Halter in Detail
June 29, 2011
Correctly fit your halter horse’s neck sweat.
From The American Quarter Horse Journal
This is a correct fit at the jowl – it sits at the poll and just behind her jaw at the throat. Photo by Bar H Photography.
In fitting a halter horse, one of the most-used pieces of equipment is a neck sweat. Sweats may see daily use in conditioning and fitting a horse to show at halter; a trainer sweats a horse’s neck to enhance the appearance of the throatlatch, neck, shoulder and withers.
With different styles and sizes available, fitting the right neck sweat is crucial to using it properly in conditioning your horse.
AQHA Professional Horseman Chris Arentsen of Trenton, Illinois, keeps a separate set of sweats for each horse in his barn, ensuring a correct fit each time a horse sweats.
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“A loose sweat will not be effective to get a good sweat,” Chris says. “The sweat should fit snug all the way down the neck, which will keep it in place while the horse is moving and not cause any rubbing to the neck or mane.
Snug is the key word in fitting a neck sweat. It should fit snugly around the horse’s jowl, starting with the first Velcro strip to hold it in place. You should be able to slip a finger between the sweat and your horse’s jowl. Watch your horse, and if he seems to have difficulty breathing, loosen the sweat at the jowl.
The neck sweat should reach down to your horse’s withers and be smooth against the neck with no wrinkles. The sweat should end right where the shoulder meets the neck – at that 45-degree angle.
When putting the sweat on, make sure it’s laying flat against the horse’s neck as you close the Velcro strips. Chris uses his right hand to snug the sweat against the neck as he uses his left hand to pull up and place the Velcro. Be sure to watch for wrinkles.
It is tempting to start at the bottom to Velcro the neck sweat, but Chris says to start at the top. Attach the Velcro strips beginning at the jowl and work your way down the neck, as opposed to starting at the bottom and going up toward the jowl. This will ensure a snug fit all the way down, without having to adjust the Velcro multiple times.
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“Most neck sweats today are manufactured using neoprene rubber that has some give to it, allowing that snug fit without getting it too tight.”
The most common mistake in using a neck sweat is probably using one that doesn’t fit properly. Even if you use one that doesn’t fit correctly, you will get some benefit from sweating your horse with it – but you won’t get the maximum benefit that a properly fitted sweat will give.
Chris layers multiple sweats on a horse to get more from the sweating process. The bottom sweat must fit the horse correctly, and he uses larger sweats over that to add warmth. For the top layer of sweats, Chris uses sweats that might be older – it lengthens their useful life.
In fitting a halter horse, one of the most-used pieces of equipment is a neck sweat. Sweats may see daily use in conditioning and fitting a horse to show at halter; a trainer sweats a horse’s neck to enhance the appearance of the throatlatch, neck, shoulder and withers.
With different styles and sizes available, fitting the right neck sweat is crucial to using it properly in conditioning your horse.
AQHA Professional Horseman Chris Arentsen of Trenton, Illinois, keeps a separate set of sweats for each horse in his barn, ensuring a correct fit each time a horse sweats.
“A loose sweat will not be effective to get a good sweat,” Chris says. “The sweat should fit snug all the way down the neck, which will keep it in place while the horse is moving and not cause any rubbing to the neck or mane.
Snug is the key word in fitting a neck sweat. It should fit snugly around the horse’s jowl, starting with the first Velcro strip to hold it in place. You should be able to slip a finger between the sweat and your horse’s jowl. Watch your horse, and if he seems to have difficulty breathing, loosen the sweat at the jowl.
The neck sweat should reach down to your horse’s withers and be smooth against the neck with no wrinkles. The sweat should end right where the shoulder meets the neck – at that 45-degree angle.
When putting the sweat on, make sure it’s laying flat against the horse’s neck as you close the Velcro strips. Chris uses his right hand to snug the sweat against the neck as he uses his left hand to pull up and place the Velcro. Be sure to watch for wrinkles.
It is tempting to start at the bottom to Velcro the neck sweat, but Chris says to start at the top. Attach the Velcro strips beginning at the jowl and work your way down the neck, as opposed to starting at the bottom and going up toward the jowl. This will ensure a snug fit all the way down, without having to adjust the Velcro multiple times.
“Most neck sweats today are manufactured using neoprene rubber that has some give to it, allowing that snug fit without getting it too tight.”
The most common mistake in using a neck sweat is probably using one that doesn’t fit properly. Even if you use one that doesn’t fit correctly, you will get some benefit from sweating your horse with it – but you won’t get the maximum benefit that a properly fitted sweat will give.
Chris layers multiple sweats on a horse to get more from the sweating process. The bottom sweat must fit the horse correctly, and he uses larger sweats over that to add warmth. For the top layer of sweats, Chris uses sweats that might be older – it lengthens their useful life.
Comments
17 Comments on “Halter in Detail”
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June 29th, 2011 at 9:59 am
I can’t believe anyone would do this. The horse’s comfort must come way down on their list of priorities. Cruel, unnecessary and pathetic in my opinion.
June 29th, 2011 at 11:11 am
Really AQHA? You’re encouraging this behavior? What’s next, an article on tail deadening? How about a how-to on soring a horse to enhance its gait? Not good. Just my opinion.
June 29th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
i have to agree with the above posters! completely unnecessary. anyone that does this to their horse should have to do it to themselves.
June 29th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
WOW. Really? So a competition IMO in which horses can’t move freely or naturally is not only okay, but you’re going to give tips on how to do it better (and I mean better for the competition, not the horse). Awesome guys, thanks.
June 29th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
Thank You AQHA for the tips!!!!
How is putting a saddle on them tightening it up on their belly and then getting your weight on their back to ride around on them for hours any different??
Proud exhibitor of the halter horse!!!!:)
June 29th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
I was told that neck sweating is really pointless because its a temporary fix. The neck appears thinner because of the lack of water weight in the muscles. Sweating doesn’t tone the neck it only reduces the water weight. As soon as the horse drinks again and regains the lost water their neck puffs back up. As for Crystal its WAY different than tacking up and riding. You are causing the horse to sweat unnaturally. As long as your tack fits and you are a proper rider riding a horse does not cause harm or discomfort. Really? Was that all you could come up with???
June 29th, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Crystal,
There is huge difference between saddling horse and applying a neck sweat. One is necessary part of horsemanship, the other is totally unnecessary and only done to satisfy a horse owner’s vanity. People who are so desperate to win a show that they resort to techniques like this probably own horses for the wrong reasons.
June 29th, 2011 at 4:44 pm
I am not sure how this is inhumane. Halter horses in a general sense are some of the most well cared for in the horse world. You think its harmful to encourage a contoured trim neckline? interesting, so I suppose breaking a horse or putting metal in its mouth is so much more comfortable for them. Well its important to you so its ok.
June 29th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Well as someone who has halter horses, and doesn’t have a trainer, I do appreciate the tips. Thanks AQHA!! As for people thinking it’s for vanity, do you think it’s vane if you watch your weight and buy 150$ jeans, because you like the way they make you look? Do you think that the horse is comfortable riding in draw reins curled into a ball with sharp metal objects poking them in the sides? As far as sweating being pointless, it creates a ring effect and doesn’t just puff back up when they drink water…Just sayin….
June 29th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
I don’t think there is a problem with sweating. I have seen several different kinds of sweats at my barn and the horses don’t seem to be bothered by it at all. It’s not meant to “fix” anything, it’s just like polishing their hooves or braiding their manes/tails before a show. It just makes them look a little cleaner. The sweat isn’t left on for very long, only an hour or two. I use something similar to tone up my belly before going to the beach and stuff. It just makes the skin look firmer and adds the appearance of muscle tone.
June 29th, 2011 at 7:18 pm
As a halter horse exhibitor who uses neck sweats it’s far from inhumane. Our horses while being sweated have water and hay in front of them. They are treated like “kings” turned out, vaccumed etc. Inhumane is spurring the heck out of them with metal in their mouths constantly being yanked on! Get real people. Halter horses are very well taken care of
July 13th, 2011 at 12:33 am
Honestly, they must be PETA people, or just plain ignorant. Don’t know diddly, just want to complain. These guys have back yard ponies that they take out on the trail once in a while, when the weather permits. They leave the horse in a stall all winter and when summer comes, they get on and go, not building the horse back up after the long dormant period. Is that a good way to treat your horse? Body builders, models and people just wanting a little help when losing inches use sweating as a way to tighten and enhance definition. It is not any more uncomfortable than getting a good workout, just adds more benefit. It does not alter the animal in any way, and a matter of fact, helps keep the fatty deposits down, which can make it hard for the animal to get good flexion, putting undo strain on muscles and spine. I could go on, but…
July 14th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Don’t criticized neck sweating if you drive nails in a hoof to hold a metal plate on. Proud to fit the AQHA halter horses. Thank for the advice.
November 4th, 2011 at 9:49 pm
Agree with the halter people
December 14th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
So agreed with the Halter Showers! Nothing wrong with a neck sweat!
April 5th, 2012 at 4:59 am
Absolutely amazes me that you would put this on your site! I can’t imagine a horse with, “layers” of neck sweats as he calls it, having to endure this for owner vanity! I have owned and showed horses for years and get tired of seeing supposed horse lovers inhumanly treat their animals. We are luck as humans to be intelligent enough to ride a horse and should also be intelligent enough not to abuse them. To hear a common ignorant person speak incorrect information is one thing but to see high profile organization is another. It would be the proper course of action to remove this article.
May 20th, 2012 at 10:29 pm
This is gross and uncalled for
If your horse is not good enough to win without this, then it’s not good enough! I think it’s a vapid display of vanity, the same for human being who starve themselves or get surgery to “look good”. It’s time to focus on the performance of the animal not how pretty it looks.