Picture a loop that goes round a head or a neck and at the back. It does not grip and it does not go inside anything — it just sits there, and whatever it is round stays held. On a horse that loop is straps over the nose and behind the ears, with a rope for your hand. On a person the same loop goes round the neck, ties at the back, and holds up a top with nothing over the shoulders. One shape, two very different places to put it.
From the word’s history
The source traces halter to Middle English halter, Old English hælfter, and a West Germanic word meaning harness. The animal gear is the older use; the clothing is named after the same shape.
來源把 halter 追到中古英語 halter、古英語 hælfter，再往上到一個西日耳曼語表示「馬具」的字。所以馬具是這個字比較老的一面。衣服那個意思借的是同一個形狀的名字，這是形狀上的聯想，不是另一條字源。
Wiktionary, halter (etymology 1), supplied in packet (kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:1093162438)
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