I have to say meeting Mr. Dempsey was also pretty neat. You don’t expect to run into the company owner at a trade show!
This company has a culture of awesomeness that starts from the top, and it’s obvious when you meet one or both of the Dempsey brothers.
Yellow Dog Design began the Red Haute Horse halter in Greensboro, North Carolina in 2005. They create their own designs, and make everything in their facility. They employ local artists and workers, and donate to local rescues. You can order halters on their website, and find their dog collars in various pet boutiques (or have your local pet store order them for you) and in online stores. Red Haute Horse/Yellow Dog Design also guarantees their products and a simple contact is all it will take to get you going again should you experience an issue.
[note style=”5″ icon=”yes” class=”template-style”]We received product samples from the company mentioned above, however our opinions are our own and we are under no obligation to create a positive review or article. We do our best to use affiliate links when possible. Thank you for using them to help support this website.[/note] [heading style=”1″ color=”#3a5472″ style_color=”#3a5472″]Not Just for Little Horses![/heading]As you know, I have draft horses. I have to say, drafts are kind of left out in a lot of the fun things light horses get. I understand that for a long time drafts have been used primarily for work, and your average farmer isn’t likely to be into pink paisley, but times are changing!
Red Haute Horse line is, in my opinion, at the forefront of this market by offering all their designs in 3 large sizes that should fit just about every draft horse out there. So draft owners keep reading and check out my percherons in their halters!
“We look fantastic!”
[load_module id=”582″][heading style=”1″ color=”#3a5472″ style_color=”#3a5472″]Let’s Get to the Review[/heading]
Red Haute Horse was kind enough to send me 4 halters, including a custom one for my blind horse. The first thing I noticed when opening the box was how well made they are. The stitching is all very fine, the nylon is richly colored, and the metal pieces are all high quality.
I received 4 halters, sized Cob, Average and Large. Let me pause here and say, don’t just estimate based on other halters you have, or just by eye. Really measure. I say this as there was a miscommunication to one of my helpers, who estimated size and I got a halter that was too small because I chose the wrong size. Not terribly so, but not quite to my liking. You can adjust both the noseband and crown, which gives you much more versatility fitting various horses than many other halters out there.
You also can’t go by breed or overall size – my 14.2 Appaloosa mare was a bit tight in the cob, even with the halter horse type head, but it was a pretty good fit for the much larger 16.3 OTTB. So be sure to use the size guide on their site! It’s even on every halter page. If you get the wrong size, your horse just may give you stink eye, like my OTTB in a much too large halter.
[load_module id=”210″]“Really? You see nothing wrong with this?”
[heading style=”1″ color=”#3a5472″ style_color=”#3a5472″]Let’s see the halters![/heading]
The Cob halter came in the Flower Power print. The brass fittings certainly worked nicely on this print, and it had a fun 70s vibe.
“So I just have to stand here??”
It fit a bit tight on the appy mare, and nicely on the OTTB. The OTTB is secure in his masculinity in pink.
“Real men can wear pink, I thought you knew?”
The print is very fun, and looks great. It’s nice and bright, and looks good on different colors.
The Horse size halter fit just the way I like it on my older, larger appaloosa.
“What do you think?”
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I am very grateful to Red Haute Horse for this custom made design. It actually uses a design from their Yellow Dog Design “Caution” line.
As my horse is blind, and you can’t really tell when you see him with a flymask on that he has this condition, or when he’s just out for a walk. This has caused us some issues, which is why I asked if it could be made, and luckily the answer was yes! I have used this for in-hand time out, and under saddle with a Stark Naked Bit.
He’s so darn cute.
That’s one big plus of working with a small company that makes their own products. So far this halter has gotten lots of second looks, and allowed me to not only tell people about this great company, but about the different reason horses go blind, and that they can still have long, happy, useful lives.
Thanks again for custom making this one Red Haute Horse!
“I’m not blind but it still looks good on me!”
Now, we’re on to the drafts! The large size fit my draft mare just right, but I needed to step to Draft for the gelding. Both the Brown Kilt, and Blue Radiance patterns arrived in the large size. The Blue Radiance had Red Haute Horse’s breakaway feature. While it is not recommended to leave a halter on a turned out horse, sometimes it may be necessary, and this is where the breakaway feature comes in. You can see it in the following picture by the crown piece buckle – the light toned leather.
“The Brown Kilt was very nice on a black horse, even if she wasn’t being super cooperative.”
“I like the halter, I’m just not into a photoshoot.”
You know what they say about working with kids and animals.
[blockquote align=”right” pull=”yes” italic=”yes”]As a side-note – Yellow Dog Design has great Celtic designs in the dog collars! I hope more will make their way to the halters.[/blockquote]The Blue Radiance looked very nice on my larger percheron. You can clearly see the breakaway piece near the crown. It’s a great safety measure if you horse gets caught on a fence or tree. I have even heard of horses getting hooves caught in halters while scratching. I’m sure your veterinarian could tell you some horror stories. This would be a good safety feature for horses in training, or ones that have issues due to poor training or abuse. It’s important to have a breakaway piece on any horse that will be turned out with their halter, or have it on 24/7. Red Haute even has replacement pieces should you need them so you don’t have buy a whole new halter.
You can see that even extending each dimension this halter was a bit snug, so I should have asked for the Draft size. But the color is fantastic, and the design is really lovely. Even this horse’s male rider liked both Large designs. His only negative was that the lower piece with lead snap ring isn’t fixed at the front or back, and could move all the way to the cheek pieces. That is just a personal preference though. He commented several times about how nicely made they were and how the metal pieces are much better and sturdier than many of the other halters we have.
At the end of the day, I not only have no issue recommending these great halters to anyone, I have several on my wishlist, along with their matching dog collars! No one ever said, “I have too many halters” right? I not only love the product, but the people behind it. I always love supporting small businesses that are active in their community, and this company is no exception, supporting several local animal rescues. You can feel good buying their products, and you’ll love the way they look!
“Now people stop us on walks to ask what my halter means, but that’s okay. They usually end up bringing me a treat next time we meet. It also lets people know that I can’t see them and might accidentally hurt them if I get scared or upset.”
If you have a horse with vision issues and would like a halter like my guy has, please contact Red Haute Horse through their website or facebook, and let them know you saw our halter and would like a similar one. They’ll be happy to take care of that for you.
This halter has been fantastic for not only helping people understand that blind horses can still live long, happy, useful lives, but ensuring that people keep an eye out when interacting with him. Even people who know him well can get complacent because he just doesn’t ACT blind. Thank you again Red Haute Horse!