Baler twine loops = new idea?

T

Tickles

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 April 2009
Messages
3,021
Visit site
I'm relatively new to horses (6 years?) so have never tied to anything other than baler twine - although, to be fair, some of it wasn't thinned.

Is it a new idea to have a point of failure to save horses from what happend to another user's on here? I do remember seeing a post suggesting that some people (in Australia?) tie young horses to a firm fixing and let them panic for hours until they learn that pulling back is useless but I'd assumed that was few, far between and not what people do in the UK much at all.

Reading about the accident really drove home the reasons behind the twine thing but also I noticed how supportive many people were of the user (notable exceptions I know but I mostly come on here for four-legged stuff so haven't read the thread on that). Now HHO isn't usually a place where people don't tell others they disagree with their methods so I was wondering - do most people tie to twine or not? Has this changed?

Disclaimer: historical interest only - no judgement intended on user with accident/people replying to her/anything else at all really!
 
Not many people ever tie horses to twine here . They are taught not to pull by struggling and pulling on a hard fixed hitching post. Sometimes people use strong rubber tubes for teaching your horses to tie so it has some give but pulls them back in and does not break.




I am not the horse whisperer but I think teaching a horse that it can break free with ease does NOT teach it to tie quietly and is not always the best idea for long term success where tying is concerned..


Any horse can panic when tied ( even one who has been taught to tie well) and in many cases it would be better if they did NOT break free.
Freak accidents and horses seem to go hand in hand. Where you prevent one thing they will find another. Many of them seem to be on continual suicide missions and I suppose it is their flight nature to blame.
 
I like to tie to thinned baler band,previous experience with horse pulling back,the leadrope broke first
crazy.gif
(he put head down got rope over his ears and when he lifted his head back up went beserk when the rope tightened,all i could do was step back and hope and pray the twine snapped,it didnt the leadrope did first
crazy.gif
),however am looking at buying some of the quick release elastic thingies,baler band should only be used thinned,it is such a strong material!!
 
Tickles, I rarely tie up at all. I do use baler twine loops but on the rare occasions the horses are connected to them they are on a quick release knot and I never leave their sides - I just happen to need two hands free to do whatever I am doing. I tack up loose in the stable, groom loose in the stable - you get the picture.

Baler twine is a often forgotten recipe for disaster - not that I am suggesting for one minute that this happened on this sad occasion - but the number of people who tie up their horses and then just walk away from them horrifies me. I found one tied to a loose loop of baler twine that was in turn wrapped around a telegraph pole at foot level the other day - the potential for injury was enormous. This wasn't some pikey pony at the side of the road either - it was a numpty at my yard.
 
i rarely used to tie to twine, but started just after xmas, when my horse pulled down a fence in panic. However, he now knows how easy it is to break free from being tied to twine
smirk.gif
 
I've got one of those rubber elastic things after having a few incidents where my twine hasn't snapped. They are good, but this one broke a little too easily recently. Still very good though and at £2.50 I'll be replacing it with another
smile.gif
 
They are taught not to pull by struggling and pulling on a hard fixed hitching post.

I did that with my baby,didnt want to post it in case i got shot,but what the hell,he respects been tied up and the only episode i have had with him pulling back was the episode with the rope over his head,and that was blind panic!
 
[ QUOTE ]
They are taught not to pull by struggling and pulling on a hard fixed hitching post.

I did that with my baby,didnt want to post it in case i got shot,but what the hell,he respects been tied up and the only episode i have had with him pulling back was the episode with the rope over his head,and that was blind panic!

[/ QUOTE ]


Mine all stand like rocks too
tongue.gif
( not that something could never happen *knock on wood* )
I had a "cowboy"
tongue.gif
tell me I have "good bar broke horses"
grin.gif
 
QR
It seems to me a very British thing to tie a horse to a breakable/movable object... for my continental brain it defies the logic - surely, when you tie a horse up you want it to stay there, not just walk away...

Please, bear in mind this post is a tongue in cheek reply (before I get crucified).
I tie up my horses to a tying ring on a sunk in post or solid brick wall.
 
Lol,i must remember that saying,sounds better than i tied him to a tree
grin.gif
lmao
I did it with mine at 8mnth old though so he wasnt strong enough to do damage to himself,i tied him to a rope around a tree and stuffed a hose on him to bath him,he wriggled around for a couple of mins realised i wasnt hurting him and that he couldnt get away from it,and enjoyed it when he stood still and got his scrub
smile.gif
,the most he did after that was walk backwards and forwards as soon as the rope pulled tight he went the other way,lol...he'd learnt it wouldnt break,and he had to stay put till i was finished
smile.gif
 
The logic doesn't make sence I agree. But having had a near-miss when Darcy couldn't get away I'd have voted for him walking away any day .
(Not aimed in any nasty way , shape or form
smile.gif
)
 
[ QUOTE ]
Lol,i must remember that saying,sounds better than i tied him to a tree
grin.gif
lmao
I did it with mine at 8mnth old though so he wasnt strong enough to do damage to himself,i tied him to a rope around a tree and stuffed a hose on him to bath him,he wriggled around for a couple of mins realised i wasnt hurting him and that he couldnt get away from it,and enjoyed it when he stood still and got his scrub
smile.gif
,the most he did after that was walk backwards and forwards as soon as the rope pulled tight he went the other way,lol...he'd learnt it wouldnt break,and he had to stay put till i was finished
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]


Sounds like sensible training methods to me
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
The logic doesn't make sence I agree. But having had a near-miss when Darcy couldn't get away I'd have voted for him walking away any day .
(Not aimed in any nasty way , shape or form
smile.gif
)

[/ QUOTE ]


but bad things can happen with either scenario surely?
 
[ QUOTE ]
Having known of a horse who broke her neck by panicking and falling over when she was tied to something rigid, I would always use something breakable.

[/ QUOTE ]


What about the horse that breaks free and gets onto the road and kills itself and a car full of people?


I promise I will stop now
blush.gif
Just trying to show some possible dangers with a horse getting free. There never seems to be a constant "right way" with horse keeping
 
Sorry yes I know -I find the whole thing impossible
blush.gif
So I tack up in my stable etc . No doubt something in there could happen too though.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The logic doesn't make sence I agree. But having had a near-miss when Darcy couldn't get away I'd have voted for him walking away any day .
(Not aimed in any nasty way , shape or form
smile.gif
)

[/ QUOTE ]


but bad things can happen with either scenario surely?

[/ QUOTE ]
That they can and tbh it was 13yrs ago when i did this and it was the old school way,would i do it again with a baby..hell yes,have seen so many horses that disrespect being tied up,they just pull back and f--k off
frown.gif

Still everybody has their own views,and not everybody will agree
smile.gif
 
I shut gates etc too on the rare occasion I do tie up outside my stable.

At show's I'll stick to twine as theres no telling where he could end up should he manage to pull back or whatever.
 
I never encountered the twine-loop thing either before moving to the UK. In Canada, we usually used cross-ties.

Now, I have the champion pony of randomly-freaking-out-and-pulling-away. Under most circumstances, he'll calmly stand tied up for hours. However, he's a bit head-shy, and snaps several loops of twine every week. On three occasions, the loop did not break, and instead, he broke the lead rope (twice), and the metal clip on the lead rope (clean in half, once). I bought him a new stretchy lead rope the other day. Since part of his panic seems to stem from the sudden stop of the rope, I'm hoping that the extra give will let him calm down sooner.
 
I think its just weighing up the risks. All the horses on our yard don't pull back and they all know not to. However at the moment we have a lot of heavy machinery coming through. If one of them suddenly spooked at that or something else, even though they know they're not to pull back, if they did I would rather it break than them break themselves. Plus the yard is up a very long lane and a long way to the road.
I personally think they should be taught to stand and not pull back, but any horse (excpet those that constantly pulled back to get free) I would ALWAYS tie to something breakable
 
[ QUOTE ]
I shut gates etc too on the rare occasion I do tie up outside my stable.

At show's I'll stick to twine as theres no telling where he could end up should he manage to pull back or whatever.

[/ QUOTE ]
lol...that has to be the only time i have to have said horse attatched to me
smile.gif
,you guys are soo lucky,i couldnt leave my tit at the trailer,or in it for that matter,still not his fault in 13yrs has only just started going out to shows so very stressful for him
smile.gif
 
Those equitie things are a waste of money if you ask me. They break way too easily. Mine has undone them many a time. I still use them but tied in a knot without the plastic bit so buy a bungee instead! I have also seen him, tied up with baler twine, rip a gate of its hinges. I reckon the safest thing is to tie up only in a (cheap) leather headcollar. I have seen the following break before bailer twine (not my Horse): English leather headcollar, Metal leadrope clip, bolts holding tie up ring to concrete, metal loops on a synthetic headcollar and wood holding tie up ring attached to wall.
I used to work on a SJ yard and head groom (a very wise one) insisted on leather headcollars all the time. Strong enough to teach yet weak enough to break in a real emergency. A very valid point. Bailer twine after all is designed to hold very heavy bales of hay/straw together and if it's not weakened somewhere is very strong. Shame the BHS recommend it so much.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I shut gates etc too on the rare occasion I do tie up outside my stable.

At show's I'll stick to twine as theres no telling where he could end up should he manage to pull back or whatever.

[/ QUOTE ]
lol...that has to be the only time i have to have said horse attatched to me
smile.gif
,you guys are soo lucky,i couldnt leave my tit at the trailer,or in it for that matter,still not his fault in 13yrs has only just started going out to shows so very stressful for him
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Although Darcy is fairly good to tie (despite the occasions mentioned) I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him at a show on his own outside the trailer. If he's to be left its locked up inside
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I shut gates etc too on the rare occasion I do tie up outside my stable.

At show's I'll stick to twine as theres no telling where he could end up should he manage to pull back or whatever.

[/ QUOTE ]
lol...that has to be the only time i have to have said horse attatched to me
smile.gif
,you guys are soo lucky,i couldnt leave my tit at the trailer,or in it for that matter,still not his fault in 13yrs has only just started going out to shows so very stressful for him
smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Although Darcy is fairly good to tie (despite the occasions mentioned) I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him at a show on his own outside the trailer. If he's to be left its locked up inside
grin.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Be nothing left of mine,lol
blush.gif
grin.gif
,i have a shadow when am at a show,if i go for a burger he comes along,if i go for a pee,he comes along....has been known to be very interesting
grin.gif
,i now make sure somebody is with me,lol
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top