A study that looked into the use of headcollars for horse polo, racing and other riding activities has found that injuries were reduced by wearing tack made of leather.
The study, published by Equine Veterinary Education, found that wearing any safety headcollar reduced the likelihood of injury, but to what degree this was reduced depended on the material it was made from.
Leather headcollars provided more protection than webbing, for example, but there is astonishingly little research that has been undertaken, and more information is needed on how to safely fit a horsecollar and which safety features are the most important before buying any tack.
The study looked at 5,615 horse owners, and of these respondents, just under a third (31 per cent) had experienced a horse being injured as a result of wearing a headcollar, with the risk of injury increasing by 70 per cent when the horses were tied up.
Most of these injuries took the form of cuts and bruises. However, 134 fractures were reported in the study.
The safety and welfare of horses is incredibly important, and the ideal safety headcollar will provide a balance of being strong enough to safely handle and lead a horse, but also able to release if they are startled or in trouble, avoiding the risk of injuries.
Given that many horse injuries are caused either by the force a headcollar places on their head during a fall or restricting their movement in case of a panic, which can cause them to thrash about and potentially hurt themselves against the restraint.
The study highlights that research needs to continue to find that balance.