Dually Halters, do they work?

[ceecee]

Hi all,
comments please, do they work and are they worth the money? thanks in advance.

[flo1]

My friend has a bolshy Sec D colt and she swears by the Dually headcollar

[sevesstud]

Amazing piece of kit as long as they are in the right hands/you have been shown how to use one properly!

[fmt]

A friend of mine who has a large 3yr hunter bought one as he used to come in from the field on two legs, as soon as he started wearing it, it was like having a different horse he hasn't done it since.
She's also using it to break him with rather than a caveson and it's great for naughty loaders.

From my personal opinion they are definately worth it x

[sarahp]

But how to use it is the important thing, no bit of kit will work without the knowledge behind it.

[kellymarks]

I hope Mods don't mind me putting this up here. /We've had so many fantastic reviews for the Dually HOWEVER Sarah P is quite right, as with anything, you have to use it correctly.
I could write a little lesson to go with this as well sometime but first basic information of how to fit it (one I wrote earlier!)

Fitting the Dually Halter
Remember you have the Dually Halter on your horse as a training aid (as an alternative to a bridle, a chifney, a lunge cavesson, a flat halter, rope halter with knots or a halter with a chain over the nose).
The reason you are using the Dually is because it won’t damage or desensitise your horse’s mouth, it doesn’t dig in anywhere or work on very sensitive areas of the horse’s face, it doesn’t use excessive poll pressure and fitted correctly it won’t slip around the horse’s face so you gain more accuracy and control of the horse with less compression than most other options .

'Fitted correctly' is the key phrase here. If you don't take the time to fit the dually correctly, then it will not work the way that's intended. It is best to take a little extra time getting the fit exactly right if you really want the Dually to help give you excellent results with your horse.

It might take a little while to get used to it needing to go a little higher than you would fit a standard headcollar. This is because the Dually Halter is NOT intended to work on the soft part of the nose. In fact, the upper nose band part should nearly reach the bottom of the horse’s cheekbone to be in the correct position. To fit it this high sometimes it is necessary to undo not only the band across the nose but also the band underneath the chin, fit the Dually high enough by adjusting the headpiece and then do the two lower bands up to secure the Dually firmly but not tightly on the horse’s face. A rough guide would be to ensure you can place two fingers in any section of the Dually and the horse can relax his jaw, but still the Dually won’t slip around on the horse’s eye if pressure is applied on the line from any angle.

If you are worried your horse or pony is very sensitive you may wish to purchase a natural sheepskin guard (available from the IH office) to go over the acting part of the noseband. This is generally not necessary but horses that are long lined off the Dually with strong changes of direction could conceviably get rubbed and so this would be an option.

Remember you NEVER tie a horse up using the schooling ring of the Dually Halter. This is because if the horse pulls back the schooling ring will continue to tighten across his face and could damage his face. It should be noted even on a normal halter, tying a horse to somewhere with no safety break can result in a damaged poll and broken neck and no horse should be tied up until he has been taught how to lead and to tie.

Horses should never be loose in a stable or field with a Dually (or anything other than a 'fieldsafe headcollar') in case they get caught up in anything. If you wish to travel your horse in a Dually as many people do, just ensure you tie up to the correct (non schooling) ring and that here is nothing in the horsebox that the other rings could get caught up in. If your horse is going to eat hay on his journey (recommended) it is advisable to loosen the Dually off under the chin a few holes so he can move his jaw comfortably. The rings on the Dually will bend or even break under extreme pressure but this should not be relied upon. The Dually Halter is not sold as 'breakable' and 'fieldsafe' as it for the most part training and safety equipment.

[mcnaughty]

They are very good - I had a very bolshy mare and it sorted her out! However ... there is a family up my yard who keep leaving the bloody think on their mare in the field and in the stable over night! It gives me kittens thinking about what would happen if she got it caught on something!

[workingcob]

Yes, by far the most useful piece of kit we have on the yard

[AnnieRoseSplash]

yep they work fab if you follow the instructions/watch the dvd that is sent with the dually.

[mellymoo]

I wouldn't be without mine - it really helps to tame my wild beast when he wants to drag me around!

[5874julie]

just bought a dually from ih and didn't get a dvd?

[ceecee]

Thank you everyone, I have just ordered one from IH and it says it comes with a dvd.

[ccrider77]

Dually halters are good but u have 2 knw how to use them x

[celticcob]

I have seen a dually on a headstrong connie make absolutely no difference. I was kindly gifted a be-nice halter by a friend for my baby cob. It works wonders! i dont have to do anything, teaches him that any pressure on the headcollar is unacceptable and as a result he handles like a dream. I personally prefer it to the dually as the Be-nice lets the horse teach himself and is very easy to use, i now use it all the time on the cob and have not had a barge,push or pull since fitting it