Bending Hames Vs Full Sweeney Collar

[DerekOToole]

I currently have a horse that has a full neck. His neck seems filled out the most about 1/4 way down from the top of the collar. I have managed to get away using a half sweeney collar with the top hame strap loosened as much as I can without unseating the hames. His neck has slimmed down a touch this winter with the help of some regular timber/firewood harvests and now hauling sap, so the fit of the collar is not as tight as during summer months when I cannot get a finger in between the collar and his neck. I am anticipating once grazing commences he will be right back to having the sides of his collar tight again.
I am currently using wooden hames and I am not sure which direction to go. Do I keep the wooden hames and order up a full sweeney collar or do I invest in some steel hames and attempt to custom bend them and let the half sweeney collar stretch?
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
-Derek

[Donn Hewes]

There are a few variables here. What type of horse is it? Stud? For his own healthy you may want to manage this weight gain to some extent, although this can be very difficult with some horses. In my limited experience with wood hames they don’t always fit collars as well as metal. Switching to a metal hames and possibly shorter, will not require custom bending. Shortening a hames (either with a different length or by adjusting), while extending the hames straps makes a collar a little wider and shorter. Are you using a pad? I will run a good pad slightly tighter than a collar with out. When you seat a tight collar on the neck and then lift it, it should not be dragging to lift it. Up close photos?

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