Protecting a horse's head in a trailer

[jenm]

I am looking for head protection for my TB while trailering. It seems there are a lot of choices out there, so I thought I would check with the COTH bunch and hopefully get some feedback on the brands you use/like.



Thank you!

[goodhors]

We use the leather and 1/2" felt lined head bumpers. Neoprene ones offer little in cushion, can hold in heat during summer. A thick hood can offer cushion for winter hauling if horse won't overheat. Horse can make a lot of heat balancing in trailer.

Our horses wear head bumpers every trip. Always have.

Check your trailer, remove sharp edges, rough spots in the manger area to get caught on. I have seen lots of things to damage horse head and face on in trailers. Used to be much worse with cheap trailers from the west, unfinished welds, pop rivets holding trim or windows in place. Angle iron frame, overhead channel with places to catch on.

Go check your trailer for problems, head bumper only protects the poll from impacts.

[jenm]

Great advice, thank you! My trailer is in great shape, but I'm going to inspect the insides thoroughly just to be sure.

Did you order yours online?

[sublimequine]

I have one of the neoprene ones because I do like how it's a bit 'floppy' and molds better than the leather, but honestly in the future I don't plan on getting another neoprene one.

Whenever I decide to replace my current one, I think I'll get this:

http://www.saddleshop.com/cgi-bin/shopper.exe?preadd=action&key=07-0845&reference=/cgi-bin/shopper.exe%3Fsearch%3Daction%26keywords%3D%22head %22%26searchstart%3D45%26template%3DTemplates%5CSe archResult.html

[lilblackhorse]

I vote the leather with felt, but the neoprene is not a bad choice either. I went to the link above....I'm not sold on that for total protection (at least in my case).

My horse got in the habit (because of a sore hock, long story) of coming off the slant load, step down at Warp 8. As his hind leg went down the step, his head would go up and he whacked his head quite nicely several times---scary yes. The leather has some big dents in it...I like that the leather (or full coverings) protect the forelock area as well, not just the poll. You never know the angle their head will be when they whack up high. That's my experience--I'm glad I always hauled with it.

(He'd never been a bad unloader and the one day he rocketed back out the back I was thankful we had the "hat" on him.) (Another reason to have a trailer when they can turn around and walk out forwards)

[trilogy]

I use one of these www.equifacesaver.com. Really thought they looked silly at first but caved and bought one. Now after using it I love it

[lilblackhorse]

see, that's awesome....if you're gonna do it, do it and cover more rather than less. My horse never went down his face when he whacked the door jamb, but he could have. That's a great hat!

[Mariequi]

Guess I'll start saving...

[Kementari]

I use one of these www.equifacesaver.com (http://www.equifacesaver.com). Really thought they looked silly at first but caved and bought one. Now after using it I love it

I LOVE this - I have one who explodes as soon as her hind foot leaves trailer (even on a ramp load, she does it when her foot leaves the ramp to go that inch down onto the ground :confused:) and has a bad habit of cutting herself right above her eye, and all the training and practice in the world hasn't helped - but I have to say that I think it's far cheaper to let her turn around and come out frontwards... :eek:

[trilogy]

It is more expensive then the others. But a fraction of the cost of vet bills. My horse is a nervous shipper after being in 2 accidents. ( why he gets on a trailer at all baffles me). he has nerve damage from hitting his head and don't take any risks with him.

[lilblackhorse]

kem, I would have turned mine around if I'd had the room, but alas, it was a rear tack room. My guy used to be great at backing out sanely until he had a hock infection ,and that day he got out at the vet and landed on his sore leg, it was never the same again. He forever afterwards bolted backwards---would then step down, and the head would shoot up. It was scary as hell, and I hated it.

But a hat for us was cheaper than a new trailer......that one is sweet for sure.

[Kementari]

DEFINITELY cheaper than a new trailer! ;) Luckily or me, the horse is small and I haul without a divider, so she can turn around. We're still working on learning to back out (and using a traditional head bumper), because I think it's a skill all horses should have - and because I cannot come up with ANY reason that she should have an issue with it. She's never had a bad experience getting out of a trailer (and I know this for sure because I've owned her her entire life!)... :sigh: Horses.

[Blueskidoo]

I have the equiface saver too. It works great. I bought it after I spent $900 getting my girls face stitched back together. She was wearing a leather & felt traditional head bumper at the time of the accident.

[Romany]

Someone on TOB posted a Youtube video relatively recently; a bit gruesome, as it shows the aftermath/rescue from a horse trailering accident in Europe (the horse walks away OK, so it's not too awful, I guess).

Anyway, in that video the horse is wearing a neat padded head protector that reminded me of the ear/head protector that boxers wear - it looked like similar material, and covered much of the halter, plus around the eyebrows, etc.

Anyone ever seen one of those? I tried searching the European Ebays, but as my European vocabulary for head protection is nil, I didn't get too far!

In the meantime, we use the heavy felt-lined leather ones that are like little caps, with ear-holes, and they've done OK so far.

[Kementari]

A vet I worked for once had big padded head protectors that he used if he had to knock a horse out (like for gelding) on hard ground. They covered the same area that a racing hood would, but were 1"-1.5" thick (as I recall) closed-cell foam. The idea was to keep from scraping or bruising the sensitive parts of the head when they went down and while they were laying motionless. We also used one on a horse whose face had been injured in a trailering accident and needed to be protected as she was hauled again to get to a clinic for surgery.

I don't know if the things were designed for vet use or if he just found them and liked them, though...

ETA: Here it is: http://www.jupitervetproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=135

[jenm]

Wow, lots of good suggestions here, thanks everyone!

My girl unexpectedly flew out of the trailer last weekend and her head came and while it hit the trailer, she didn't break any skin. That was enough to scare me and make me search immediately for something to protect her head.

She's a nervous hauler as it is. I'll feel so much better knowing her head (and legs) are protected.

[sublimequine]

I vote the leather with felt, but the neoprene is not a bad choice either. I went to the link above....I'm not sold on that for total protection (at least in my case).


I agree that the t-style one I linked to isn't for everyone. But in my case, my mare is barely 15hh and always rides in fairly tall trailers, so if she wanted to hit her head, she'd probably have to rear to do it. Also, she sweats like a pig most times in a trailer, so the t-style "breathes" more than the traditional head bumper does.

[Lori B]

Someone on this board had a great idea (can't remember who...) about putting some padding on the trailer itself -- they suggested taking those dense foam pool noodles and cutting a slit down them lengthwise and then using the noodle to cover the upper edge of exposed surfaces -- the top above the door, the top edge of the doors, etc. This way it's harder for horses to cut or bang themselves on the edges. I thought it sounded genius.