Bartville Halter

Charlie is, by all accounts, a gentle, calm and generally easy to handle horse. His ground manners are very good, with not much to be desired beyond his occasionally being a little *too* friendly and interactive. And he does all the expected things like tying, clipping, bathing, standing for vet or farrier or whatever, etc etc etc. 

left: that text you get from a barn mate turning your horse in for dinner
right: the aftermath of a fully and completely exploded halter -- literally all of the noseband is gone :(

But ya know. Like basically any horse out there, Charlie has still managed to break his fair share of halters. Sometimes out in the field, but also sometimes in crosstie mishaps. It's not a coincidence that I generally attach the clips to the cheek hardware vs the noseband hardware...

the old, the "new," and the rope haha

And while he's broken a fair amount of cheap halter hardware over the years (esp in said 'incidents'), his most common victim is the adjustable noseband / chin strap. I guess while most halters have double layered or reinforced material for most of the halter, this chin strap is often much thinner and wears out quickly esp in a herd of playful geldings always trying to grab hold of each other. 

actually bought this beautiful padded fancy stitched halter for Isabel, then charlie promptly broke the throat latch snap years ago. finally got it repaired tho, apparently just in time!

Charlie's had the same basic Smartpak leather halter with (crappy) engraved nameplate for a few years now, and.... it's kinda been on it's way out nearly just as long lol. I tried to replace the chin strap on it earlier this year when it looked like duck tape wasn't gonna get the job done anymore.... but. Well. The halter's date with destiny finally arrived, and boy howdy, did Charlie really well and truly kill the thing haha. 

but whoops, there's the fourth halter in as many weeks bc homeboy broke the freshly repaired throat latch snap again, and then promptly broke a buckle on my last remaining replacement ugh

My guess is actually that he maybe even got a leg through the halter as it was falling to pieces, and he ended up exploding it entirely. Every piece of leather is broken on it, and he had some poll sensitivity and marks on his ankle for a few days after. Womp. 

Luckily I'd just repaired a very beautiful padded and fancy stitched leather halter that Charlie broke a few years back. For some reason, the throatlatch clip on this halter faced outward, and he'd managed to mangle it. Nbd, tho, got it repaired for about $25... but the repair job also oriented the clip facing outward and Charlie busted it again -- probably getting it snagged in the round bale haynet or something, UGH. 

mikey cat would never be so destructive if he were a horse -- mikey just wants peace! 

In an ideal world, maybe I'd prefer to turn the horses out *without* halters. But there are safety arguments to be made on both sides of that equation, and my current barn vigorously prefers that horses do wear halters at all times. 

So the next best option is a halter with breakaway leather material.... but not *so* breakaway that you're replacing the damn thing every three weeks. Like, ahem, we've been doing with Charlie since the unfortunate Smartpak halter explosion. 

ta da -- the newest replacement! 

At least now that Charlie has made his way (rapidly) through my stockpile of back-up and back-back-up halters... Well. I guess that meant it was finally time to go buy the exact model I've wanted for a few years now. You might remember when I visited Bartville Tack & Harness back in 2020, I took note of their excellent and highly customizable halter selections. 

specifically wanted a fixed noseband vs the adjustable version, since Charlie seems to wear through those adjustable straps much faster (bleh halter tag)

For the uninitiated, Bartville is an Amish-run establishment in Pennsylvania that, in addition to serving the Amish community (including all necessary items for working horse husbandry), houses the leather craftsmanship workshop behind the Nunn Finer brand. Meaning: high quality leather strap goods produced for horse sport are actually manufactured in house here. And in addition to their 'off the rack' stock, you can get every single little detail in your strap goods piece fully customized. 

sir, i'm happy you have friends, but plz stop using your halter as a toy! 

It's honestly one of the best kept secrets of our regional horse community -- not least because you get to avoid paying all the markup on these goods by buying directly from Bartville. Tho, of course, there are downsides -- like the shop being located pretty far off the beaten path. And they have neither website, nor credit card processing. Everything is done either in the store itself, or by mail order from the catalog or telephone, with payments by cash or check. 

brass looks nice tho, eh? 

It's a beautiful drive out there, tho, and only about ~1hr-ish away from Charlie's barn. Considering I knew exactly what style halter I wanted, and that it cost $50 from Bartville off the rack vs $80 for a Perri's equivalent at a big box retailer... Well. It was a no-brainer haha, and I enjoyed the scenic drive up last weekend after finishing barn chores. 

sorry for weird colors haha. really hoping this will prove more durable!

So. The exact style I wanted? Full leather, with triple-stitched and reinforced straps. Fully replaceable crown piece (buckles on both sides), throat latch clip (facing inward plz), and fixed nose band (vs the adjustable strap with buckle closure that Charlie always wears out). With brass hardware, natch, for my handsome bay. 

it's definitely never gonna be this clean and nice looking again tho, that's for sure! 

Charlie is wearing the Full/Horse size -- and it looks great on him! Obvi was a little stiff coming straight off the rack, but I expect it to soften and mold to his features in short order. I'm also trying to enjoy it to the fullest while it looks so shiny and new haha, since it's bound to be caked in mud in no time flat. 

Tho ya know, maybe *this* will be the halter I finally take better care of, and maybe clean more than once every year or two?? Lol... Maybe. Does anybody else slack on halter leather care haha? Or maybe your horse doesn't have to wear a halter in turnout, so it doesn't get quite so abused? Or, are you just completely over buying "nice" halters at this point bc maybe your creature destroys them so quickly?