# headcollars / foal slips



## not_with_it (13 June 2010)

Sorry for the ramble but this really is a pet hate of mine.

A few years ago my mare got her headcollar stuck in a gate, the headcollar didnt break and so my mare ended up with stitches in her cheek and in her lip. Ever since then I cringe when I see horses turned out in webbing headcollars. I also know of a friend who's horse hung itself in the stable when wearing a webbing headcollar

There seems to be an increasing number of foals wearing webbing headcollars. Leather headcollars are more likely to break if your foal gets caught up. Please think of your foals after all the time and effort you have put into them. I bought my foals headcollar for £10 off ebay brand new, much cheaper than a new foal.


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## Adina (14 June 2010)

Try Derby House £7.99 foal head collars.


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## ilovecobs (14 June 2010)

I agree, i don't leave my horses head-collar on for the same reason, i do have one with rubber rings for turnout use as a just in-case but iv never used it, would much rather buy an extra head-collar than my horse get hurt.


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## Amymay (14 June 2010)

There seems to be an increasing number of foals wearing webbing headcollars
		
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Indeed - why??? They don't need to wear anything.  I can't get my head round people slapping anything on a foal's head the minute their born.........  Let alone turning one out in any form of headcollar/slip.


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## magic104 (14 June 2010)

It is probably just a case of people not realising the dangers.  I have never led a young foal off a foal slip, it has always been the rope system.  That is only because when I started out I was informed that if a foal pulls back, which they very often do, damage can be caused to their poll, or kneck.  It is all down to education, but the grounding is not always there.


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## Miramis (14 June 2010)

Glad to see this thread, as i just became a first time (brand new) foal owner yesterday! 

When is the best time to introduce a 'leather' headcollar to a new foal?

Cheers, Ang


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## Holly831 (14 June 2010)

I do turn mine out for the first couple of days with a leather slip on but only for the first 10/15 minutes and while I am watching them! - It is only for my benefit as I have found if you do it for a couple of days the foals are quite happy to have them put on / taken off in the field. After this I just pop it on and then off a few times just in case they forget 

I hate to see haynets/rugs/mum in a headcollar/foals in nylon slips etc as they are just an accident waiting to happen.

Another one (and only because of my experiences) is electric rope fencing and foals. I used to use it as my post and rail was falling down and rotten so when we first moved I had little choice and didn't think too much about it until I had a 6 month old with it wrapped around her back leg and cut through to her tendon. Apart from the large vets bill we thought we were going to lose her and it took many months to get her right, luckily apart from a scar around her leg (she has white legs so it's not obvious) she is now a happy, healthy 2 year old


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## Maesfen (14 June 2010)

amymay said:



			Indeed - why??? They don't need to wear anything.  I can't get my head round people slapping anything on a foal's head the minute their born.........  Let alone turning one out in any form of headcollar/slip.
		
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It's probably one of the very few times that I don't agree with you AM! 

If you are a one foal owner then it's not such a problem but if you have more together, then the fact they have h/c on IS a help if anything happens that you need to deal with; you also often don't have time to faff putting one on and off as many times the foal will be dancing around the mare just out of your reach while you have hold of the mare and vice versa which is compounded when there are other mares and foals in the field such as at a stud.  You need to be able to get to them, catch them and bring them out before the others decide to come too - and you try stopping youngsters that want to get through the gate too and into the next field before their dams when you're on your own, it's a recipe for disaster; I've seen too many accidents and panicking that way to want it to happen here.  While the foals are still coming in at night, they will wear one during the day while out only and it will be removed as soon as they're back in their boxes but until they're leading well alongside the mare without dragging back, it won't be used to lead from and only then either by a finger or a rope looped through, never fixed to the headcollar as a fixed rope is so dangerous if the foal does get away from you, a looped rope will slide through if stood on; I make mine from an old lunge line, just cut off both ends and cut in half, just make sure they're not made of nylon! 
I stress, my headcollars are always well fitting, well oiled and always LEATHER.    I refuse to use nylon headgear of any description unless I am holding a horse for vet or blacksmith, or, very rarely, washing it and I will never tie up a horse in nylon either.  Some people call the leather only rule here a snobby attitude but it's not, it's a safety attitude; I'd rather repair a bit of leather than have to deal with a broken neck.
Sorry for the essay but there are always different reasons why people do things and these are mine which have worked for me safely for many years; other people will have other ideas of course and as long as they're safe ideas - which nylon foalslips/headcollars aren't, then who are we to judge?


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## S_N (14 June 2010)

I'm completely with Maesfen on this one!  Also, when at stud, it is a good idea for the foal to have some kind of ID on it's headcollar (the mare should have too), then the risk of walking into a field full of bay mares and bay foals and putting the wrong 2 in a box together is minimised - believe me, it can and does happen!!

The MOST important thing to remember with ANY headcollar on ANY age of horse, is the fit!  Too small and it's uncomfortable for the horse, too big and it's dangerous, esp. on foals.  Foals often scratch their heads with their hind feet and some of the gaping fits on foal headcollars (esp around the nose) that I have seen recently, makes me cringe.


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## Amymay (14 June 2010)

It's probably one of the very few times that I don't agree with you AM!
		
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 LOL.

In Amymay's narrow little world - only the immediate experience is ever thought about - not the wider experience of others....... 

I can see how it would be beneficial - even vital - in larger number situations.  But for only one to say three foals, my experience is you just don't put a 'hat' on them.  Perhaps my experiences have been the exception, rather than the norm - but it has never been a problem.  And until the foal started becoming more independent of mum, certainly slips were never put on.  Even when they were - they were never, ever left on in the field, stable, or paddock.  

Like all things in life, I suppose we take our leads from experienced people around us - and I have been very lucky to be influenced by (imo) the best.  However, again with all these things, it's what works for the individual, and there are not necessarily rights or wrongs.

For me though - I simply can't bear to see these little wee things encoumbered (sp) by things they simply don't need - until they do need them.  The whole thing just, also, screams 'Accident Waiting To Happen' to me.


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## HilaryG (14 June 2010)

I am new to the forum and have been breeding for six years. I have bred between one and three foals a year.
I never leave a headcollar or foal slip on my mares or foals. 
I have used a large local stud on a number of occassions and understand that they have to leave headcollars on the mares so that there is no confusion over which mare they are serving or inseminating. However they never use anything on the foals.
If the foals are brought in I briefly put a leather headcollar on them but never leave them unsupervised.


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## hobo (14 June 2010)

Really helpful post as I worrying I was not using my foal slip enough but just using it when with foal seems to be the right choice reading these posts. Keep the bringing up baby questions coming.


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## not_with_it (14 June 2010)

I too never leave a headcollar on my foal. She began having one on in the stable for 20 minutes or so whilst I was grooming mum, she soon got used to it. Now she has one on when going out or coming in from the field and then taken off when we arrive at our destination, just like I do with the other horses. I have no problems putting it on or taking it off and she is even a little headshy.
Like SN said, my foal is always scratching her head with her hind leg or walking into the bushes, its just not worth the risk.


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## Spiderman (14 June 2010)

Agree with SN 100% re the fit.

I have one foal that literally plops her head into her foal slip to go in or out so I never leave it on in the field. The other tends to think slip time is game time and as I am by myself, I would struggle to get his slip on alone and hold his mother at the same time, so he has to have his left on...... but it fits.


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## jaypeebee (14 June 2010)

My foals have leather headcollars put on them the day after they are born.  It is easier to have these in place when you have a number of foals but I understand why the single foal breeder might chose not to put headcollars on their foals.  I have been considering this for a number of years and watching my foals over these years who all wear leather rather than nylon I am quite convinced that if a foal is going to run into trouble and get caught up it is doubtful that there is any difference in whether the foal slip is nylon or leather.  Certainly very young foals would not have the strength or enough weight to pull themselves out of trouble no matter what material the foal slip is made of.  I think more importantly than whether the foal wears a headcollar is making sure your fencing is safe and that your stables are clear from any obstacles that foals could get caught up on.  Sometimes on H&H I really do fear for some foals when we see photos of them in fields with substandard fencing and stables with many worrying articles in them.  Incidentally I have been slipping my foals for as long as I have been breeding and to date never had a mishap and I focus more on making sure other external factors are safe for them.


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## Laafet (14 June 2010)

We put head collars on at birth and they stay on all the time, in a perfect world I would prefer that we took them off when stabled but when you have 30+ mares to get ready for vet/turnout in the morning and just 3 staff to trust to be able to catch foal and put headcollar on properly and quickly then it is just not an option. Headcollars are checked twice daily even now with them being out. Ours all lead off headcollar from a few days old too and it is really frustrating when we get walk-ins that are basically feral and have no headcollar on. They come round very quickly thankfully.
But we would never ever use nylon headcollars on the foals, a leather one is so cheap anyway so why risk it? Having said that I was as a PC ODE at the weekend and saw horses tied to lorries in rope headcollars to the skirt of the lorry so the mind boggles as to what other people think is acceptable.


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## Maesfen (14 June 2010)

Laafet said:



			But we would never ever use nylon headcollars on the foals, a leather one is so cheap anyway so why risk it? Having said that I was as a PC ODE at the weekend and saw horses tied to lorries in rope headcollars to the skirt of the lorry so the mind boggles as to what other people think is acceptable.
		
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That reminds me of at Newport Show a few years ago.  We were walking down to the rings and the Fancy Dress competitors were coming out. One of those was a fantastic set up of Irish Tinker, complete with donkey in harness, all manner of things hanging from cart, lurcher under the wheels and 2 happy children led by an adult; the things (kettles and pans) hanging from cart were rattling as they would but nobody (other competitors or their ponies) had taken any notice of it until a horse that had been tied up to the steps of a wagon pulled back, broke the steps and with them still at the end of his rope had fled through the horse lines, through a fence and into the public areas where he felled several people with the steps banging about behind him.  It was utter carnage and a nightmare, several taken to hospital let alone the damage he caused to property; his legs were a complete mess too.  Nothing should be tied to a trailer or box at any time for just that reason, the unexpected happening but people think you're being over fussy by insisting it's not allowed although they'd be the very first to complain if it had happened to their horse.  I just wish people would think more, it would avoid a lot of accidents.


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## Jamana (14 June 2010)

We always used to only leave headcollars on once foals were weaned. An easy way to identify them in a field of 20+ mares and foals and weaned foals.

However the last few seasons we have had headcollars on the foals from day 2 out in the field. Whereas before they would be 'babied' to and from field/barn to stable, (arm around the neck and guiding hand behind) they start their leading practise earlier now. Like MFH we only use a finger in the headcollar and NEVER clip anything to it.It has really made a difference. Our foals are usually off to stud by 10 days, so not much time for leading practice and depending on which stud they go to depends on how tame they are when thay come home! But they do see to remember early leading practice and it has been great. They always went to stud with a headcollar for ID purposes anyway but now they know what it is on for!


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## Laafet (14 June 2010)

Jamana said:



			We always used to only leave headcollars on once foals were weaned. An easy way to identify them in a field of 20+ mares and foals and weaned foals.

However the last few seasons we have had headcollars on the foals from day 2 out in the field. Whereas before they would be 'babied' to and from field/barn to stable, (arm around the neck and guiding hand behind) they start their leading practise earlier now. Like MFH we only use a finger in the headcollar and NEVER clip anything to it.It has really made a difference. Our foals are usually off to stud by 10 days, so not much time for leading practice and depending on which stud they go to depends on how tame they are when thay come home! But they do see to remember early leading practice and it has been great. They always went to stud with a headcollar for ID purposes anyway but now they know what it is on for!
		
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Just to echo point about finger in the headcollar - we only lead foals with ropes once they get to a decent size and are getting hard to control at arms length! And we always use slip ropes on everything, have loads in different sizes to accomodate size of horse/handler. This is far safer than clip ropes.


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## Tharg (15 June 2010)

magic104 said:



			the rope system
		
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Is this the rope around the bum?

What is the difference between foal slip and headcollar or are they interchangeable phrases.


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## Serenity087 (15 June 2010)

Robinsons stock velcro headcollars for foals... tbh, I don't like them - any other opinions?

River got turned out... twice? With a slip on, and I refused to leave the side of the paddock (wouldn't even muck out, I know what they're like!) until it was off.  I actually found that going up to her, catching her and removing it helped her friendliness!!  She had to wear it for going out as a safety thing - I needed people to be able to grab her if needed because of the stupid woman on the yard!

Needless to say, she's 11 weeks and leading like a dream.

Still wouldn't turn out in a headcollar mind!  And I especially would never leave them alone with it on - I wouldn't even have peed without taking it off before I turned my back!


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## Maesfen (15 June 2010)

Tharg said:



			Is this the rope around the bum?

What is the difference between foal slip and headcollar or are they interchangeable phrases.
		
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A foal slip is literally a figure of eight joined by either a ring of brass or stitching the leather together.  If you lay it out flat, it's like a cross with two buckles one side, two fastening straps the other.  As such it doesn't have a lot of finesse in fitting whereas a foal headcollar should have buckle fittings on the nose, the throat and the head, same as any decent headcollar, just on a smaller scale.  The headcollar means you can fit it properly, day by day to the size of the head.  Foal slips only last a short while before they're outgrown and you need to go onto a headcollar anyway and they also have the disadvantage that some twist sideways over the face and eyes if the foal mucks about with you whereas a correctly fitting headcollar you shouldn't have that problem.  You can pick up decent but reasonable leather foal (any size you need TBH) headcollars on ebay or secondhand sales (where most of mine have come from in the past.  It is always worth paying a little bit more for English leather if you can get it/afford it as it lasts so well; I'm still using foal headcollars that are almost 25 years old as you don't actually use them for much longer than a few months each year before they're outgrown.  I also prefer H/Cs with a fixed central ring at the back rather than the slide along fashion because they are a bit more definite in control and I defy anyone to say they have not had moments with any horse, let alone a youngster, where they would like more controlcontrol!
Sorry for the essay!


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## not_with_it (15 June 2010)

I was debating whether to get a headcollar or foal slip. In the end I went for a headcollar as I dont like the dangly bit on the slips. I put the headcollar on just for leading as I would with any older horse. I also think its good practise for them to learn to stand in the field whilst you put on or take of the headcollar.


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