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Horse Headstalls - Page 1 of 2
Western horse headstalls come in two main types,
browband and
one ear. Our article and photos below describes the main parts of
both types of these headstalls.
Headstalls: What They Are, The Main Parts
| A
headstall for a horse is a hanger put on a horse's head used for holding a bit,
bosal, nose piece,
or other piece of equipment to control a horse while riding. When a
headstall is combined with a
bit (or bosal, nose piece, etc.) the
combination is known as a
bridle.
To the right is a photo of a bridle with a leather headstall. The
main parts of the headstall are:
- Crown piece. The crown piece goes over the top of the horse's
head, behind its ears. As the crown piece extends down the side of
the horse's head it meets up with the cheek pieces.
- The browband. Not all headstalls have a browband, but they are
very common. The browband goes in front of the horse's ears,
across the brow. Its purpose is to keep the headstall from sliding
down the horse's neck while riding.
- Throatlatch. Not all headstalls have a throatlatch, but they are
also very common. The throatlatch goes underneath the horse's head
behind the throat.
- Cheek pieces. The cheek pieces buckle onto the
crown piece then continue on
down each side of the horse's head, or cheeks. Cheek pieces have fasteners
of some type at the bottom in order to attach a bit, bosal, or nose
piece. The type of fasteners can vary widely.
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One Ear Headstalls
Western Headstalls also commonly have another style
(besides a browband) called a "one ear." Instead of a
browband,
one ear headstalls have an ear piece that goes around one of the horse's ears. It
serves the same purpose as a browband, which is to keep the headstall
from sliding back. A one ear headstall is shown in the photograph to the
right.
In the photo, notice that the ear piece is its own individual piece of
material (in this case, leather) and is designed to slide freely. This
allows the ear piece to be slid along the top of the headstall to the
best location to accommodate the horse's ear. In contrast, some one ear headstalls
have a split cut into the crown piece for the ear instead of a separate
piece. "Split ear" headstalls are frowned upon by many riders
because the split is not as adjustable as a separate ear piece and can
often rub a horse's sensitive ear.
There are also headstalls that have an ear piece for
each ear. Logically, these are called "two ear" headstalls. |
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Plain Or Fancy
Headstalls come in a nearly endless variety of styles made from a
wide variety of materials. Common materials include leather
and
horsehair, and synthetics such as
nylon and biothane or beta biothane.
Pictured at right is a leather one ear horse headstall. It is very plain but made of
excellent quality leather. It has inexpensive buckles on the throatlatch
and cheek piece (the buckle on the cheek piece is barely visible at the
right of the photo), no decorative
conchos or braiding, and the bit is
tied on at the bottom of the cheek pieces by pieces of leather string.
Although plain, this headstall has been in heavy use for years and is
still in excellent condition. |
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This
browband headstall is quite a bit fancier. It is made from
braided
horsehair, has fancy, engraved silver buckles on the
throatlatch and cheekpiece (again, the buckle on the cheek piece is
barely visible at the right of the photo), and engraved conchos where
the browband meets the cheek pieces and throatlatch. It also has three
horsehair tassles on each side. The bit is attached at the bottom of the
cheek pieces by fancy silver
Chicago screws.
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Horse Headstalls (you are on page 1 of 2)
Horse Headstalls - go to page 2 (How To Attach A Headstall To A Bit)
Great tips for using Chicago screws and leather strings. >>>
Where To Buy Headstalls
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