How long would you leave your horse tied up if you weren't there?

[PolarSkye]

One of the reasons I moved stables was because I hated having nowhere to tie the GD up where I could see him . . . he's such a fidget that I just didn't feel I could trust him not to get himself tangled up, a leg over a fence (our fences are quite low), headcollar caught on something.

One of our liveries has two horses - one on loan and one hers - and she routinely leaves one tied up on the yard while she schools or hacks the other. This morning I was washing out my wheelbarrow when I heard P (her loan horse - who was tied up on the yard while she went for a hack) striking out/pawing the ground - when I looked up I noticed that he had his nose touching the floor but wasn't moving/sniffing/looking for hay, which seemed odd . . . then I noticed that the leadrope was wrapped completely around his left fore It was easy enough to unclip him, untangle him and then re-tie him shorter . . . and he was a very quiet, good boy about it - didn't panic . . . but what if I hadn't been there?

It got me thinking about leaving horses unattended and how accidents can happen. Leadropes, haynets, stall chains, bucket hooks, gates . . . when you really think about it livery yards can be fraught with danger!

I only ever leave Kal tied up on the yard to go and get his tack, nip to the barn or to the muck heap . . . and only when there are people around and I've asked them to keep an eye out. I don't leave him tied up in his stable . . . and I don't leave him in his stable with the stall chain up and the door open if I'm not around doing yard chores/can keep an ear/eye out for him. I don't even like leaving him tied up on the yard while I nip to the car to fetch something - not sure why as it's certainly no further than the muck heap - it just feels "wrong."

What about you? Would you/do you leave your horse unattended and, if so, in what circumstances? Am I just overprotective?

P

 

[Dancing Queen]

I dont leave them unattended tied up.

 

[goodtimes]

I tie up while I muck out, but check on him every few minutes.

 

[Madam Min]

Would only ever leave them tied up to get tack, any longer and I know my mare would be up to allsorts.

 

[Sparkly Snowdrop]

I would never leave my horse tied up and unattended.

 

[FfionWinnie]

My last horse would break away when she felt like it so I couldn't even leave her to get tack. New pony is fine but I wouldn't leave her for a long period. Does the girl not have a stable?

 

[BlackRider]

I'd never leave mine tied up unattended..

 

[Mongoose11]

I wouldn't leave the stable block if I had a horse tied up. I do tie up and then muck out etc but keep looking up or looking out and the stable is about 8 feet from where I would tie.

You don't leave horses tied unsupervised - simple!

 

[Mad_Cow347]

I leave mine while I nip to the loo or the car or muck heap etc but he generally just watchs me go round the corner & is still looking when I come back. But I wouldn't leave him for longer as I'm sure he'd start to get up to mischief if I did.

 

[WandaMare]

I wouldn't leave mine unattended for more than a couple of minutes. As soon as I leave my mare on her own she starts to untie the knot or chew the nearest item which takes her fancy

 

[the watcher]

I never leave mine unattended tied up, not on the yard, not at shows, never.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

No, never leave them unattended whilst tied up. Have seen a couple of nasty accidents happen even when owners were standing nearby. Its one of the reasons I always have a pair of scissors within easy reach as its impossible to untie the lead rope when a horse has panicked, become entangled and pulled it taut.

 

[Capriole]

All the time when travelling, I havent got a camera yet in this trailer, so they could realistically be up to anything back there.
On the yard, I dont have any cause to wander off and leave them as I have all my things ready before I get the horse and tie up, so never.

 

[Kelly1982]

Very rarely tie up, everything is done in my stable but on the odd occasion I do I would never leave then longer than a few minuets

 

[TheoryX1]

Hardly ever do ir. My cob is a total fidget and sometimes will stand quietly, but most of the time he will be trying to find somewhere to rub his hocks (his thing ......), trying to lift a top stable door off its hinges, eat the floral displays which are hung up, pull faces at the horse in the next stable, paw the ground etc, untie himself to raid the feed room (been done, and he even knows how to open his own feed bin which is a big metal one and reverse himself out). You would have thought that at 19 he would have known better. Mini TX's horse is well behaved tied up, but you cant leave her tied up outside of a trailer or lorry, even with supervision. She just escapes, and we have countless broken headcollard to testify to this. You have to leave her in the trailer or lorry tied up to be sure she wont misbehave.

 

[pookie]

As others, only to nip and get something, usually still within sight or I speak to her so she knows I'm still there. Even then she's tied short so she can't get into trouble. I can't imagine tying her up to go do something like hacking.

 

[AmyMay]

As Dancing Queen.

 

[LJN]

What do you all do if you have to go to a competition on your own and go and pay entry fees, walk the course etc? (Not being rude/sarcastic - it is a problem I have a lot thanks to an absent OH)

I try not to leave him tied up unattended, but sometimes I don't really have an option.

 

[Jaycee]

Very often don't need to tie mine up, just the leadrope put through a tie up ring and a haynet is enough to make him think he's tied up!
Wouldn't leave him tied up though without someone being around to keep an eye on him.

 

[smokey]

I either tie up short if I need to leave her to get tack etc, or just put the rope through the ring untied if I'm about. Drape it round her neck for farrier, vet etc. wouldn't leave her for long periods tied up.

 

[smokey]

What do you all do if you have to go to a competition on your own and go and pay entry fees, walk the course etc? (Not being rude/sarcastic - it is a problem I have a lot thanks to an absent OH)

I try not to leave him tied up unattended, but sometimes I don't really have an option.

Can you not leave him in the trailer until you've done everything else?

 

[Racergirl]

Friend of mine accidentally left her 2yo tied to her fence overnight once.... she got so flustered when her boyf rang her and told her it was over and he was moving out that she raced off and only remembered at 4 in the morning... bless him, she belted over to the field and he was still there, just waiting....


I dont leave mine tied up for any length of time if I can avoid it. i left my pony tied to the trailer with a haynet at the New Forest show one year, while we dashed over to the horse lines to buy something Id forgotten and about 5 minutes after Id left him there was a tannoy announcement calling for the "owner of a bay new forest pony in a black rug please come and retrieve him from the stables" - he'd got into the temporary stabling and was having an argument with a showjumper... since then, dont leave any.

 

[Brightbay]

I would never leave a horse unattended while tied up. Any horse, including my own - I can't predict the future, and until I can I'm not willing to take the risk.

A fellow livery (now left for pastures new) used to leave her horses tied up (just tied up, no haynet etc) for long periods of time while she went off and had cups of tea... apparently this was something they "had to learn" as part of the "programme" she was following. She did it until another livery pointed out that by doing so, she was limiting the use of the space in the yard for other liveries...

 

[LJN]

Not really, we don't have our own trailer so we get dropped off at comps and then picked up at the end

If I wasn't currently building a house, I would be buying a little horse box of my own!

 

[ester]

I wouldn't leave.. even if I pop back the house for something I spy through the kitchen window.

Re. comps I would never leave one tied up to walk a course have always been able to do it the day before or have someone with.. last time we went we ended up parked next to people (note plural) who wandered off to course walk and said horse pulled back 3 times and buggered off once while they were gone (about 15 min before the secretary put it over the announcer that they had to stop walking the course and come and sort it out! I will go to secretarys tent etc but usually not before asking a neigbour to keep an eye on him for 5 mins. I can't leave him in the trailer.. he's a tit and more likely to have an accident! Its all just about minimising risk to a point where you are happy with it knowing your horse.

 

[Enfys]

As long as I wanted it to stay there, whether that is 5 minutes or an hour.

 

[Janah]

I never would unless someone is there to keep an eye on him. My boy can undo any knot. I think he would only go to the nearest patch of grass. So easy for something to happen and either get distracted, me, or for something to startle him and so pull back. Just not worth it.

 

[Littlelegs]

Oldie I'll leave tied up outside the barn while I'm in it but its only a few metres away & only a few minutes whilst getting tack etc, & can hear her. And have tied her up outside a horsebox while I get tack from inside, other horse etc. Daughters I won't do, despite being sensible cos I don't have 21yrs of knowledge of exactly what she'll do in every circumstance. And same for every other horse, never tied out of sight, except travelling which is a more controlled environment.

 

[The mad TB]

I leave Conn to wash his bit and that's it, his tack/stable ect are otherwise done when he's in his field or in his stable but I see no issue with what you do

 

[jinglejoys]

As with Enfys,it was part of Malaga's training and old Picasso is the same as he was raised in Spain as a working animal...part of his job