Halters for Packers.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

I am starting to look for a halter for Legion and am wanting to get some input in on the size I should be looking for. I found this cool side that actually has hunter orange but need to know the size. As its dark right now, figured id post the question here. Check out the site and see if you agree with their sizing. Thanks

http://www.forminisonly.com/catalog/item...322325.htm

Also found this neat little site for lead ropes. I sent an email to them to see if they can custom make a bigger goat lead the the one they have listed. Will see what kinda reply I get from them.

http://www.rope-and-rope-products.com/HTML/leads.html

If anyone has a good source for either a lead or halter that work great for packers, please let me know. thanks

[IdahoNancy]

Dave, Seriously consider a rope halter. You can talk to Rex at Northwest Packgoat Supplies. These halters can be easily adjusted to fit the goats head, come in a multitude of colors, give max control should it ever be needed. They look better blocking less of the goats face which I would imagine would be less irritating. Check them out.
IdahoNancy and the Oberpackers.

[Nanno]

If you prefer to stick with normal buckle halters, the best by far are the ones from Sopris Unlimited:
http://www.soprisllamas.com/llamax.html

They're cheaper than the ones you're looking at, Dave, and the best bit is that they have rings on the side of the noseband, which is something almost no other goat halter has. Since I drive my goats, this is a must. It's also just one more option for attaching a lead rope. Cuzco wears a size 5 halter. Legion might need to wear a size 6 unless you plan to buckle it behind his horns instead of behind the ears, in which case a size 5 might do nicely.

Rope halters might be wonderful if you're clever. Apparently I'm not. I've never been able to use them with any kind of success, and since I only use them on horses in training, I'm rather deathly afraid of getting my fingers torn off while trying to fasten them (I've heard of it happening before, and I'm clumsy enough I'm pretty sure it could happen to me). I can never get them tight enough, and I take so long to get the knot right that I'd never be able to wrangle it onto an impatient goat. In my personal opinion they also look too "busy" on an animal's head (sorry Idahonancy--there's just no accounting for my poor taste in halter fashion!).

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

So what size do you have for Cuzco?

[deschutes dawn]

I use rope halters. Like them because of ease of use and my boys don't mind them as much as the nylon ones I have. A friend is tying some for me so everyone will have their own.

[Nanno]

So what size do you have for Cuzco?

I'll just say this again with emphasis added...

"Cuzco wears a size 5 halter. Legion might need to wear a size 6 unless you plan to buckle it behind his horns instead of behind the ears, in which case a size 5 might do nicely."

You people who use rope halters make me feel like a clumsy doofus. You probably think my shoes fasten with velcro.

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

OOPS my bad. But what do you expect? You didnt actually think I read your ENTIRE post did you

[Huckleberry]

We have the rope halters from NW Packgoat. They adjust really well for each animal. For the leads we found they were cheaper and better quality to make ourselves. We bought the rope and swivel clips from Home Depot, tied and burned the edges. They have last 4 years and going strong. We use the left over rope for highline.

[deschutes dawn]

Well, Nanno, Velcro is super fast for busy people.

[IdahoNancy]

The loop on the rope halter can be shortened. I have found it very handy to loop over my elbow while I'm digging in or adjusting a goat pack. The goat stands still while I still have both hands free. Dave asked for opinions, we never have a shortage of them. That's the fun of it.