Refusing to be tied up

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moneypit1

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Fly will not be tied up. I have tied his lead rope to string and he calmly walks backwards till it breaks. Used tougher string and when it did not break he yanked it so hard that the whole panel of the stable came off with the lead rope still attached! He has got it to a fine art and even when I am grooming him he will pull free. What a *** Any ideas?
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Irritating, and potentially dangerous.
From your description he sounds as if he is taking the mickey rather than genuinely scared, and he knows that he can do it. There may be a real reason for this afterall, maybe he has frightened himself badly in the past?

Hmm. Start all over again?

Teach him to ground tie?

Clicker training? That has worked for me before with a horse that would never stand still when he was tied. I taught him to touch a target and keep touching it until I said otherwise. He still piaffed when he thought he'd stood for long enough but his head stayed still!

I have never done this with a grown horse but this works for me with the youngsters, I did it with my filly (4 months now) when she was only a few weeks old, I have never tied her yet, but she will stand quite quietly with a rope just looped around a rail.
Big strong, solidly anchored post, long rope, take a loop around the post and hold onto the end. When the horse pulls he is pulling against himself, when he stops pulling he automatically rewards himself with a release of pressure, because the rope isn't tied, you can always let go in an emergency.

I am sure there will be lots of suggestions.

I won't recommend the one I have seen which involved a prickly yard broom up the rear end........but it did work.This was with a horse that pulled away for the heck of it. It stopped him in his tracks though and he never did it again.
 
how about using a Richard Maxwell pressure halter which teaches them that if they pull back it is uncomfortable and they are rewarded by coming forward. Obviously the training is done from the ground and the horse is NOT TIED UP.
 
Exactly what the pole and looped rope does, pressure and release, I didn't say tie the horse up.
 
loop the leadrope through the string - then when they pull back there is nothing to pull against they will soon get bored of this little game he is playing x x
 
I agree pressure halter good especially the dually, but absolutely not for tying up. Be very careful as you can break their nose, it is really dangerous, but the dually is great for groundwork, get the Kelly Marks book "Perfect Manners", it may have some good ideas in there to help you.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have never done this with a grown horse but this works for me with the youngsters, I did it with my filly (4 months now) when she was only a few weeks old, I have never tied her yet, but she will stand quite quietly with a rope just looped around a rail.
Big strong, solidly anchored post, long rope, take a loop around the post and hold onto the end. When the horse pulls he is pulling against himself, when he stops pulling he automatically rewards himself with a release of pressure, because the rope isn't tied, you can always let go in an emergency.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree with this if you're quick and know what you're doing! you'll need a rope halter or something that doesn't break! It can be difficult habit to break with older horses though, I had one that would never tie up all the time we had him, he was a complete pain..!
 
Not everyones cuppa tea but if you have a barn or stable with good strong beams above, tie them from above with a couple of ropes attached to the head collar. They should be tied from above only so no legs can get caught and ensure there is clear space around them. Then just go off about your business and leave them to it...they soon realise they are only fighting themselves and give up. I have not done this but an instructor I know does and it has worked every time. She never has a horse pull backwards and no harm has ever come of her methods. She leaves hers and goes and does her shopping!!! Sounds harsh but so long as safety measures are done no harm comes.
 
I once knew a mare, she was very old and past changing, who just would not be tied up. However, if you looped her rope around the rail of a fence (for example) without tying it, she would stand there til Doomsday!
It was a religious exemption I think. She was an Arab, now I come to think about it, LOL. You had to know her, and it did seem a bit bizarre, but in the end it was safest, as if you tied her up, she broke the rope and risked injuring herself, whereas if you left her looped, she was as safe as houses.
 
Agree with Enfys!

"Big strong, solidly anchored post, long rope/lunge rein, take a loop around the post and hold onto the end. When the horse pulls he is pulling against himself, when he stops pulling he automatically rewards himself with a release of pressure, because the rope isn't tied, you can always let go in an emergency."

But always make sure you are wearing good gloves and strong treaded boots and that the headcollar is a snug fit; in this case I would use a nylon one for the added strength then go back to a leather one when you've cracked it. I would never leave a horse tied up in a nylon headcollar, far too dangerous IMHO. It's also no good doing this if you are going to be a wimp and let him go at the first pull back; you need to be strong in thought and deed! You could also back this up with someone with a yardbrush behind him, but not to touch him or shout at him unless he pulls back further than the length of rope he's been given, then be lightening quick with it.

Also do make sure when you usually tie him up that he has enough slack to be able to relax while tied. Don't tie him with his face stuck into the wall, that's not fair, he does need to be able to turn his head if need be to make sure tigers aren't going to attack him or something equally frightening, maybe even the yard dog!

Whatever you do, do it little and often and treat every good 'tie' with praise; I'll leave it to you what you cuss him with if he doesn't behave!
 
Never tried it and don't intend to, but have been told an old horseman's trick is to use a stretchy bandage instead of a leadrope... they never get the satisfaction of meeting the limit and pulling harder!
Might be adaptable to use a bit of bungee instead of the string?? Wouldn't fancy it unsupervised though, and would use a headcollar I could slip off altogether in an emergency.
 
don't like the bungee idea as if it pinged in his face, it woudl reinforce the desire to pull back, but the bandage does sound clever. Quite long, in fact. So he just wandered backwards with more and more bandage following him until he thought, like, what's the point?!
Or, again under supervision, some kind of heath robinson pulley system where as he pulled away from the rope on one side, he was winched in on the other. That could be entertaining!
 
my pony's just taught himself how to untie his leadrope with his teeth but he never goes anywhere, he just stands there
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I'd not tie Fly up just loop the rope through the string so he dosn't have anything to pull against.
 
i used Enfys trick with my mare when i first got her - she was 7 and unbroken - she only fought for a few mins, it wasnt pretty but as a result i have a horse i can leave tied up for literally hours - even while i potter off to teach.
 
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