Tethered horses

maggiestar

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I live in an area with lots of tethered horses on random patches of land. You even see them roaming loose sometimes, wandering down to the beach for a nosy round then back to their fields.
While the hippy in me loves to see horses enjoying their freedom and normal folk enjoying horse ownership without having to do it all the 'BHS way' I do sometimes wonder if the tethered horses are getting a fair deal. They get moved around the field on a daily basis and they look well but I can't tell how much water they're getting. They do have water buckets near by though.
Last night there was a furious storm and I lay awake thinking about the current pony out there, knowing it had no shelter.
I'm being stupid aren't I?
 
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meleeka

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I think it's quite sad to see a pony on a tether. There's nothing fluffy or nice about not being able to display normal horse behaviour imo. Apart from the lack of shelter they can't socialise with other horses, or graze in the normal manner. Don't underestimate the weight of those collars and chains either.

I have a pony at mine that has been kept on a tether since she was weaned. She has no idea on how to be a pony which is very sad. She doesn't know about other horses and how to interact, she has no clue how to mutually groom even. Her manners are quite lacking just because she's never been taught any, either by horse or human.

I'd like to see it banned for long term use, but like anything Equine related, the law would be unenforceable.
 

Sparemare

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I absolutely hate it. There are lots round our way, tethered alone on bits of land with a bucket of water. I would prefer the law changed so this were illegal.
 

pansymouse

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My first pony was routinely tethered in the day time and in a small paddock on her own at night. She was perfectly happy, well balanced and socialised. Her first love was hunting which made her hugely excited but she behaved perfectly whilst out. I think unless you have practical experience of managing a tethered horse it's difficult to comment in an informed way. I appreciate that it doesn't suit all horses but have no problem with tethering hardy natives in a well managed way.
 

meleeka

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My first pony was routinely tethered in the day time and in a small paddock on her own at night. She was perfectly happy, well balanced and socialised. Her first love was hunting which made her hugely excited but she behaved perfectly whilst out. I think unless you have practical experience of managing a tethered horse it's difficult to comment in an informed way. I appreciate that it doesn't suit all horses but have no problem with tethering hardy natives in a well managed way.

Most ponies that are tethered don't have the luxury of part of the time off it and that's the problem. I wouldn't mind seeing a pony tethered for part of the day either but it's the living on it 24/7, 365 that's cruel.

The pony that we have has her hay on the floor because she doesn't know what a net is. She's so grateful for that little bit of softness that she lays on it and pees on it too. She was very nervous in the beginning and I think the lack of chain meant she didn't feel secure. She was perfectly confident when tethered.
 

ycbm

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My first pony was routinely tethered in the day time and in a small paddock on her own at night. She was perfectly happy, well balanced and socialised. Her first love was hunting which made her hugely excited but she behaved perfectly whilst out. I think unless you have practical experience of managing a tethered horse it's difficult to comment in an informed way. I appreciate that it doesn't suit all horses but have no problem with tethering hardy natives in a well managed way.

I'm sorry, but how could she be 'socialised'? She was either tethered, or on her own.

I don't have experience of murdering anyone yet, but I can make s judgment that it's wrong. For me, tethering is wrong.
 

little_critter

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I think it's quite sad to see a pony on a tether. There's nothing fluffy or nice about not being able to display normal horse behaviour imo. Apart from the lack of shelter they can't socialise with other horses, or graze in the normal manner. Don't underestimate the weight of those collars and chains either.

I have a pony at mine that has been kept on a tether since she was weaned. She has no idea on how to be a pony which is very sad. She doesn't know about other horses and how to interact, she has no clue how to mutually groom even. Her manners are quite lacking just because she's never been taught any, either by horse or human.

I'd like to see it banned for long term use, but like anything Equine related, the law would be unenforceable.

I also see headcollars pressing into noses ( from the weight of the chain) and also being twisted to they are close to the eye. water buckets are frequently knocked over so the horse can easily go 24 hours with no access to water. Where we are they are on verges and several have got their chains snagged in the hedge so not able to move (I've freed them)
 

cally23

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Where I live, I have to detour around certain very busy roads, as the tethered horses break my heart, especially the youngsters, none have water. Last summer they had just a mound of watermelon in front of them. The stallion is on a roundabout, he has been there for years. What a miserable existence and that is all it is. Tethered horses should be illegal and hefty fines in place for those who break the law.
 

little_critter

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I'd rather see a horse tethered outside, with others, with access to fresh air and grass, than stuck in a stable all day.

Can't say they always have access to grass, depending on the owner they don't move them often enough so the grass is quickly a mudbath.
Access to fresh air, yes. It's just as well as sometimes it's all they have to live on!
 

ycbm

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I'd rather see a horse tethered outside, with others, with access to fresh air and grass, than stuck in a stable all day.

I wouldn't. Because that access to fresh air includes exposure to boiling sun, freezing cold wet, being taunted by children or dogs, permanent wearing of a head or neck collar and chain. On balance, I'd rather see them in a stable of the same sort of size, properly fed and watered. Neither are right, but one is far worse than the other, I think.
 

Orangehorse

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There are some local gypsies travelling around and they tether their ponies on the verge. They are are cared for.

As in all things, it depends on how well they are looked after. Some people tether to keep the weight down, I suppose until the invention of electric fencing this was a good option.
 

MDB

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Where I live horses are often tethered. I don't think anybody likes to see a horse alone, tethered 24/7. But all of my 3 horses that I have owned have been at times with me and know how to be tethered. For short periods (a couple of hours occasionally) I don't see an issue. I think it is really useful to have a horse that knows how to be tethered safely, and all of my horses can be tied up or tethered anywhere, anytime and stand perfectly behaved.
 

yhanni

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Where I used to live there were lots of tethered horses and it used to upset me when they foaled - once the foals were up and about, the mares would get very anxious when the foals were out of reach or staggering towards another tethered horse. Also, loose dogs . . . and children could torment them. There were a few who were properly cared for but they were very much in the minority.
 

ycbm

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Where I live horses are often tethered. I don't think anybody likes to see a horse alone, tethered 24/7. But all of my 3 horses that I have owned have been at times with me and know how to be tethered. For short periods (a couple of hours occasionally) I don't see an issue. I think it is really useful to have a horse that knows how to be tethered safely, and all of my horses can be tied up or tethered anywhere, anytime and stand perfectly behaved.

I can't think of a situation where I would want to fetch a chain and a mallet and bang in a stake and tether for a couple of hours rather than use an electric pen. Can you describe more?
 

zaminda

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I don't like seeing it. I have seen some horrendous injuries from tethers around the neck. I remember seeing a pony come in, and it had these weird lumps around its neck. Turned out the skin had started growing over the neck, and the lumps were chain.
My little mare gets a horrible rub on her nose from just wearing a padded headcollar for a few hours. I can't begin to imagine how much it hurts when that is attached to a chain.
 

MDB

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I can't think of a situation where I would want to fetch a chain and a mallet and bang in a stake and tether for a couple of hours rather than use an electric pen. Can you describe more?

I think there are two issues. Tethering can be done safely and effectively with proper care for the horse. The situation where horses are left tethered with no water, shelter and that get wounded or injured are clearly cases of neglect.
My first horse repeatedly ran through five strands of electric fencing, up to 2 m high. The strands were tight and connected to wooden posts. He was a nightmare. The situation got so desperate that I had to tether him to a small tractor tire and then stick the stake in the ground. We had recently bought the property and it didn't have post and rail fencing. Tethering him was the only safe solution until I could resolve the situation. He went back To his previous owner who eventually sold him on after he repeatedly went on the rampage and the final incident he and his two pasture mates were out loose and lost for over 24 hours.
A couple of years ago I had my entire field ploughed and reseeded. A kind neighbour 15 mins away said I could use their field for grazing but couldn't put up fencing. The horses were taken there in hand and tethered for a couple of hours each day and brought back. In summer here everything goes brown. Often horses are taken daily for grazing to different areas and if you are moving a horse every day it is far less equipment to take a stake and a hammer, than piles of posts and electric fencing and an energiser. I think there is a real cultural difference in the way horses are kept here. Some good, some not so. In this part of the world horses are not stabled, clipped or rugged. Most live out, 24.7. And tethering is fairly common practice. Those horses which are tethered and neglected are a different situation. But personally I don't see an issue with teaching a horse how to be safely tethered and doing that for short periods in certain situations.
EDIT to add that I don't see horses on chains here. Many horses a tethered with rope, and the roped goes through a hosepipe for the first 5m to stop the legs getting tangled.
 
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SpringArising

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I think there is a real cultural difference in the way horses are kept here. Some good, some not so. In this part of the world horses are not stabled, clipped or rugged. Most live out, 24.7. And tethering is fairly common practice. Those horses which are tethered and neglected are a different situation. But personally I don't see an issue with teaching a horse how to be safely tethered and doing that for short periods in certain situations

Absolutely agreed.

I've heard of more accidents horses have had from electric tape than I have from properly tethered horses.
 

fredflop

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I also used to have a horse that would jump out of fields. I never quite got to the stage where she had to be tethered, but i was seriously considering it
 

CanteringCarrot

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Tethering your horse is still allowed? Wow..



People do rent parcels of land here but they just throw up some electric fencing powerd by car battery to keep their horses in and it works well enough. I actually don't know the legality of it here in Germany. I am thinking it is not legal, but then again people keep horses, cows, and pigs shut up in stables 24/7 365, so perhaps tethering might be better than that!
 

The Fuzzy Furry

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What is the danger to other horses that are loose in a field with a tethered pony. Does anyone have experience of this?
Never ever do this, its extremely dangerous to the tethered one and also to loose animals.

CanteringCarrot, yes tethering in England is still legal. Unfortunately many are not correctly tethered, tho some are.

Correctly done, it can solve grazing and also catching issues.
 

Suechoccy

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Tethering can be done well or can be done badly.
So can stabling. We shouldn't be blind to the fact that shutting a horse indoors in a 12 x 12 space for 23 hours a day where it is unable to exhibit normal behaviour, can't touch or groom equine neighbours, can't graze at will, no sunshine on its back, is potentially just as cruel, esp if we look some of the welfare cases where the horses never leave the stables, never get their beds mucked out so end up with various health problems.
At least horses kept badly on tethers still tend to be visible to the public, whereas horses kept badly in stables can be hidden out of sight.
 

Sugar_and_Spice

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What is the danger to other horses that are loose in a field with a tethered pony. Does anyone have experience of this?

As a child I rode a pony which lived in a field with three others. There were two stables, which the laminitic and the arthritic ones went into at night. The laminitic tethered days during spring, on a 20m rope attached to the headcollar. He was also difficult to catch so if he was going to be ridden he'd be turned loose wearing the rope too in summer, it was heavy and dragged along behind him. Nobody ever got their legs caught up in the rope, he did have impressive muscles on the underside and to a lesser extent the topline of his neck though. Of far greater concern was the insufficient bedding in the stables and the solitary slice of small-bale hay per pony per day given in the overgrazed field during winter, the laminitic was fine but the rest were skinny and listless by spring. Money was spent on shoeing but not on food, worming or dentistry, all of which were much needed. There are worse things than tethering IMO.
 
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