Lead rope issue?

[newhorse]

I wondered if there are any alternatives? My horse keeps putting his head under the lead rope when tied up and getting his head caught and rearing up to try to release himself. He does it all the time, even with a very short rope he still manages.

Its making life a little difficult as when he is tied up I have to get someone to hold the rope if I have to get something. Is there any other possible alternative. He certainly doesnt seem to be learning his lesson by getting stuck?

 

[connie1288]

I use plastic covered chains but they are about 2ft long so he could still get his head under, surely if he is tied up tight ie a few inches between knot and clip he cant!! Mine are never tied up longer than that!!

 

[Damnation]

Don't tie him up?
My mare will not be tied up unless its the ring outside her stable. She will pull away everywhere else. I just face her to the wall and tell her to stand, she will stand there until the cows come home but if you tie her up she will just pull away and bugger off

Izzi

 

[spotsmum]

have you tried tying a haynet up with him so he is occupied? Or maybe a likit?

 

[newhorse]

Lol I wish my boy would stand still for a second!!! He has ants in his pants and even when he is eating he is moving around, very active little chap.

In response to Marymoo, I know what you mean about the rope being very short but its the way the ring is positioned at the moment, its quite low and he is 16.2. If I put one up very high then he wouldnt be able to get stuck would he.....mmmm never thought of this before.

Could he still get stuck if the ring on the wall is above his head? Cant quite work it out?

Yes, tried haynets etc but this doesnt help. Especially when I am trying to tack up he is quite a stubborn lad when there is hay about

 

[martlin]

you could tie up something relatively heavy on one end of the lead rope, thread it through the ring and clip the other end to the headcollar. That way there only will be enough rope to last from ring to the headcollar at any given time.
By something heavy I mean a smallish piece of wood or similar.

 

[newhorse]

thats a really good idea martlin. so the horse can actually move away from the ring to the end of the rope but the weight will trick the horse into thinking he is tied up more than he is!

 

[Lippyx]

Is this his way of trying to break the string to go for a wonder? If so, you need to treat it as a bad habit as aposed to actually being scared! We had a horse that wouldn't tie up in front of a wall he couldn't see over, was very annoying if there was no where else to tie him!

Good idea about threading the rope through the ring, with a weight on the end, this is used in stalls (again we had these at the yard). If the horse moved close to the wall, the rope would shorten and if the horse moved away the rope would lengthen, but only until the weight stopped at the ring. You can get proper "stall" ropes that have a heavy rubber ball on the end.

 

[newhorse]

Hi Lippyx - I think it has been a case of bad luck for him to be honest as it really stresses him out when he does this and is shaken afterwards. The first time the bailing twine broke and he stood there shaken. He is actually a little nervous of the rope now - maybe thats why he tries to escape it in a sadist kind of way?

I will have a look at them stall ropes now and buy one!

Thanks

 

[newhorse]

I cant seem to find anything called Stall ropes or stall lead ropes etc - any other idea what they may be called?

Thanks

 

[Tnavas]

I have a good old fashioned log to tie up with. The sort that were used to tie horses in stalls.

It is a round ball of heavy wood with a hole through the middle, you feed the rope through the tie up ring and then through the hole in the log and then do up below the log with a quick release knot. The weight of the log keeps the rope taut but the horse can still move its head. There is never any slack for the horse to get it's head under so really helps.

 

[Enfys]

Cross tie him?

I second using the log, excellent time tested method of taking the slack out of the rope.