Horse wont tie up

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Miramis

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My mare has developed a very annoying trait since moveing yards. She has taught herself to snap the tie up twine when shes in. She doesnt pull back and isnt paniked, its a calculated escape lol!! She has a definate technique of getting her nose into her chest and twisting her shoulder in as close as possible to her nose and the rope, she then does a twist of the head shoulder push manouver and snaps the twine, even if its a plaited bit of bailer twine so a bit stronger. I tried tying her shorter and she twists her head away from the tie up point and pushes into the rope and gets of that way! She is also tied in a parelli halter, my thinking that she would correct herself....doesnt help at all {{sigh}}

Any advice as to what to do? Obviously i need to go back to basics somehow but shes quite an acomplished escapee now shes rewarded herself with a 100% effective escape history!
 
Lottie doesn't tie up, never has. I've had her 16 years and it has never been a problem. She will stand with or without a haynet and the rope over her neck when I fetch things, or clip her or while she has new shoes.

She was tied to a metal ring in a flagstone on the floor and beaten round the face and head way before I got her. Previous owner used stalls and had to build a 'stable' out of planks and pallets in their barn as she would not stay in a stall.

I can muck out round her and tack up in her stable, at shows she will stand on the lorry if I'm on another horse, or is child proof to leave with a kiddy to play with if available and will happily munch hay while we picnic. I just have an obsession with closing gates 'just in case'

I guess what I mean is how much of a problem is this?

Other horses we have had with this issue usually stop it if you watch them tied and stay near enough that when they start to pull back you can approach them, coax them forward then move away again. Eventually progress to keeping an eye and telling them no don't do that verbally when they do it. Time intensive but has worked with everything except Lottie and 1 schitzophrenic TB.

Good luck
 
In my mind theres nothing worse than a horse at the door and refusing to move, i have always tied a horse up to either groom, muck out whatever else, OH doesn't agree of course but its what i was taught decades ago,i am the boss not the horse!!
 
I used to tie up. And waste hours of my life
- with horses who were unhappy and only cooperating because tied, not addressing underlying issue with grooming/tack/whatever
- with bored horses tied facing blank walls (what was I thinking?!?)
- messing around with lunge lines through rings so horse (who was sometimes genuinely panicking, sometimes just bored) so that horse would get used to being tied and not escaping or panicking too much about being trapped.

Now I really only tie up, if at all, for very brief periods while I'm right with the horse. I don't e.g. tie up and then get tack. I get tack and /then/ get the horse. Never tie up whilst doing something else, e.g. mucking out, unless there is /really/ no alternative, e.g. sheet ice over all other surfaces and then I leave bucket of whatever roughage horse has to keep it occupied.

If you alter your routine so she isn't tied up as often or for as long you'll probably find she doesn't have quite as much time to get up to naughty tricks!
 
rosiefronfelen, I agree about a horse moving back from the door but ideally that should be through respecting your space rather than because they are on the end of a rope!

OP, I should have added that I'd be very cautious about tying up (especially if you turn your back/go and do something else) in any kind of control head-collar. Accident waiting to happen the day something does spook the horse I'd think.

Good luck!
 
Have you seen these? A safer way to tie if you really need to while you work on some retraining. http://www.toklat.com/dyn_prod.php?p=10-340

Ps I would never ever tie up in any form of control headcollar either definitely a recipe for disaster. A long slidey rope is essential for use with a blocker tie ring btw.

Tickles makes great points illustrated by my horses that would stand for ages happily tied to my coral fence but don't like being tied here against a wall. I never tie a nervous horse either especialy if I'm wanting to work on feet etc. I always allow them to move and use a long rope.
Working in the stable isn't always a good place either as horses can't see out and if they feel even more trapped by being tied it's too much for some imo.

I also recommend two books. Sarah Weston "No fear no force" and Kelly Marks "Perfect Manners" Both have sections on tying.
 
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Tickles said:
rosiefronfelen, I agree about a horse moving back from the door but ideally that should be through respecting your space rather than because they are on the end of a rope!

OP, I should have added that I'd be very cautious about tying up (especially if you turn your back/go and do something else) in any kind of control head-collar. Accident waiting to happen the day something does spook the horse I'd think.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Having been a groom for 40 years + And always tied up i think i know all the pitfalls of 17hhhunters, from your views i think you are for NH,fair enough, thanks for your advice.
 
I always tie up and I have a horse who, certainly when he was younger, would pull against the string, get his head down and lift his leg oevr his rope the pull his head back up with leg dangling! Oh, he wasn't scared, this was intentional and a means of getting attention. However, if his leaning on the rope resulted also in it snapping and him being 'free' then bonus as far as he was concerned!! Lol

I don't tie my horse up generally when in the stable unless I am trying to muck him out and for any reason don't move him to be tied up outside (ie if it's belting down with rain) as he is a very ride, bolshy monster and barges out of his stable - over a wheelbarrow if needs be!

Other than that though he will be tied up to be groomed as we tied up outside the stables.

It does depend on the horse - if mine was doing what yours was and, knowing his temperament, I would be tempted to tie straight to the metal ring but not leave the horse unattended. However, you have to be sure the metal ring and whatever it is attached to is strong enough to take the weight! If she realises her actions will not free her then she may well give up.

I wouldn't though tie her in a control headcollar, switch to an ordinary headcollar for tyong up.
 
I use elasticated bugee tie ups, they can't lean on them then (though Snip did once pull back so far that the twine snapped anyway and the elastic pinged at him and hit him in the face!)

Other than that, on't tie up using a controller headcollar, but a Duall is a fab training aid and you can tie up in it as you would a normal headcolla, and also have a lunge rein from the controller ring, through the metal tie ring and when the string is snapped, you can use the lunge rein to train....means you have to be there though!
 
I have had a pain in the a**e horse pull back because he worked out he could, and 2 who have been frightened (one was bitten badly by the horse in the next stable, not sure why with my mare)

with my 2 who had had frights, I went back to looping the rope through a holder but not actually tieing it up. When they jerked backwards, the rope just moved but they didn't get any restraint. Perserved with this and both stopped pulling back and I could then end up tieing them up as normal.

With the pain in the backside, I had to tie him in his stable. Now in his case, he really was just being a pain, so at one time, I would have a crop with me in the box and smack him over the backend when he started to do it. It saved me ropes but I never could trust him to tie up outside. Before anyone leaps down my throat - he was being just plain naughty. I would never have used a whip on the other 2 as they were geniunely scared and I had all threee for long enough to know the difference!
 
One idea I have read on here before is to make several loops of string through your tie ring, and back each loop progressively bigger, so when she snaps one, she still remains tied.
Also, tieing up with a tail bandage, as there is give in it.

My rising 5 year old has been horrendous to tie up so I have read everything on here about it! I kind of agree that we don't really have to tie up, however, his issues continue on to being on the lorry where he goes nuts, so I have tried to fix the tieing issue in the stable first. For him, it's been a year of me shouting at him and teaching him the command 'Stand', which has worked.... (he would snap every loop of twine I attached him too and several tail bandages too!)
 
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