Racing and Sales Halters for Thoroughbreds

A yearling walks into the sale ring for about two minutes. In that time, buyers judge the horse, and everything on it. The halter is the one piece of equipment every buyer sees up close, from the barn walk to the hammer.

The Kentucky Sale Halter, our most popular sale halter.

For more than four decades, consignors, farms, and trainers have trusted that piece of equipment to a shop on Main Street in Paris, Kentucky. Quillin Leather & Tack has built racing and sales halters for the thoroughbred industry since 1982. Today 16 craftsmen turn out more than 17,000 halters a year, stitched on century-old Campbell machines. English bridle leather, solid brass hardware, craftsmen's hands, polished nameplates and a reputation that's just as good as the halters!

Here is what goes into a Quillin halter, and how to get the right ones on your horses in time for the sales.

Why the thoroughbred industry has used Quillin halters since 1982

Horsemen buy what holds up. A halter on a thoroughbred gets pulled, leaned on, rubbed against stall doors, and shipped across the country. It has to look sharp on sale day and still be sound years later.

That is the standard Quillin's has built to since 1982:

• English bridle leather. Dense, well-finished leather that takes a shine and wears in instead of wearing out. Keep it that way with our leather care guide.
• Stitched on Campbell machines. Our stitchers are more than a century old. They lay down a tight, even lock stitch that newer equipment still can't match.
• Made by hand, in Kentucky. Sixteen craftsmen cut, crease, stitch, and finish every halter in our shop at 716 Main Street in Paris, in the heart of Bourbon County horse country. Come see it for yourself on a shop tour.
• Built at scale, not mass-produced. We make more than 17,000 halters a year. Each one still passes through the hands of people who know what a sale-day halter should look like.

We have outgrown five Main Street buildings since we opened. Every move came for the same reason: the farms and consignors down the road kept asking for more.

Sales-prep halters: what consignors want for Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton

A sale halter has one job: present the horse. Consignors at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton tell us the same things, year after year.

The Classic Sale Halter: single-ply nose, adjustable chin.

A clean, correct fit. A yearling's head is still changing. The halter should sit just below the cheekbone and leave a finger's room at the noseband. Too loose looks sloppy in the ring. Too tight rubs during a long week of showings. Our halter sizing guide walks you through measuring, from weanling to mare.

Leather that photographs well. Buyers take pictures and video at the barn. A well-finished bridle leather halter catches light and reads as quality on a phone screen.

A matched barn. When every horse in the consignment wears the same halter, the barn looks organized and serious. Buyers notice, even if they never say so.

Hardware that won't fail. Sale week means hours of walking, standing, and handling. Buckles and rings need to hold through every showing.

Identification at a glance. An engraved name plate with the farm name, or the horse's name or hip number, saves time for grooms, showmen, and buyers alike.

Shop all of our sale halters, including the Kentucky, Classic, and Claiborne™ styles.

The major North American sales run on a familiar calendar. Plan your halters around the sales you're consigning to:

A sale-day halter is not a throwaway. Many buyers ask to keep the halter the horse sold in. A good one goes home with the horse and stays in use for years.

Racing and shipping halter options

Once a horse leaves the sale grounds, the halter's job changes. On the backstretch it is daily working equipment. On the van or the plane it is the one thing a handler can grab in a hurry.

The Track Halter: 1⅛" heavy bridle leather, lined crown, triple-stitched nose.

Racing halters take the daily wear of the shedrow: grooming, hotwalking, the walk over to the paddock. Trainers want a halter that stays supple, cleans up fast, and carries the stable's look into the saddling enclosure, where owners and cameras are watching.

Shipping halters need to stay comfortable for hours and stay put when a horse throws its head in the trailer. Fit matters more here than anywhere. Many shippers pair a leather halter with a fleece or sheepskin noseband and crown piece to prevent rubs on long hauls.

Lead shanks finish the set. We make leather lead shanks to match our halters, so the horse leaves the barn in one consistent look. The 12-link Sale Shank is a Keeneland favorite.

The Sale Shank, 12-link chain, brown or black.

Not sure which style or size fits your program? Call the shop. We talk halters with trainers every day.

Custom Logo engraving and stable branding

Your silks identify you on the track. Your halters can do the same thing in the barn, the sale ring, and every photo that ends up online.

Solid brass name plates, deeply engraved and hand-polished in our shop.

We build custom halters around a farm's identity:

• Color. Medium Brown and Brass or Rich Black and Stainless Steel.
• Hand Polished Nameplates.Engraved plates with the farm name, horse's name, or both.
• Consistency across the barn. The same look on every horse, from weanlings to broodmares to horses in training.

Branding pays off where the money moves. A consignment in matching, well-kept halters tells a buyer that the horses were raised with the same care. A trainer's string in stable colors looks like a program, not a collection of horses.

It also pays off later. When a horse you raised wins a stakes race years from now, there's a fair chance it will walk back to the barn in your halter.

Ordering in volume for a sale season

The most common mistake we see is ordering too late. Fall is our busiest season. Allow 3+ weeks for custom-made halters, and four to five weeks for black halters. (Here's why a custom halter is worth the wait.)

Work backward from your first showing day:

1. Count your horses. List every horse you're consigning, plus spares for halters that get broken or go home with buyers.
2. Measure. Yearlings, two-year-olds, and broodmares need different sizes. Note any horse that runs large or small. Use our size chart.
3. Decide on color and nameplates. Settle your halter color and the wording for plates before you call. Email plate engraving information - phone orders with engraving info in our busy shop is time consuming and error prone - Think how Bs, Cs and Ds sound to Sandee or Debbie, on the phone,  in a shop that humming with activity. Yes we are in One Building and customer service is not separated from production.
4. Order early. For a fall sale, place the order at least a month before horses ship to the sale grounds. Earlier is better for large or custom orders.
5. Check on arrival. Fit each halter and check the spelling when it arrives, so there is time to swap a size before sale week. Custom and engraved items are non-returnable, so double-check sizes and plate wording when you order.

Farms that consign at several sales often place one order for the full season. It keeps the look consistent from the summer yearling sales through November.

Common questions

What leather do you use for racing and sales halters?
English bridle leather, stitched on century old Campbell stitching machines in our Paris, Kentucky shop.

How long does an order take?
Allow about three weeks for custom-made halters and four to five weeks for black halters. Plan extra time September through December. See our shipping and returns page for details.

Can you match my farm Logo?
Yes. Send us vector art and we can digitize your logo. Complicated logos will not translate well to a 3/4 inch wide brass plate.  We will let you know the cost and time involved on custom logos

Do you add nameplates?

Yes. Plates can carry a farm name, a horse's name, or both. Breeding plates add the sire and dam or farm name on a second line.

Can I order for a whole consignment?
Yes. We build volume orders for farms, consignors, and trainers every sale season.

Do you ship outside the U.S.?
Yes. We ship halters to farms worldwide. See our international shipping options.

Order your sale-season halters

Donna and Ralph Quillin.

Call the shop at 859-987-0215, shop halters online, send us your catalog hip numbers or stop in at 716 Main Street in Paris, Kentucky. Tell us how many horses, which sales and need by date. We'll take it from there.