Rick gave Junior back to the young man to continue working with. So Rick then continued to narrate the wonders of this headstall from the sidelines.

So we are now approaching our second hour and Junior is bucking a bit but every now and then deciding he is getting tired and his choices of escape are slim. The draft horse has changed directions and instead of plowing forward and over the top of his boys (they are working as tag teams) he has taken to showing that horse power inreverse is just as effective. Poor boys, I could see they were determined, but muchly misdirected.

BEing as there were actually OTHER things being presented at this clinic like shoeing & trimming of draft horses (with power grinders even) I left the shows in ring #1 & #2. As I watched the horses getting literally ground down, I would glance back at the rings and look for any progress. Nope, not really. My, weren't those boys dusty!

When they brought in the second draft for footwork this one seemed a bit tense from the grinder so they quickly put it in a Novell, a few shakes on the noseband and the Percheron was willing to accept the grinder. Obviously this big guy had manners tucked away - just had to give him a chance to find them.

Meanwhile the 3 yr old is now turning right and left, stopping and going but stillunder saddle and not from the ground. The draft was slowing down and they almost had one fornt hoof trimmed in ring #1! WOW and only 3 hours into the show!

Was I impressed with this headstall? Absolutely NOT! The headstalls presented for sale that day were INO cheaply made. The leather was cheap, only riveted at the attachment points (which gave out under stress).
At the prices he was getting, and they were selling pretty fast, I'd want better quality. The horses in his demo video were much more cooperative and apparently his explanation of how "special" these two horses were was sufficient to encourage novices to purchase the Novell.

Just another gimmick for green horns to glom onto because they think it is a shortcut to actual knowledge and experience. Could an expereienced handler achieve results with the Novell? Certainly!, But then an expereinced handler can achieve results with baling twine too!

Another drawback to this heavy noseband is the danger i presents to a handler when the horse slings his head, as well if the horse moves his head to shoo flies the thing bumps him and punishes him for the movement - which results in a reaction from the horse at first that is unwanted.

Nope, I'll keep using my "chain of command" which is soft when not needed or biting when needed and it is instantaneous.

[Supernat]

Forgewizzard thanks so much for your reply. The way this was demostrated it looked like the farrier took a horse that was giving problems letting the farrier handle his feet then fifteen mins later they were putting a shoe on and i said wow.. However i really appreaciate what all u had to say. Now it all makes more sense than just a gimmick to get us or a horse owner to purchase something.. Have a good weekend.. NAT

[Double C Forge]

Yep. Just another gimmick or (Fad) to get the money out of your pocket. As usual if it seems to good to be true then there is a 98% chance that it is. There are no miracle cures for unruly horses, just good horsemanship skills and proper training.

[T.N. Trosin]

Originally Posted by Supernat

The way this was demostrated it looked like the farrier took a horse that was giving problems letting the farrier handle his feet then fifteen mins later they were putting a shoe on and i said wow. NAT

15 minutes Later?
I think it an odd coincidence that it correlates to the amount of time it takes for an 1/8 cc of Demosidan to take effect as well.

[Susan Wallace]

I have seen Rick Wheat demonstrate this headstall several times. We have an adult size horse one and a colt sized one. Properly used, this is actually a very humane way to train a horse. My husband is 67 years old and he uses it as does our farrier, Sammy Thorn. I had a QH mare who was broke to ride using only the Novell. It is a bump & release kind of system. It is much more humane than a bit inside the horses mouth.

[vthorseshoe]

Red Retchin and Chris Gregory have sung the praises of Rick Wheaton's novel halter.

When put on the animal the lead rope is swung just like Parrelli's do when they want a horse to back up. Swing side to side.
The heavier the swing the more severity the offset metal bosell hits each side of the horses face.

This is a quick sale because it has been proven to work on "most" animals includeing Cody Gregories bucking bull.

[Bryan McElwee]

I met Rick about 12 years ago when I was riding colts. I bought one the Novel Headstalls from him then and started useing it. I've had some good luck with it. But when I back up to a barn Im not there to train horses. That should have been done long before I get there.

[DavidinGA]

Never owned one myself but I know a (darn good ) farrier and horse trainer who had one in his truck. I've seen it used once ( by him) and it's pretty much like Rick Burten and the ForgeWizard say, It's a gimmick that will remind a trained horse to behave but honestly, it's no better than a halter (IMO). If you really want to try one just get a peice of the heaviest rebar you can and bend it into a bosal shape, hang it on a headstall and give her a try.
To be fair to the guy I saw use the novel, it was loaned to him by a salesman trying to make a sell. As far as I know he used it once to satisfy the salesman and then gave it back. The one time I saw it used, I saw great potential for making a horse headshy.

David

[Red Amor]

Dave MacDonald show Me the use of a dog choker chain to be used as a war bridle sort of the chain placed on / across the top gums of upper jaw and out of mouth to cheek plate on halter the other through other cheek plate to lead rope and gentle pressure applied and released as need
works well in the hand of some one with an ounce of savvy
kinder than a twitch and is a good teaching aid

[DavidinGA]

Originally Posted by Red Amor

Dave MacDonald show Me the use of a dog choker chain to be used as a war bridle sort of the chain placed on / across the top gums of upper jaw and out of mouth to cheek plate on halter the other through other cheek plate to lead rope and gentle pressure applied and released as need
works well in the hand of some one with an ounce of savvy
kinder than a twitch and is a good teaching aid

Red,

I think you have hit on the key point here. Tools are only as good as the hand that uses them.


David

[Tyler Anderson]

Originally Posted by Red Amor

Dave MacDonald show Me the use of a dog choker chain to be used as a war bridle sort of the chain placed on / across the top gums of upper jaw and out of mouth to cheek plate on halter the other through other cheek plate to lead rope and gentle pressure applied and released as need
works well in the hand of some one with an ounce of savvy
kinder than a twitch and is a good teaching aid

what i have always done.... the key there is having someone who is a good handler. i cant hold it and shoe it.

[cynthia-jay]

the old timers have a halter they call a "war bridle" it can be used to force cooperation with an unruley horse

they are designed to place presssure on the poll, bars of the jaw, or under the upper lip

a few in-experianced young farriers have used a lead chain on the upper gums of a young/unruley horse

quickest way to get kicked out of a barn, and not get recomended again, no matter what the problem may be

put the liabilty on the owner. walk away if the horse is a hazzard, and have the horse tranq

best for all involved

as always

Cynthia Jay