Show halters can be dangerous!!!

Ruebush Shorthorns · Apr 8, 2008

Today I was working with a heifer getting ready for a show in 2 weeks. I put a sullivans show halter on her and as I was working with her pulling back and forth, the chain cut my palm and my pinky finger so bad I had to get stitches in both spots. Has anyone else had this problem of being cut my the chain on a halter? I have seen some people who rap the chains with some kind of tape or coating to make the rattle sound that the chain makesm stop. Does anyone have some kind of solution for this problem? I will definitly wear gloves next time I am trying to get a calf used to a show halter!! My brother will be showing and I want to prevent this from happening again.

red · Apr 8, 2008

wow, that hurts! I use vet tape to wrap my chains w/. I've had the rope get wrapped around my ahnd & it swelled.

Red

EONF · Apr 8, 2008

If you don't mind it being permanent, you can use clear shrink wrap. It will stop the rattling, won't burn your hands and will give you some grip if you hold onto the chain.

showgirl2010 · Apr 8, 2008

Your really not suppose to hold onto the chain. I know its is hard but it is a big no no. Personally I like the rattle of the chain it calms both me and the calf in the ring if i click it quietly.

Jamie

knabe · Apr 9, 2008

i agree with chain clinking. i use this for advance warning that some tightening is forthcoming, at which point i wait for them to provide the slack. i don't hold their head up with tightness in the chain. a horse trainer once told me that if you smile while you are teaching, it translates into a feel the horse can feel. this doens't mean a wide open grin, but something you can feel on the bridge over your eyes. when we are tense, they feel it.

Bawndoh · Apr 9, 2008

Wrapping the chain helps the calves too. Those little bones under their jaw where the chain hits are pretty sensitive. I have seen more than one animal go competely nutts in the ring because the chain was painful for them, and they werent used to it. Make sure this doesnt happen to you!

kanshow · Apr 9, 2008

I've noticed there is a difference in chain severity between brands of halters. We also had a halter around here that came with a big buckle at the end of the chain so you could take the leather strap off. That buckle looked like a hand ripper to me so I took it off and had my local tack guy sew the leather strap on permanently.

Jill · Apr 9, 2008

showgirl2010 said:
Your really not suppose to hold onto the chain. I know its is hard but it is a big no no. Personally I like the rattle of the chain it calms both me and the calf in the ring if i click it quietly.

Jamie

If you don't hold the chain, what do you hold on to?

knabe · Apr 9, 2008

i would never use a chain in the show ring unless the animal was used to it. this is like putting a harsher bit in a horse at a show without exposing it to them earlier. the movements with a chain are supposed to be a lot smaller and should never be used like a rope halter. this reminds me of what i saw at the grand national the other day during the angus section. a girl slapped the head of her heifer twice while in the ring and severely yanked on the chained lead rope. i think she either won her class or got reserve. at horse shows, i think you can get banned if you strike an animal or yank on them like that. not saying things aren't a little different with cattle, but at the show, i was also kind of amazed at the total lack of preparation of the lower end stock. with numbers going continually down out here, the lower end just doesn't seem to be whittled away. kind of amazing.

you don't hold the chain, you teach the animal to find a release. this is more sophisticated than most people are willing to obtain, but it is possible. if one can't lay the lead rope across one's hand and direct the animal, there is room for improvement. only slight adjustments should be necessary to obtain head placement. there was an angus journal cover i think about a year or two ago, where they had a picture of a kid doing this. it was totally awesome.

Bawndoh · Apr 9, 2008

knabe said:
i would never use a chain in the show ring unless the animal was used to it. this is like putting a harsher bit in a horse at a show without exposing it to them earlier. the movements with a chain are supposed to be a lot smaller and should never be used like a rope halter. this reminds me of what i saw at the grand national the other day during the angus section. a girl slapped the head of her heifer twice while in the ring and severely yanked on the chained lead rope. i think she either won her class or got reserve. at horse shows, i think you can get banned if you strike an animal or yank on them like that. not saying things aren't a little different with cattle, but at the show, i was also kind of amazed at the total lack of preparation of the lower end stock. with numbers going continually down out here, the lower end just doesn't seem to be whittled away. kind of amazing.

you don't hold the chain, you teach the animal to find a release. this is more sophisticated than most people are willing to obtain, but it is possible. if one can't lay the lead rope across one's hand and direct the animal, there is room for improvement. only slight adjustments should be necessary to obtain head placement. there was an angus journal cover i think about a year or two ago, where they had a picture of a kid doing this. it was totally awesome.

I agree with you Knabe. If your cattle are broke properly, they should move with you like a well trained showmanship horse. You really should never have to put much pressure on the halter. I think it is so funny watching those people leading their calves, to the wash rack let say, and they literally are dragging the calf the entire time. The calf has its neck extended, and seems like it is so used to never having the pressure released, so the calf has just learned to always put pressure on the rope. That is when you can tell the calf was probably halter broken poorly behind a tractor/truck/donkey. The only way cattle/horses learn to lead and co-operate is by RELEASING the pressure. They learn that if they move with you/how you want, they will have a relaxing time with no tension on their face from the halter being tight.

Simmymom1 · Apr 9, 2008

I also agree with Knabe. We used to show horses and it would make me so mad when people would show their horses in a halter class and jerk on the chain really hard and then wonder why the horse would rear up and flip over!! How stupid is that?? It is just as important to teach a yound calf to lead as well as a yound horse, otherwise you are asking for problems.

Simmymom1 · Apr 9, 2008

Simmymom1 said:
I also agree with Knabe. We used to show horses and it would make me so mad when people would show their horses in a halter class and jerk on the chain really hard and then wonder why the horse would rear up and flip over!! How stupid is that?? It is just as important to teach a yound calf to lead as well as a yound horse, otherwise you are asking for problems.

COOL - I finally made it to a FULL member!!!!! (clapping) (clapping)

kane1598 · Apr 9, 2008

Ruebush Shorthorns said:
Today I was working with a heifer getting ready for a show in 2 weeks. I put a sullivans show halter on her and as I was working with her pulling back and forth, the chain cut my palm and my pinky finger so bad I had to get stitches in both spots. Has anyone else had this problem of being cut my the chain on a halter? I have seen some people who rap the chains with some kind of tape or coating to make the rattle sound that the chain makesm stop. Does anyone have some kind of solution for this problem? I will definitly wear gloves next time I am trying to get a calf used to a show halter!! My brother will be showing and I want to prevent this from happening again.

I had all the skin on my hand ripped off by a show halter by my best steer two years ago. It took 2 months to get back to normal!

showgirl2010 · Apr 9, 2008

Jill said:
showgirl2010 said:

Your really not suppose to hold onto the chain. I know its is hard but it is a big no no. Personally I like the rattle of the chain it calms both me and the calf in the ring if i click it quietly.

Jamie

Click to expand...

If you don't hold the chain, what do you hold on to?

You hold onto the leather away from the chain.

Jamie

shorthorns r us · Apr 9, 2008

showgirl2010 said:
Jill said:

showgirl2010 said:

Your really not suppose to hold onto the chain. I know its is hard but it is a big no no. Personally I like the rattle of the chain it calms both me and the calf in the ring if i click it quietly.

Jamie

Click to expand...

If you don't hold the chain, what do you hold on to?

Click to expand...

You hold onto the leather away from the chain.

Jamie

now that is old school.

shortyjock89 · Apr 9, 2008

That's kind of what I was thinking. The closer you hold, the more control you have on the calf's head.

Jill · Apr 9, 2008

I can guarantee you that I had better never catch my kids holding a halter clear down at the leather, you have no control if your calf spooks.
Where your hand is placed on the halter has nothing to do with how you lead you calf, you don't drag it, or place pressure just because your hand is up by the chin where it is supposed to be.

knabe · Apr 9, 2008

i'm with SRU and olson, and now jill on this one. i don't like my hand above the calf's head, i want it behind. i used a shortened chain on my halter. i've seen quite a few double over chains to shorten them up.

i guess there used to be a time when it looked great how much effort you were putting into it holding your calf's head up. i always thought it u-necked them up doing this so i always liked having them hold their own head up. holding their head up also tilts it too, again, an effect i didn't like. the other thing i liked about them holding their own head up was how i didn't have to loin them down as much after bellying them up. all it took was a subtle drag on their loin, the lighter tough the better to smooothly let it settle down.

with a slight slack in the chain, it's pretty easy to have control no matter where you hold your hand. it also raises the expectation in the animal that you know that when they move, you are on top of it. horse people don't like holding close for saftey reasons as it's easier to get inside their shoulder if they spook, than if you are clear up there by their head and your arm is basically the slack. i want slack in the halter, not my arm.

afhm · Apr 9, 2008

To cut you hand that bad was it one of those spiked lead chains? I always hold a show halter tight where the chain and the leather meet, and hold onto the leather. If you get too close to their head, a lot of the time the calf will fight you wanting some space.

Jill · Apr 9, 2008

We have the kids hold them to where if the calf turns the hand can't get caught between the face and chain, 3-4 inches out.

Show halters can be dangerous!!!

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