Whether you are bringing your first horse home, or have a barn full, it quickly becomes evident that horse halters are one of the most important pieces of equipment you will use. When shopping for the right one, you will find a variety of options and styles, from rope halters, nylon halters or leather horse halters. Finding the right fit for you in price, quality and function can make caring for your equine friends easier.

Leather horse halters have long been the choice of professionals. These pieces come in every price range, starting at economy pricing anyone can afford up to highly embellished show halters. When going into a professional barn, you will often see leather halters hanging beside the other tack. A higher quality leather halter can last nearly a lifetime if taken care of properly. Pairing this with a nice lead will give you the extra edge you want to pull of the show look.

Leather horse halters do have to be conditioned periodically to maintain the clean appearance, and over time will become more supple. In addition, if certain pieces of leather horse halters break, it can usually be repaired fairly easily. Leather halters can also have a name plate applied, which makes identification easier with many horses.

Nylon halters are widely available, and the most common type of horse halters. Not all nylon halters are created equal. There are economy halters, but often these lack a safety breakaway. When working with young or unpredictable horses, the less expensive halters are simply not as safe. If your horse is tied and tried to get away, not being able to safely release your horse can be frightening.

A good quality nylon halter makes a great everyday halter, as it can be cleaned easily and is not expensive. Nylon horse halters are not affected in bad weather either. Every horse owner needs to keep a spare halter, and this is an inexpensive choice.

Rope halters are growing in popularity for training. These don't work as well for everyday handling and typing, but teaching your horse to yield to pressure is much easier to do with this. These halters are a rope with knots in pressure points that works to train your horse how to partner with you.

Whatever horse halters you decide are right for you, make sure that you have the right size and features. The best way to find out what size works well is to try a halter on your horse. If none is available, measure with some hay string. The nosepiece should come just below the cheekbones on your horse.