Which alpaca halter to buy – Part 1: The Zephyr
January 17th 2008 03:58
There are quite a few different types of alpaca halter out there on the market. Which you buy and use depends largely on your own personal preferences, the local availability and of course, your budget.
We’ve tried a few different types over the years and there are two types which get used around here (while the others lay collecting dust in the back of the tack cupboard).
The first one is the Zephyr halter. This halter was designed by Marty McGee Bennett, of Camelidynamics, who is a renowned trainer and author.
The Zephyr halter has an adjustable nose band and a buckle to fasten the halter round the back of the alpaca’s head. You can use this halter on a number of your alpacas. You just need to adjust the nose band to fit, and do up the buckle around the back of the neck so it is firm, but not too tight – your alpaca won’t work with you, if he has a splitting headache.
The halter is proportioned so that it will stay well up on the nose bone. This is important as an alpaca’s nose bone is very short, and if the halter is allowed to slip down off the bone and onto the cartilage, the alpaca’s airway can be cut off. Of course, this will cause the alpaca to panic and you’ll have a lot of trouble trying to lead him.
The Zephyr halter is extremely well made. It has strong, flexible nylon webbing and brass fittings. The halter comes in various sizes for little guys from 6 months, up to the largest adult llama. They also come in a bunch of bright colours, including a multi-coloured one.
A word on colours. I read somewhere (can’t remember where), that alpacas have a problem with red halters. Now, maybe whoever wrote that was getting confused with bulls! Or perhaps they did have an alpaca (or alpacas) who were afraid of red halters. In eleven years with alpacas, I’ve never met one who was afraid of a red halter. Sure, most are pretty scared of any halter until they get used to the idea, but my alpacas will wear a red one just as happily as any other colour.
So, this is one I’d recommend. It’s not a cheap halter, but I’ve never broken one (as happens with many of the ‘cheap’ ones), so you should get good mileage from it, Most importantly, this halter fits properly so it is safe to use.
Well worth the money.
We’ve tried a few different types over the years and there are two types which get used around here (while the others lay collecting dust in the back of the tack cupboard).
The first one is the Zephyr halter. This halter was designed by Marty McGee Bennett, of Camelidynamics, who is a renowned trainer and author.
Zephyr Alpaca Halter
The Zephyr halter has an adjustable nose band and a buckle to fasten the halter round the back of the alpaca’s head. You can use this halter on a number of your alpacas. You just need to adjust the nose band to fit, and do up the buckle around the back of the neck so it is firm, but not too tight – your alpaca won’t work with you, if he has a splitting headache.
The halter is proportioned so that it will stay well up on the nose bone. This is important as an alpaca’s nose bone is very short, and if the halter is allowed to slip down off the bone and onto the cartilage, the alpaca’s airway can be cut off. Of course, this will cause the alpaca to panic and you’ll have a lot of trouble trying to lead him.
The Zephyr halter is extremely well made. It has strong, flexible nylon webbing and brass fittings. The halter comes in various sizes for little guys from 6 months, up to the largest adult llama. They also come in a bunch of bright colours, including a multi-coloured one.
Madeline wearing a pretty purple Zephyr halter
A word on colours. I read somewhere (can’t remember where), that alpacas have a problem with red halters. Now, maybe whoever wrote that was getting confused with bulls! Or perhaps they did have an alpaca (or alpacas) who were afraid of red halters. In eleven years with alpacas, I’ve never met one who was afraid of a red halter. Sure, most are pretty scared of any halter until they get used to the idea, but my alpacas will wear a red one just as happily as any other colour.
So, this is one I’d recommend. It’s not a cheap halter, but I’ve never broken one (as happens with many of the ‘cheap’ ones), so you should get good mileage from it, Most importantly, this halter fits properly so it is safe to use.
Well worth the money.
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Comment by katyzzz
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Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
There are lots of halters out there, some great, others so-so, some are downright dangerous.
It is definitely more about training the human than training the alpaca. You need to get it right yourself first, before you can show the alpaca what to do.