Collars, Tuesday Tip
What Breast Collar Works Best with a Fallen Crest?
Jun
Sometimes we have unforeseen issues pop up with our equines and fallen crests are one of them. These often occur after an equine has been obese and had a lot of fat on their neck crest. The weight of that fat can cause the crest itself to break and fall over.
Unfortunately this is not fixable. Once the crest has fallen over it will be that way for the rest of the animal’s life. You can certainly get the excess fat off them (and that should be a goal!) but the neck itself will always be folded.
So which breast collar will work best on this type of neck?
Unfortunately the kind of breast collar that has a wide collar cap (this is the part that lays across the top of the neck) will be difficult to fit to this type of neck. This would include the SuperFlex collar and the Comfy Collar (the SuperFlex and the Comfy Collar are BREAST COLLARS NOT REGULAR WORK STYLE COLLARS). Also, the Collar and hames style will not fit this type of neck well either – UNLESS the crest has fallen far enough forward that the collar can sit BEHIND the break.
So, that leaves us with the Standard Curve breast collar and the Deluxe style breast collar. Keep in mind that the Deluxe breast collar does not fit donkeys and mules very well. They are typically too narrow in the chest and shoulder to have that style breast collar sit correctly. We do make a special donkey standard curve breast collar that is both shorter and a little narrower to accommodate their shape. (This product will be available on the website as a separate product soon!)
The other style breast collar that would work well is the straight style breast collar, with the single neck strap and a permasoft pad. We don’t currently have these available separately from the harness set, but we can sell them separately if asked! The single style neck strap can hang a little nicer off the top of the neck if the crest has fallen over.
If you have any questions about your particular equine don’t hesitate to email me at mindy@chimacumtack.com.
What is the maximum weight I can have my halflingers pull using a curved breast collar, or do you recommend a field collar. We plan to do recreational trail riding and may have up to 10 people in the wagon at a time.
It’s less about the weight and more about the line of draft. If you have a low line of draft on your wagon then you will need a collar and hames type of collar. If you have a horizontal line of draft the breast collar will work just fine. I suspect if you are hauling up to 10 people at a time your wagon has a low line of draft and your horse will be happier and more comfortable with a collar and hames.
Mindy~