How to use a rope halter...

[chicory]

Hey all,
I'm new here - I live in WI and don't own cattle myself (yet) but have worked on a dairy and with my boyfriend's and brother's beef cattle. More of my experience is with horses.

I'm writing to ask a silly question, but does anyone have some tricks to help me remember how to correctly set up a rope cattle halter (the one-rope kind without any metal hardware.) For a class that I am taking, my final exam is to perform a physical exam on a cow, a horse, a goat, or a sheep (I'll find out when I show up for the exam.) I can get the halter on just fine when it's already set up, but our profs are not known for being kind or understanding - I've been told by past students that we'll be given halters that are all tangled up and if we can't quickly get one properly set up, then we are fair game for being ridiculed.

I know that the lead must be on the left and that the headstall and chinpiece are the only adjustable parts, but it seems like someone can aways find a way to ball a halter up or turn it inside out so that I can't fix it quickly. I *really* don't feel like being embarassed for this exam.

Thanks and hello!

 

[Ryder]

Only thing I can think of is get a halter and handle and study it a lot. Maybe get somebody to drill you by tangling it all up and letting you straighten it out. In other words, practice.

 

[novatech]

The lead rope goes through a loop and under the chin.
One side of that same loop goes over the nose and the other side of the loop goes behind the head. From behind the head it then goes back down through a loop,from the nose band, and back out as the lead rope.

 

[TxCoUnTrYbOy]

The lead always goes on the animals left side. Make sure that the loop that the lead goes through is facing down.

 

[Keren]

Make sure that the bit that tightens goes under the chin. I have seen kids put a halter on in ways that didn't seem possible! Chin piece around the ears, over the nose, and once the lead coming off the poll (don't know how they managed that) the poor old steer was not impressed!

Just practice and don't stress - I know plenty of experienced people (myself included) that occasionally have a 'blonde' moment and get one tangled!

 

[msscamp]

I'm writing to ask a silly question, but does anyone have some tricks to help me remember how to correctly set up a rope cattle halter (the one-rope kind without any metal hardware.)

It's been quite a while since I've had to sort out a rope halter, but I think you will find that if you grasp it at the loop where the 'lead' rope exits, it becomes easier to see what needs to be done to set it up for use. As other's have mentioned, rope halters aren't expensive - so buy one and play with it. Get someone else to ball it up, and experiment with ways to straighten it out.

 

[cattleluvr18]

practice makes perfect.

 

[Limomike]

The lead rope goes through a loop and under the chin.
One side of that same loop goes over the nose and the other side of the loop goes behind the head. From behind the head it then goes back down through a loop,from the nose band, and back out as the lead rope.

Nova has it right .....

 

[Little Cow]

If you really want to impress 'em, bring your own lariat and make a figure-eight with half behind the ears and chin and the other half over the nose with the honda underneath their chin. Works on all animals. ;-)

What the heck kind of class are you taking anyway? Did you know you'd have to work with livestock? Might want to find a friend with a farm and hang out there awhile to get to know the critters.