Tied up - haynet or no haynet?

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Lill

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Our horses are expected to stand quietly tied up on the yard without a haynet for as long as they are required too. Maybe an hour at a time at the very most.

Our liveries always use haynets and their horses are apparently not well behaved and won't stand quietly unless they have haynets. (Which in turn wastes hay as it is dropped over the floor).

Granted my new mare Saf will not stand still yet but this is something we will be working on! Think she is still a bit up in the air when she comes in as she's only been with us a couple of weeks.

So what do you expect of your horse? And do you use haynets to occupy them?
 
If hes tied up for ages then he has a net as horses are designed to eat almost constantly. However he will stand happily without one, for hours if need be. So usually he doesnt have one while I muck out, do hays, feeds, waters etc as its just more mess to clean up afterwards
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I dont think you should have to give them one to make them behave. Maybe a good idea with a youngster though to keep them occupied.
 
I expect mine to tie up with no net. However to ask a horse to stand in one place for an hour and not get fidgety is a bit much IMO.
 
No haynet, she does flap about a bit sometimes if she thinks I ought to be feeding her but she gets better all the time. Partly because I don't want her eating out of haynets because of her neck muscles, partly that its messy and partly because I think its bad manners not to stand tied up
 
I expect all of my horses to stand quietly whilst tied up; without fidgeting and no they are never given anything to eat. The reason being is that when they are standing tied up in the corral it is because they are about to work - in my book, work starts the minute they leave the field and I expect good manners from the horse/s from that moment onwards.
 
If they're standing there for up to an hour its whilst i muck out, hay, feed, water etc or might have got them in early whilst waiting for a lesson. Knew i'd get questions about that one!
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They are fine, they just doze usually
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Well my view is that most horses will get fidgety after a while, if only because they are bored and used to having something to do or eat...so why make trouble for yourself by expecting them to stand still with nothing to do...give them a haynet and keep them sweet! Who cares about a bit of mess on the floor...that is what brooms are for!
I think we try to instill our own 'ideal manners' on horses far too much!
 
I will put up a haynet if they are going to be tied up for a while - for a major wash and polish, at a show, or clipping or even for the farrier if it means then that the horse is happy eating and I can leave him to get on with it - but they will also tie up without. However it would not normally be my expectation to be leaving a horse tied up unless I am actually doing something with it
 
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I will put up a haynet if they are going to be tied up for a while - for a major wash and polish, at a show, or clipping or even for the farrier if it means then that the horse is happy eating and I can leave him to get on with it - but they will also tie up without. However it would not normally be my expectation to be leaving a horse tied up unless I am actually doing something with it

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My thought exactly!
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Mine don't fidget, are no trouble at all and they are perfectly sweet whilst tied up. Maybe I am just lucky with all of mine but they aren't used to being given hay whilst tied so they know no different. Offering hay for horses when tied up out of the field, is not usual here, so most horses are brought up in this fashion.

Mess has absolutely nothing to do with it where I'm concerned.

I don't believe that instilling good manners in horses is over the top. Most of my buyers do not expect horses to fuff and fart around, they expect (and pay for) horses with perfect manners at all times....and that's what they get.
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My previous horse would stand like a saint, however the one I have now its like he has itching powder and its far too interested in life in general. He likes to observe whats going on. Its part of him , all depends on what I doing as to whether he gets a haynet, I don't really have any hard and fast rules.
 
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Mine don't fidget, are no trouble at all and they are perfectly sweet whilst tied up. Maybe I am just lucky with all of mine but they aren't used to being given hay whilst tied so they know no different. Offering hay for horses when tied up out of the field, is not usual here, so most horses are brought up in this fashion.

Mess has absolutely nothing to do with it where I'm concerned.

I don't believe that instilling good manners in horses is over the top. Most of my buyers do not expect horses to fuff and fart around, they expect (and pay for) horses with perfect manners at all times....and that's what they get.
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See this is my opinion too.
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Our horses are expected to have good manners at all times! They get their turnout everyday without fail (9 are out 24/7 3 come in at night) so that is their time to mess about, when they come in we expect them to be well behaved.
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From the beginning we have never given them hay to tie up with (so they don't expect it either), only time they get haynets is when we go to shows and they are tied to the lorry.
 
All of mine will stand without a net - all of different ages and breeds.
I guess it's as they never get a net when tied up! It's not about them having perfect manners, yes, they move about a bit if they want to, and thats fine. TBH, i hate it when a horse will only be tied up with a net, after all, what if in an emergency the horse couldnt be given a net? - that would lead to one stroppy horse.
My only exception is at shows, yeah it gets in manes and tails but i feel with all of the excitment of a showground - a net by the box is the ideal distraction!
 
I never put a haynet up for horse tied on the yard. If they are naughty enough to need one, then they should not be tied on the yard imo.
 
If I didn't give Ronnie something to occupy him whilst he's tied up (haynet, or lick usually) then he would find ways of amusing himself, normally involving dismantling the stable, ripping rugs, chewing through his leadrope. Much as I'd like him to stand there quietly I'm afraid I can't afford for him to not be occupied.

He's like a toddler - into everything!
 
I have never tied up with a haynet. Just never saw the point. They all soon learnt to stand still even the babies. Never left them tied for too long and as you say they were usually tied up because I was doing something with them. In the summer I used to wash my SJ and leave him tied in the sun to dry. He just went to sleep I think I may have given him a net once and he just used it as a head rest
 
If there is a net tied up outside his stable already then he can have it but I wouldn't go and get one specially, so sometimes yes and sometimes no. MIne stands quietly either way, usually he has a little doze if there is nothing going on.
 
I never use haynets , One stays in the horsebox and thats it .

Missy who is reaching 2 yr old (in march ) stands tied up , she fidgets alittle but when told to stand up she does .

She stands until her bed is cleaned out and thats about 20 mins max , majority of times its only about 15 mins .

Tommy on the other hand can get fidgety , although he gets the same treatment as missy .
 

If she's going to be tied up a while (while farrier is on the yard for instance) then I might put a slice of hay in a small holed net but 99% of the time she stands still & is a good girl.

The only time she gets fidgety is if she knows we're going out for a ride & then she starts pawing or gets fidgety on her toes but generally she is a good girly!
 
My boy doesnt get a haynet when hes tied up outside, hes happy enough watching the workd go by and getting the odd treat from friends who come and pat him or a cuddle. Hes on box rest so just enjoys being out of his stable for any length of time TBH.

Funny coz this question came up just the other day when my mate remorked how well behaved he was without a haynet whilst I did all my jobs etc I said I wouldnt expect anything less but she said her chap would dig the floor until he got a haynet
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I was just thinking, actually he'll stand tied in the yard ok, he'll chew his leadrope or the hosepipe but otherwise behave himself for quite some time. But outside his stable where his rugs are, that's when he needs mentally occupying
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My 5 year old used to be quite impatient when I tied him as he was waiting for something to eat he'd paw the ground.

However now he has settled and I can leave him for as long as I like he relaxes and just falls asleep or watches the world go by - it's a busy yard so plenty to see.
 
Lol we do of course have one exception to the rule of standing quietly
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, Madd will just dance around on the end of the leadrope when she comes in (luckily its rare she comes in
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) giving her a haynet or even a bucket of feed (when she came into be fed) makes no difference whatsoever she just keeps on dancing... strange horse.
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My boys will stand on the yard for farrier etc without a haynet. However, if I'm going for a hack I've found that Chum is generally happier with a haynet while I'm mucking out etc. He has had back problems (fingers crossed this is getting better) so I find the haynet makes tacking up less of an issue + he is less likely to think he is starving to death on the hack
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Hehe this thread is pretty funny, the shock from some people that a horse be tied up for an hour on the yard! Mine came from the riding school where I used to work and he had to stand tied up from 8am to 6pm. He always had hay and water and it didn't bother him. It's just what they had to do and they accepted it.

Our YO has just recently decided we're not allowed to use haynets to tie up outside but it's not really a problem for us either way.
 
My boy is the least food-motivated horse I have ever met, so haynet would not be an issue, but he hates being left tied up at the back of his stable where he can't see what's going on in the yard. He gets frustrated and fidgets and calls.

If he has to be left tied up for any length of time (to keep him clean when he's just been groomed for a visiting breeder, for example), we try to make sure he's tied at the front of the stable, so he can still survey his kingdom and make sure his subjects are behaving themselves...
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For him it's much more about what he can see than what he can eat!
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I know it's important for horses to have good manners and do as they are told, but I like to take some account of their needs and try to keep them happy as well. A stallion naturally wants to be able to see 'his' herd - why deprive him of this if it's not essential?
 
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