I can't tie her up and she won't stand in stable!

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nomini

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I really need some advice about my mare. I am planning to sell her once she comes sound but no-one will want to buy her the way she is at the moment. If I tie her outside the stable with feed and haynet she just pulls back until she breaks the bale string, if I put her in the stable she just box walks. I can't even get her to stand long enough for me to give her a groom. She is turned out 24/7 and comes in for her feed (has to have a bit with her medication in it) in the afternoon. Everyday she is coming in worse and worse. I really don't know what to try next? Any ideas?
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Has she only recently been like this? Has there been a change in the horses she is turned out with? Are there other horses on the yard when she comes in? If not, is it possible to arrange?

Have you tried tying her up in the stable - that way she can't box walk and if she breaks the string she can't get away. Have you tried using a lunge rein and putting it through the tie ring and grooming her that way?
 
Well there's two 'cures'

One being the nasty argie type version, where you tie her to something very solid with a rope or rawhide halter and let then pull until they twig it won't break. They won't ever try to break away again

Or Monty's method of a bungie line, when you let them pull back until they twig they cannot get away. However you need the right kit and a bungee that isn't going to break or fly back and hit you or the horse.

Alternatively tie her up with 3 leadropes of different lengths and see if she will break them all or give up (i'd use panic snap ropes, as the clips on some of the cheaper ones, don't last as long as baler twine!)
 
She has always been temperamental tying up outside the stable, but never this bad. She has been out with the same horses ever since we moved to that yard (last june) and she always comes in when my gelding is in - i rarely bring her in on her own cos I know how unsettled she is.
She hates being tied up in her stable and just rears up until string breaks.
Not tried the lunge line thing but will give that a go tonight and see if she is any better. Thanks for your help
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Try tying her up to a tail bandage- thread it through the metal tie up ring and then through her headcollar and knot it tight. When she pulls back it will keep stretching and she should get the jist that she can't get away
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If you cant sort it then the sale price will just have to reflect the problems. Im not sure what i would do in the situation but have heard tales of people tying up without baler twine to teach the horse that they cant break away, i no this sounds pretty extreme and to some extent foolish but if she is pulling back because she knows she CAN break away and go where she wants rather than pulling back because shes panicking about being confined to an area then who knows if it could work? Also is she alone when she is tied? Could it be that she is having seperation anxiety from the other horses and doesnt want to be alone? Have you tried tying her next to a field mate? To chill her out in the stable, the only thing i would think of would be to leave her in there a few days, again this sounds extreme but if you think of it like her being a foal weaned from its mother, they are always very upset and stressed when first put in the stable but they soon settle when they get used to the idea, it might be that she feels that she is almost being weaned away from her field mates if you see what i mean. Some pretty off the wall ideas i know that could be a recippe for disaster but could also be the answer.
 
Sorry, but I have no idea why people tie their horses up outside the stable to feed them. No. 1 it's dangerous, No. 2 it's uncessary.

Put her in the stable with a bucket of feed and let her eat it in peace and quiet.

To tie her up - get a rubber bungie, and use that - again in the stable. That way she argues with herself, nothing can snap, and she'll soon get the idea.

You just need to be firm and consistent.

I'm sure she wasn't like this when you bought her was she?
 
I can vouch for the tail bandage method. Because there is quite a bit of stretch they seem to give up after a bit. Hopefully it will work for your mare.
 
Thanks for your help
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When she is tied up, my gelding is always in too, either in his stable or tied next to her and her neighbour the other side is often in too. She is a very nervous horse and i think she generally is panicking when she is tied up so not keen to tie her to a fixed object.
She has been on periods of box rest while I have had her and has not settled at all in the stable (even with my gelding in next door), just gets worse and worse each day she is in so don't think leaving her in would solve that. However, over the winter she was stabled overnight and seemed fine with that, but I will be honest with potential buyers and say that she needs her turnout during the day.
 
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Sorry, but I have no idea why people tie their horses up outside the stable to feed them. No. 1 it's dangerous, No. 2 it's uncessary.

Put her in the stable with a bucket of feed and let her eat it in peace and quiet.

To tie her up - get a rubber bungie, and use that - again in the stable. That way she argues with herself, nothing can snap, and she'll soon get the idea.

You just need to be firm and consistent.

I'm sure she wasn't like this when you bought her was she?

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Not quite sure why you think it is dangerous to feed horse outside stable? Generally I put her in stable to have her dinner and bring her out for her hay and groom.
She has always been funny being tied up outside stables since I have had her. At her old yard they were tied in stalls so not sure if it's insecurity...
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mmmm, it's a tough one.

I obviously don't know her personality but I've had similar problems with Ty in the past - problem is that she knows she can get away with it now.

I expect alot of it stems from the fact that she'd much rather be out in the field - but then she's fed in the stable aswell isn't she?

Can you secure your yard and firstly try standing with her by the tie up ring but not tie her up. If she gets away, just don't loose your temper and keep leading her up to the same place. The more she does it, the more she'll realise that you're not just going to give up everytime she breaks away. Then try tying her up. Again, if she breaks away then calm her down and retie her. It's really important you don't loose your temper as it just gives them an excuse to keep doing it.

Ty was the same with standing still to mount, so one day I led him up to the block 15 times and inthe end he just stood there! Same with the farrier.
 
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You just need to be firm and consistent.



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Agree completely. Be firm but don't loose your temper. You can't TELL a horse to do anything it doesn't want to do - I've learnt that in the last year.
 
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Not quite sure why you think it is dangerous to feed horse outside stable?

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Because if the rope is long enough for them to put their heads on the floor - it is at a dangerous length. They can stand on it and panic, get the rope through their legs, get their heads underneath the rope, the list goes on. They can also pull back, break the rope and piss off down the yard.............
 
I've used a lunge line when teaching a youngster to tie... he actually snapped the leadrope in half not the string
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clipped the lunge line to his headcollar, threaded it though the ring while I brushed him for a few days and thereafter if I was on the yard tack cleaning for instance, would sit round the corner while he had a haynet, holding onto the lunge line incase he decide to test it. Now I can tie him up normally again, though I would say rubber bungies are good to use aswell, as horses can't fix there neck against them and panic in the same way as a rope or non forgiving tether.
 
Thanks, yeh she is fed in stable too
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She panics herself when she pulls back, and I always tie her back up remaining calm. If I lose my temper then it's impossible to get her tied back up again as she so nervous.
Can only think that this environment is so different from what she has been used to all her life (bought her last year from the yard she was born at). At that yard there was always lots going on, lots of horses around all the time etc. On the yard i'm at now my stables are in a block of three - i have 2 and another livery has the other one. She can see the fields from the stable but can't see other horses tied up etc so this could be adding the problem. Just really difficult to know what to do with her as i know it will put potential buyers off
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Because if the rope is long enough for them to put their heads on the floor - it is at a dangerous length.

I can understand this to a degree, depending on the horse in question. My gelding is always left loose to eat his diner as hes an angel and will finish his diner and then just wander round the yard and munch the grass without causing any hassle.
 
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I can understand this to a degree, depending on the horse in question

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I totally disagree with you - even the quietest horse can end up in trouble. I have seen so many photo's on here with horse tied in the most dangerous ways - how they haven't had a terrible accident I don't know. I think possibly you have to see a few to appreciate what can go wrong.

Maybe I'm over cautious......
 
Just to let you know that although ideally you want to solve the problem my horse I have now was a complete nightmare when it was tied up when I went to see her. She was tied outside as when we tried to look her in the box she barged you out the way and kept trying to spin round. Outside she kept scraping and trying to pull back screaming her head off! It took 3 people to tack her up! She went very nicely under saddle so I took a risk with her behaviour. Since I have had her she has not put a foot wrong. She will stand in the box to be done or outside and doesn't move an inch. She will saty in on her own all day if needs be without a murmur.
She is a saint to handle and has never pulled back or been difficult. Perhaps a change of yards is what she needs.
 
Tieing up direct to the ring does'nt work in practise though the theory is great. The leadrope or headcollar always end up snapping as quick as baling twine does or the tie up ring comes out the wall.
 
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Just to let you know that although ideally you want to solve the problem my horse I have now was a complete nightmare when it was tied up when I went to see her. She was tied outside as when we tried to look her in the box she barged you out the way and kept trying to spin round. Outside she kept scraping and trying to pull back screaming her head off! It took 3 people to tack her up! She went very nicely under saddle so I took a risk with her behaviour. Since I have had her she has not put a foot wrong. She will stand in the box to be done or outside and doesn't move an inch. She will saty in on her own all day if needs be without a murmur.
She is a saint to handle and has never pulled back or been difficult. Perhaps a change of yards is what she needs.

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Yeh, the yard may be the problem. She wasn't like it when I went to see her at her old yard. Her previous owner came to see her and was shocked that she was so badly behaved inside and outside the stable. So maybe a change of yards would be good for her, she hasn't settled at all - only time she seems relaxed is in the field and even in there she can be jumpy and spooky when I go to get her
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Horses that don't like being tied up are lethal.
when i was swapping horses around fields last year, one of them, although only tied for seconds, reared up, snapped the rope and galloped off towards main road with fence attached. It was horrid to watch.

I think you have to do it bit by bit, tie up, reassure, then put in stable/field, gradually building up to being out of sight for a minute then longer.

I'm sure with patience it will come right.
 
You don't say what you do if she pulls back or how you react if she breaks free? Are you very anxious in this situation? If so that could be making her more nervous.

To some extent I can sympathise. One of mine gets very fidgety. For my own safety (and hers) I tie her short if I'm grooming or tacking up - that way she cannot rear up, get legs over the rope or swing round on me. I wouldn't feed her and tie her at the same time because that would be frustrating for her. Also if she is tied and fed outside the stable she might feel less secure and anxious about another horse stealing her feed.

Mine has been getting better over time, once boundaries are set and tantrums haven't worked they learn to stand, but I don't think you will ever be able to wander off and leave her tied with any great certainty that she wont remember and try to break loose
 
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