Can’t tie up outside trailer

Traks

Traks

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Wondering what others do…more and more venues are now saying you can’t tie your horses up outside a trailer/lorry due to I assume, mess not being cleared up and horses running away? It was never like this when I was younger, seems to be a more recent development!

We have a pony who gets very sweaty on journeys, always has regardless of the vehicle. We usually get her out straight away and wash off then tack up with a net if possible…then after she’s been ridden we put her back on as late as possible due to her getting so warm. She does also paw the trailer if you leave her on for a while before getting off. She’s never left unattended, if we have to go off somewhere to the loo etc we do put her back on the trailer, but then drive off as soon as we can due to the pawing!

I’m starting to avoid certain venues because of it and it’s getting on my nerves! We leave all windows and doors open where possible for ventilation and travel her naked…

What do other people do?
 
Bobthecob15 said:
Wondering what others do…more and more venues are now saying you can’t tie your horses up outside a trailer/lorry due to I assume, mess not being cleared up and horses running away? It was never like this when I was younger, seems to be a more recent development!

We have a pony who gets very sweaty on journeys, always has regardless of the vehicle. We usually get her out straight away and wash off then tack up with a net if possible…then after she’s been ridden we put her back on as late as possible due to her getting so warm. She does also paw the trailer if you leave her on for a while before getting off. She’s never left unattended, if we have to go off somewhere to the loo etc we do put her back on the trailer, but then drive off as soon as we can due to the pawing!

I’m starting to avoid certain venues because of it and it’s getting on my nerves! We leave all windows and doors open where possible for ventilation and travel her naked…

What do other people do?
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Flame taught me not to tie up outside. She'd get upset about random stuff, pull back, snap her string and I'd have to try and get her before she gave herself another panic attack about standing on her lead rope. Too much drama. I hold my horse outside to do everything and put him back in the horsebox and go home. If we're staying somewhere he'd be in a corral or stable.
 
dottylottie said:
i always assumed that rule meant don’t leave them stood there for hours, and took it to mean that getting them off to tack up etc would be fine! i’d just hold her next to the trailer instead, assuming there’s more than just you
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Yes I think I will, it’s more for when you are waiting for the next class etc, they want them back on the trailer rather than standing outside it eating a haynet.

I just don’t remember this ever being a thing when I was younger!

She can be funny to load sometimes too so on and off multiple times isn’t always an option!
 
Our 2 local big comp centres forbid this too, mostly due to:
a, horses buggering off or damaging adjacent horses and vehicles and
b, people not clearing up hay and droppings off the ground.
It's much more safe and far less additional work for their staff at the end of a comp.

Hold the horse out if needed, but not with fodder.
 
It’s a health & safety issue. Sites are often very busy with traffic and horses moving in and out and it just takes one horse being left tied up alone to break free and cause havoc and potentially an accident. Unfortunately some people will tie to the side of a trailer with a hay net and then disappear into thin air. Horse breaks free for whatever reason, goes to find a friend passing another unsupervised horse on the way who then decides to follow. No one knows where they’ve come from, and the loose horses decide to go exploring together. Add to this the people who don’t bother to clean up loose hay and droppings and you’ve increased the work load of the staff who are getting fed up of cleaning up after other people. You can have help to get ready outside the box just don’t leave your horse tied up and unsupervised with a hay net….or anything else.
 
The places near me request no unattended horses tied to trailers due to horses getting loose and no haynets outside trailers due to mess. Both of which I think are reasonable, no horses tied outside at any time would be harder.
 
I've never tied up outside a trailer after seeing my friends horse panic and pull hers over. I unload and park horse next to haynet. Tack up, do what I'm doing and put back on trailer. Luckily my local venues still allow haynets outside. I stopped going to one venue because of the no haynet thing as when your on your own and you like your horse to have his tummy full it's not ideal!
 
Flowerofthefen said:
I've never tied up outside a trailer after seeing my friends horse panic and pull hers over. I unload and park horse next to haynet. Tack up, do what I'm doing and put back on trailer. Luckily my local venues still allow haynets outside. I stopped going to one venue because of the no haynet thing as when your on your own and you like your horse to have his tummy full it's not ideal!
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Yes I can imagine it’s tricky!! It’s hard enough with pony and small child 🤣
 
Follysmum said:
Exactly
Also ponies were also worked well so probably glad of the rest 🤣
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Yes, spot on! On one occasion many years ago at a very busy venue I left my pony tied up (or so I thought) at my trailer and went for a coffee. Came back some time later to see my pony standing exactly as I'd left him but realized I'd forgotten to tie him up at all!
 
Bobthecob15 said:
Wondering what others do…more and more venues are now saying you can’t tie your horses up outside a trailer/lorry due to I assume, mess not being cleared up and horses running away? It was never like this when I was younger, seems to be a more recent development!

We have a pony who gets very sweaty on journeys, always has regardless of the vehicle. We usually get her out straight away and wash off then tack up with a net if possible…then after she’s been ridden we put her back on as late as possible due to her getting so warm. She does also paw the trailer if you leave her on for a while before getting off. She’s never left unattended, if we have to go off somewhere to the loo etc we do put her back on the trailer, but then drive off as soon as we can due to the pawing!

I’m starting to avoid certain venues because of it and it’s getting on my nerves! We leave all windows and doors open where possible for ventilation and travel her naked…

What do other people do?
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It's a nightmare isn't it?

I've been doing this with all my horses since around 1998 without incident. The only time Bailey ever did anything in 17 years of tying to the back of the trailer was when he started on my mudguard and scraped it with his toe after his haynet ran out one day at a show and I stopped him immediately from doing so as obviously I did not want him to injure himself or wreck my mudguard. :)

Unfortunately I did not have a big lorry that I could store my horse away in, until it was time to come out for his class and he was quite happy dozing with the sun on his back falling asleep whilst eating his net. I had a broom and shovel and the place was always cleared of poo and hay when I left.

I think with the next horse I will have to leave him on the trailer and put him back on between classes.
 
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Do you have a partition in the trailer? If just the 1 you could try taking that out? How much desensitising have you done to just standing quietly on the trailer? It’s likely to be something she gets used to once she realises nothings going on and it’s not always about to start being a moving floor.
 
I have a lorry but normally on own so it’s very difficult if can’t. As I show have to put everything ready on ramp and hoof oiling back feet whilst holding horse an acrobatic art.
 
Gosh, shows how long since I've been to a show! Mine will paw the trailer if he doesn't come off. Surely is it just not to leave them tied up outside un-supervised?
 
holeymoley said:
Gosh, shows how long since I've been to a show! Mine will paw the trailer if he doesn't come off. Surely is it just not to leave them tied up outside un-supervised?
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That’s the case most places. A few are no tying outside and some the lorry parking is so tight there is no space. Always hope when the parking is that tight no one’s lorry catches fire ….. have seen that happen but fortunately not at places parked that close
 
I always used to be the first or second person to arrive on a show day so was able to reverse the trailer up to the fence so there were never any vehicles or people walking behind.

And I could always watch him wherever I stood on the showground too which made life a lot easier.
 

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As frustrating as it may be, it does make sense. I was at a lovely show centre last Sunday and the horse muck left all over the parking area was astonishing. I have a locker on the lorry with plastic sacks and poo scraper, I had to pick the muck up just to allow me walk around my lorry without stepping in crap. This was a venue that hosts dressage to GP level.

If you ever compete at Hoy's you can't fit a horse between the vehicles, they are parked very tightly with just enough space to drop your steps.

At Leicester County many years ago, I think 2001/2002 a horse tied to a lorry a couple down from mine, pulled back and the entire panel came off the truck, the horse took off through the lorry park. The horse was caught with a forelimb still attached to it by a few layers of skin and was destroyed where it stood. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen.
 
AdorableAlice said:
At Leicester County many years ago, I think 2001/2002 a horse tied to a lorry a couple down from mine, pulled back and the entire panel came off the truck, the horse took off through the lorry park. The horse was caught with a forelimb still attached to it by a few layers of skin and was destroyed where it stood. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen.
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There was a similar incident at my yard, about 11-12 years ago, during an evening show. The horse then ran out onto the road and onto the garden fence of the house opposite.

Ever since then I've hated having horses tied to anything that's not (very) easily released. And I wasn't even there at the time, just heard about it afterwards from my friend who was the first to find the horse on the fence and stayed with it until the vet arrived and was able to end its pain.

Loose horses are my biggest worry around horses, but loose horses with something attached to them is just terrifying.
 
AdorableAlice said:
As frustrating as it may be, it does make sense. I was at a lovely show centre last Sunday and the horse muck left all over the parking area was astonishing. I have a locker on the lorry with plastic sacks and poo scraper, I had to pick the muck up just to allow me walk around my lorry without stepping in crap. This was a venue that hosts dressage to GP level.

If you ever compete at Hoy's you can't fit a horse between the vehicles, they are parked very tightly with just enough space to drop your steps.

At Leicester County many years ago, I think 2001/2002 a horse tied to a lorry a couple down from mine, pulled back and the entire panel came off the truck, the horse took off through the lorry park. The horse was caught with a forelimb still attached to it by a few layers of skin and was destroyed where it stood. It was the most horrific thing I have ever seen.
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OH thinks HOYS parking so unsafe. A lot of gas canisters close together if one catches fire ……
 
humblepie said:
OH thinks HOYS parking so unsafe. A lot of gas canisters close together if one catches fire ……
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That happened at the bsps champs in the early 90s 1st thing one morning, thankfully boxes were parked with (just) enough room for a golf buggy or small car between.
The neighbours quickly scooted their lorries out the way, just the one box that was pretty well destroyed.

AA, ref the horse and lorry panel, similar happened at the season opener at Caronjoy in 86 or 87, just awful, people and horses scattering everywhere.
 
Don't people tie to baling twine on the lorry panels? Mine snapped when Baby cob was young and pulled back when a kid screamed - fortunately I was standing next to him.

He's not the best at loading so it's a PITA to put him on/off the box but I just ignore the pawing when he's having a strop at waiting on it. The time I really hate it is when it's hot but since I put fans in the horse compartment it's usually better in there than the cab. I also take a feed bucket of chaff just in case haynets on the car park are a no.
 
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