Rearing help.

P

piaffe

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Just had such a big scare. Still a little shaken TBH.
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V has always been a bit of a pain to tie up. It doesnt seem to matter how tight I tie him, he gets his front leg over the rope and then stands there, foot aloft, until I rescue him.
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More recently, he has started rearing when tied up, again, even when short. He then gets his leg over the rope and then climbs the wall to get himself unstuck.

It has slowly been becoming more often and tonight, he did the same (always when I go out of sight) and got the rope stuck between his shoe and his hoof.
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But I thought i had tied it so short there was no way he could have done it.

There was nothing i could do as the rope was so tight i couldnt undo it and he was really throwing himeslf around. LUCKILY, the groom was around and i shouted to her (couldnt have left him, or he'd have paniced more) and she had a knife in her pocket and cut him free.

Horse is ok, but shaken. Shoe is still on but am now worried about what to do for the best.

How would you approach this? I just don't know what I should do now.
 
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what about cross tying him?

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Ive never heard of that.

The YO suggested some sort of block thing that goes on the ed of the rope that tey use in stalls. But Im just so worried about tying him up full stop now.

The groom says that he might have scared himself enough to not attempt it again
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Could you just not tie him up? e.g. Groom and tack him up in the stable. Turn him out somewhere, or put in another stable while you muck out.

Sounds really frightening.
 
It does sound very scary, for all of you. I wonder why he keeps doing it? Can you not tie him up, like someone else said tack him up in the stable or get someone to hold him for you whilst you tack him up. I really don't know what to suggest, I just hope you get it sorted out very quickly
 
Sounds like its a habit now so I wouldnt trust him not to try it again. he has to be tied up, its just not possible to go through life without being able to park him somewhere.

I would get a tie ring mounted much higher up the wall and use a short lead rope. He may try and go up but hopefully he wont be able to get a foot over it. Either that or cross tie him but you would need to mount the rings very high for that too or he will simply go over one of the side ropes instead.
 
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what about cross tying him?

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Ive never heard of that.

The YO suggested some sort of block thing that goes on the ed of the rope that tey use in stalls. But Im just so worried about tying him up full stop now.

The groom says that he might have scared himself enough to not attempt it again
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A friend used one of those on my cobbie years ago. He has a scar from the rope burn he got after he got tangled in it!!
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My cob will occasionally rear when tied up cos he's insecure and a bit of a retard(honestly, I really think he is!!) and I've found raising the tie rings up to be the best way..
 
Thanks Spans. I totally agree. I cannot have a horse which I cannot tie up, it just is not practical. It is, def a habbit too.

YO gave me this quick relase thingy to use at the ring, incase he did it again but I do not trust him now.

Ill look into cross tying then, or making the rings higher (never thought of that). It has just been suggested that I try him at a different location on the yard. Ourside the wall is kind of corregated (SP?) metal type thing and it would make a hell of a clatter if he were to try and clinb up it.
 
What's he like if he's tied up loosely/not short?

We had a livery at the yard who was a pain in the backside when tied up, reared, bucked, tried to spin, you name it - he did it. So of course, tied him up shorter - made it worse. He would break leadropes, bent the rings etc

He settled much better with a longer leadrope and a different headcollar. Maybe V's reacting to the pressure of being tied up short and only way he can go is upwards

Just a thought, as sounds so much like Pos.

Oh and those elastic ring tie things are pretty good too.

Oh and just thought of something else - is he tied up ina certain place? Maybe he cant see something, wants to be nosey - Pos immediately settled once we moved where he was normally tied (had limited stall space for a 17.1)
 
Actually, on many occsions he starts off with a short rope and its worked itself loose and he still does the exact same thing. But its not like he is doing it out of angry, stroppiness etc. He just does it then stands there like a lemon.

I do believe its just a habit. Mummy ties me up, goes off, i get my leg over my rope, mummy comes back! May be wrong though
 
Could be attention - Pos used to stop trying to buck & spin as soon as someone went to tell him off

Norty po - does he do it just when he's on his own or does it happen even when the yard's full?
 
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It doesnt seem to make any difference when he does it tbh. even if he has a horse tied up next to him.

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There goes all the stuff we did with Pos. They eventually got some NH person out to see him and it seemed to work

Hope you get it sorted though
 
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Could you just not tie him up? e.g. Groom and tack him up in the stable. Turn him out somewhere, or put in another stable while you muck out.

Sounds really frightening.

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That is an option, yes. But I really dont think it is practical to have a horse that I can not tie up.Not long term anyway. I did suggest to the YO 2 breeze blocks, attatched to his front legs!
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Echo teapot's comments - looking to get to the bottom of why he is rearing - Does he panic when the rope tightens and he then tries to get away? In which case tying him to something that has some 'give' to it might help??? Also it could be he is doing this to get your attention - getting himself in a tangle means you come and rescue him....which then may mean next time he thinks that is a great idea to get you to come over. I would be looking to use a quick release/elastic type of arrangement....
 
Ah no walls.....well then you can't do that LOL!! I'd tie him up very short then so that there is no way that he can get his leg up. I can't be doing with that sort of nonsense so I'd deal with it sharp and short...literally. Put the tie ring up higher, tie him at head height and there is no way that he can rear up or get his legs over the rope or chain or whatever you use.

Nip it in the bud before it becomes a real pain in the butt.
 
What a silly sod.
Very scary to watch. My tb used to itch his ear with his hind leg when he was tied up, he got his leg caught a few times on the rope and turned himself over - arghhh.

Anyway.

Suggestion...

Purchase the chains (covered in rubber) what about tying him up somewhere so you can have two ropes (chances) either side of his headcollar. I do this with snoopy when im washing him down etc.
I know they use it an awful lot out in germany too with success.
 
I'm with Tia - yet again. It needs sorting, quickly - as you are aware.

I would cross tie him; (pillar reins it used to be called) and do them as short as possible (it helps if you are in a passage or doorway type place so rings can be fixed at shoulder height or above and immediately opposite each other) then he can't go that high and unless he waggles his legs about in all directions, he won't be able to get his legs high enough. I'd also have a hosepipe ready so that if you were to walk away and he started his pratting about, you or someone else could pick up hose and spray him sharply with it on his backside without him seeing where it's come from. They are usually so shocked they stop straight away (and so must you with the spray as a reward) after a couple of times, they usually twig it is a useless habit. We had to do this a few times with young Irish hunters and it always worked. It goes without saying to make sure the ground is safe and not slippy in any way to be on the safe side.
 
Not seeing the situation I can't really comment (I do think it matters *why* the horse is doing it) I'd just like to comment on the tying short, especially if we're talking about tying the horse with his head above resting height.

I've had a couple of horses for training that reared/sat down/broke ties etc. A couple of them turned out to have neck problems and presumably their necks started to hurt after awhile, prompting the behaviour. One of the most violent ones turned out to have arthritis in the joints behind his poll and I would - I imagine it must have been intolerable when the halter put pressure on it. In the less extreme cases simply lengthening the ties worked wonders as the horse was able to stand in a "neutral" resting position.

Does the horse give to pressure properly? I've seen many corellations between horses that don't tie, which also don't lead/load well (although many are successful competition horses). The "hole" seems to be a basic understanding on the horse's part of how to relieve pressure.

It may indeed be that this is a reaction to, as you say, being left/ignored. Can you practice tying him in his stall for short periods? If he's actually okay with the concept and not in discomfort maybe he just needs to sort out for himself that it's pointless to pull.

Interestingly cross tying is the norm in my world and we often try straight tying a horse that's not coping well. Perhaps the change is enough in some cases. Some horses are even more inclined to pull back on cross ties because they don't feel confined until they hit the end of the rope. Lots of people have problems with ex-race horses because they don't cross tie at the track and people bring them home, cross tie them, and then have a wreck the first time the horse hits the end of the ties.

There are ways of tying horse up so they can't escape but quite frankly they give me the willies. Besides very few people have a sufficiently strong tie post - the traditional one is a telephone set in concrete and buried! I prefer to do it with education if at all possible. Safer for all concerned.
 
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