# caution headcollar injury



## karen b (5 May 2012)

My yearling filly scratched her leg whilst wearing a headcollar with a metal cottage craft badge on the side- the badge was not bevilled off properly, and the sharp edge caught her artery, she lost lots of blood but was thankfully OK. Please check any headcollars you have with this type of metal badge on, or better still, take the badge off. 
Has anyone else had a similar experience?


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## amage (5 May 2012)

Sorry to hear about filly. Why put the headcollar on if the metal badge wasn't "bevalled off properly"?? Far more likely that it was and filly scratched off something else creating a rough edge ie an accident!


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## perfect11s (5 May 2012)

Yes sorry to hear that, I was always told to use a leather one or better still take them off its lazy and poor horsemanship to leave them on a horse of any age...


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## Dry Rot (5 May 2012)

karen b's first post and she immediately gets two unnecessarily unpleasant replies!

An accident is an incident that was not foreseen and I am sure she is feeling bad enough about it already and is quite rightly attempting to warn others. There are plenty of situations where a horse might be left with a head collar on though, as we all know, generally it is not a good idea.

Welcome to the forum, Karen, and I hope you don't think those two posts are representative of what you will get from the majority here.


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## amage (5 May 2012)

My reply wasn't unpleasant it was a genuine question? As it stands she is liable to get her wrists slapped for naming and labelling responsible a specific brand when it is far more likely that young horses being messers it is just one of those things!


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## perfect11s (5 May 2012)

Dry Rot said:



			karen b's first post and she immediately gets two unnecessarily unpleasant replies!

An accident is an incident that was not foreseen and I am sure she is feeling bad enough about it already and is quite rightly attempting to warn others. There are plenty of situations where a horse might be left with a head collar on though, as we all know, generally it is not a good idea.

Welcome to the forum, Karen, and I hope you don't think those two posts are representative of what you will get from the majority here.
		
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I was just trying to be helpfull!!!!  we do care and any accident isnt nice but things do 
go wrong sadly horse ownership isnt fluffy and nice all of the time ....


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## karen b (5 May 2012)

It was a new horse, and a new headcollar which my daughter bought and very proudly put on her. We were there at the time watching her and it was a freaky accident. I only wanted to get others to know so it wouldn't happen again. We are VERY experienced owners, and do not turn horses out in headcollars, but as she was new, we were watching her go out with a new companoin and wanted to be able to grab her or the other horse if necessary. We had only just bought it, but I don't know of anyone who runs their fingers around the whole headcollar, and it looked absolutely fine. 
Our horses are outside the back door at home, and we had stayed there watching, then I saw it happen. 
The brand is given so all other can check their headcollars. Thanks for the more supportive comments, but any judgemental people should check out the fact first! 
I KNOW how it happened cos we were there. Apologies will be accepted!


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## WandaMare (5 May 2012)

karen B thanks for the post, useful warning.

Btw Perfect11s if you are being helpful its probably best not to use words like 'lazy' and 'poor horsemanship'!


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## guido16 (5 May 2012)

Jeez.

Calm down folks.
Firstly, sorry to hear about filly, good news she is ok and good to point out what happened.

Perfect 11s was not being perticularly rude and I am sure you will realise Karen that you will have to be pretty thick skinned to post on here. 

Onwards and upwards folks...


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## kerilli (5 May 2012)

thankyou for the warning, it's another thing to check, definitely.
hope she's made a full recovery, must have been a bloodbath, ugh.


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## TeamChaser (5 May 2012)

karen b said:



			My yearling filly scratched her leg whilst wearing a headcollar with a metal cottage craft badge on the side- the badge was not bevilled off properly, and the sharp edge caught her artery, she lost lots of blood but was thankfully OK. Please check any headcollars you have with this type of metal badge on, or better still, take the badge off. 
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
		
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Blimey! Freak accident - glad she's ok though and thanks for bringing to our attention


FWIW I would never even think to check a head collar for sharp edges .... why on earth would I?! They're designed to go on a horse so I think I'm entitled to assume that sharp edges won't be present .... but perhaps I'm just lazy 

Just goes to show, no matter how great your experience, and how good your intentions - horses will, and do, sometimes get themselves in trouble. Accidents can happen to ANY of us


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## fidleyspromise (6 May 2012)

TeamChaser said:



			Blimey! Freak accident - glad she's ok though and thanks for bringing to our attention


FWIW I would never even think to check a head collar for sharp edges .... why on earth would I?! They're designed to go on a horse so I think I'm entitled to assume that sharp edges won't be present .... but perhaps I'm just lazy 

Just goes to show, no matter how great your experience, and how good your intentions - horses will, and do, sometimes get themselves in trouble. Accidents can happen to ANY of us
		
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This.  I'd assume it to be fit for purpose, and to be fair to OP, it could just as easily have happened if the horse was tied up and scratched her nose on her foreleg!

Thanks for the warning.  Its what I automatically do with a horse (new or not) that's going in with a new companion.  I want to be able to catch the horse quickly, if it appears there's a problem.  Ponies went out to a field with new grass, and they were high as kites so I left head-collars on to let them have a whizz around, let them settle down and then took the head-collars off.

Hope your filly is recovering and not too sore. x


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## starryeyed (6 May 2012)

How horrible, I don't have one of these headcollars but thank you for warning us. Hope she's okay x


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## Ceris Comet (6 May 2012)

Welcome Karen ! And thanks for the warning. I would never think to check a headcollar , I'd just assume it had been tested and was safe .


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## TuscanBunnyGirl (6 May 2012)

Gosh, how scary for you! Hope your filly is okay! Never even crossed my mind that it could even happen, will keep my eyes open for that now!


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## AdorableAlice (6 May 2012)

I came to the conclusion decades ago, that a horse can injure itself by sniffing a dandelion.  They are walking disaster areas.

Thank you for the warning and whilst I don't have that type of headcollar, my horses all earn the right, after their first win at whatever they do, to have a brass nameplate put on their leather headcollars.  I will be checking them for sharp edges in a moment.

Well done OP and welcome to the forum, lots to learn, lots of lovely knowledgeable people in the main, and some to ignore.


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## Alec Swan (6 May 2012)

karen b said:



			.......My yearling filly scratched her leg whilst wearing a headcollar with a metal cottage craft badge on the side- .......
		
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Despite the previous and rather abrupt welcome to this forum,  the general gist of the argument was probably about right.

As far as I'm aware,  Cottage Craft make nylon head collars,  and if you turned out a youngster,  in one of these,  that really is courting disaster.  PLEASE never turn out youngsters in head collars,  *especially* those made of nylon.  Leather head collars generally break fairly easily,  nylon ones don't,  and in the ensuing panic,  untold damage can occur.  Damage which can often be fatal.

Again,  welcome!! 

Alec.


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## giveitago (6 May 2012)

Karen, 

Many thanks for the warning.  Whilst i dont have any new collars, perhaps its time to check my old ones for wear and tear!


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## neddynesbitt (6 May 2012)

Dry Rot said:



			karen b's first post and she immediately gets two unnecessarily unpleasant replies!

An accident is an incident that was not foreseen and I am sure she is feeling bad enough about it already and is quite rightly attempting to warn others. There are plenty of situations where a horse might be left with a head collar on though, as we all know, generally it is not a good idea.

Welcome to the forum, Karen, and I hope you don't think those two posts are representative of what you will get from the majority here.
		
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Hear hear, hope your filly is ok.

An accident is just that....an accident. If the OP had forseen this happening she would have prevented it!!

Welcome to the forum


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## applecart14 (11 May 2012)

I'm sorry about your horses injury.  Please never leave a headcollar on a horse whilst in the field, whether it be leather or not. Webbing headcollars are very dangerous, they hardly ever break and I would never use one on my own horse.  Apparently I read somewhere that they are so strong that you could actually tow another car using one (in between rope) and it wouldn't break.  Horrid, horrid things.

My horse was tied outside his stable the other day whilst I was mucking out , and clearly was desparate for a wee so put all my tools outside and I unclipped his rope from his leather headcollar and put him in his stable with his head collar on, got distracted by someone calling me, and forgot I'd left it on him.  He was in there for about 20 mins.  I nearly died when I came back and saw what I'd done, and cursed myself for the rest of the day. He was lucky but he could so easily have got caught up.  I have a safety quick release clip on my headcollar too!

Lesson learned though hun? xx


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## La Fiaba (11 May 2012)

applecart14 said:



			Webbing headcollars are very dangerous, they hardly ever break and I would never use one on my own horse.  Apparently I read somewhere that they are so strong that you could actually tow another car using one (in between rope) and it wouldn't break.  Horrid, horrid things.
		
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I must buy all the rubbish ones then, can't tell you how many headcollars I go through! 

My OH is a rugger for leaving headcollars on and his horse now has a lovely scratch all down his face, very narrowly missed scratching his eye.  

Sorry to hear about your filly OP, hope she is ok.


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## Shantara (14 May 2012)

Agree with scrooge, ned has gone through atleast 3 nylon headcollars in the past few months, 2 were broken at the strap and one broke at the buckle. 
Sorry to hear about your filly, glad she's ok!! And welcome


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