Halter sizes

[aldercreek]

Hello!

I have seen this posted before but I can't for the life of me find it.

Our dexters come home in a couple weeks and we've been told calf halters will fit them. Everywhere locally has no calf halters in stock. We're going to have to use horse halters. What is the size of horse halter that would be equivalent to a calf sized halter?

Thank you!

[zephyrhillsusan]

I've bought halters from Mini Cattle Supply before.  I prefer the way they fit Dexters to the way horse halters work, but I've used foal halters with adjustable chin straps for calves.  They tend to have narrower nylon straps on the foal halters than they do on the cattle halters, so I find them less sturdy.

That being said, I really discourage people from leaving halters on cattle unless it's for training purposes, for a short time in a controlled space that you have carefully "proofed."  Too many things in barnyards and pastures can catch on halters and create problems.  I've heard of cases where a cow tried to scratch its head with a hind hoof, which they do, and caught a claw on the halter and ripped off the claw.  (The halters don't give.)  They stretch in the rain and can get looser than they should be, which creates additional risks.

The rope training halters are great, easy to put on and take off as needed, and they give better control for training. 

[aldercreek]

We've owned livestock before and don't leave halters on, but thanks for the reminder! We also don't have time to order them, but I will look into those for future use.

So a foal sized rope halter will do then? These are for 9 ish month heifers and yes, for training purposes.

[zephyrhillsusan]

The rope halters I provided the link to are made for cows. If you mean the rope halters like the Clinton Anderson-Parelli kind for horses, I would think you'd want bigger than foal-sized. I have used nylon foal halters for young Dexter calves, but I think you might want a bigger size for 9-month olds. The reason those particular nylon ones worked was because they had buckles under the chin so I could make them big enough. Can you possibly pick up a few different size horse halters, eyeball them against the cattle and pick the best size to keep, then return the others?

The one problem you're likely to have is that many horse halters are too narrow in the muzzle for the shape of a bovine face, so they might not work unless they have adjustable buckles under the chin. If they do, you can probably make them work. The more adjustable areas there are, the better chance they'll work.

I do see that Tractor Supply carries cattle halters, both rope and nylon, so they might have what you need if you have one near you. If it's any help, my full-grown cows usually take a size 4 or 5 in the Mini Cattle halter sizes (different ones with different builds), but I can't tell you the equivalent in horse halter sizes. Sorry I can't be more help.

[aldercreek]

We're in BC, Canada so no tractor supply. Every single tack/feed store in our area is sold out of calf/cattle haters and we no longer have time to order. All the horse halters have adjustable noses. Guess we will have to try a few and see what works.