Tying a horse to a solid object

BogTrotter

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Does anyone do this?

I was bought up with the 'tie-a-horse-up-to-a-piece-of-baler-twine-or-the-world-will-end' approach. And I can see the thinking behind the approach.

However, lately I was wondering if this is the only safe way. I assume that there is a safe way to tie an appropriately trained horse (probably weaing a leather headcollar) to a solid object as someone said this was what they did years ago?

Any thoughs appreciated. Thank you :)
 

ribbons

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To be honest, using baler twine of years ago made sense. These days its nylon and very tough, the very thick stuff from big bales is pretty much unbreakable.
I always split it 3 or 4 times and then it will break under pressure, but I often see horses tied to a loop of full strength twine, which is often stronger than the gate, door or wall its attached to, and wonder if the owners realise they might as well have tied straight on the ring.

In answer to your question, I would never tie to anything that wouldn't break under pressure, especially with today's nylon ropes and head collars, leather are rarely used these days.
 
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GirlFriday

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Depends on if risk to horse if it got loose is greater than risk of injury from being tied (discounting the option of the solid object breaking/being pulled along here).

E.g. If horse had got onto a major road and I had option of tying to something solid or baler twine I'd probably choose the solid object as getting onto carriageway would be curtains for the horse anyway.

Whereas in a normal yard setting I'd always choose the twine/break point/elastic thingy.
 

ROMANY 1959

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Synthetic bailing twine is so strong that a horse I know panicked and it did not break, but wall of stable did and horse took off with ring attatch end to 2 planks of stable wall, the string only broke when horse bolted through a gate into school and planks got caught on gate...
After that I changed all my twine to Velcro horse ties, that break apart easily, I even put them in the lorry, leather headcolars are best, so are field safe ones with a Velcro head part that comes undone if horse pulls back or is stuck..
I hate those heavy nylon headcolars..it would take a heck of a lot of pressure to break one...
 

FfionWinnie

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I tie up to solid objects all the time. They are all trained to tie up and yield to pressure which means if a bomb dropped on their heads they still wouldn't think pulling away was an option. Which is a life saver, far more so than any piece of string would be.
 

SarahWeston

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I've had to bite my tongue at Heavy Horse events and other driving events where the horses always seem to be tied up to something solid, for example to a ring on the side of a horsebox. I guess it is a balance of risks and the thought of a Percheron disappearing off down the road by itself doesn't bear thinking about. However, there is a grave risk to the horse if it pulls back against something solid. A frightened horse won't stop pulling just because it hurts.
 

fattylumpkin

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It's normal to tie to a solid object here too, with double chain no less! Having been trampled and run over twice by a horse with a quirky terror of being tied (which he'd only remember at random once every few weeks or so) I can say that they don't make lead rope clips like they used to, or headcollar clips, which is probably a very good thing. It's the swivel part that breaks and it does so easily, but it still makes me cringe a bit inside.
 

Ditchjumper2

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Ours are all tied direct to the ring. And they stand. The clips on lead ropes these days are not the solid brass of yesteryear and do break under pressure. The ties in our lorry have the quick release clips. There is nothing worse than a horse that does not tie up! Mine have been tied on log and ropes with solid headcollars in the past...once they learn they can pull back and break away they do not forget.

However, I would not want one to get injured so it is a case of knowing your horse and watching in the early stages.
 

oldie48

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I've never had a horse that wouldn't "tie up" but I still wouldn't tie up to a solid object or to baler twine. Some years ago I was picking up a back foot and the horse just collapsed. i have no idea why, he never did it again, he was perfectly sound etc but the few strands of baler twine that I always use, broke, he sat on his arse, looked pretty shocked, stood up and we all got on with life. If he'd been tied to something solid, I think it might have been a rather different story. TBH I've yet to come across a horse that wouldn't pull back if you dropped a bomb on their head but I am not as experienced as you are so I tend to work on the basis of "teach them manners but if something unexpected happens, lets keep them safe!".
I tie up to solid objects all the time. They are all trained to tie up and yield to pressure which means if a bomb dropped on their heads they still wouldn't think pulling away was an option. Which is a life saver, far more so than any piece of string would be.
 

Cortez

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It does seem to be a UK thing? Whenever it comes up everyone in other countries say oh, always solid here!

Yup, nation of risk averse Nervous Nellies that you lot are (I am being affectionate here, no need to get offended), I've never tied anything up to a bit of string. We train everything to stand tied here and start when they are just a few day old. Horses that don't understand how to release the pressure by moving forwards will panic, so that is our job - teach them not to reverse into the poll pressure. If something "sets back" and starts to fight it may just need a tap with a grooming brush to send it forward enough to release the pressure. The only horse I've ever had that broke its headcollar was an English horse....
 

ester

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Just fewer native ponies heading to grass? ;)

My old chap still likes to test even the most experienced horseperson that isn't quite paying enough attention... despite it being a rule for the last 11 years, sigh!
 

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I use a short length of an old bicycle inner tube between the ring and rope. It has quite a bit of give in it, and has snapped when the pony pulled away once. He stays tied up better too, I do not know how he does it but by shaking his head in a certain way the rope comes undone. It is harder for him to get it undone with the inner tube.
 

NiceNeverNaughty

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interesting.... something ive been thinking on lately. I think I agree with cortez, fattylumpkin and Ffionwinnie.

you dont see many farmers tie cows up through a bit of bailer twine either. I taught my highland to stand tied to a solid bar, she learned everything with pressure & release and in the early days if she’d learned to pull back and break free it would have been dangerous. She knows well to step forward now to release pressure and I can tie her anywhere.
 

Dry Rot

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I occasionally pick the still vibrant mind of my 90 year old aunt. Her husband, my uncle, used to break in his own point-to-pointers and she tells me his technique was to tie them to a tree and go and have lunch!

The one recommendation that remains the same is to keep a sharp penknife in your pocket.
 

Llanali

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I've certainly tied to a tree before many times, and I've tied to a tree when I had a thug who had learnt to leg it at will. I do mainly use leather head collars and certainly did on those occasions. Those that learn to snap twine and entertain themselves at will, will need to learn that stand means stand. I always return, I never leave them in a a dangerous situation, I never knowingly or intentionally place them at risk, so they must learn that there is nothing to fear from standing nicely, and certainly nothing to gain from attempting to sod off because they fancy it. That particular thug used to just lean back slowly until the twine snapped and mooch off to the field.

I agree the metal clips these days would shear if there was a major issue. I do tie to twine as a rule, but I'm not averse to tiring to something solid when required.
 

blitznbobs

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Tbh I tie up to baker twine but these modern lead ropes are so crap they snap so easily I've never seen baler string go before the rope (lost a few headcollars thoygh along the way)
 

Micropony

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Yup, nation of risk averse Nervous Nellies that you lot are (I am being affectionate here, no need to get offended), I've never tied anything up to a bit of string. We train everything to stand tied here and start when they are just a few day old. Horses that don't understand how to release the pressure by moving forwards will panic, so that is our job - teach them not to reverse into the poll pressure. If something "sets back" and starts to fight it may just need a tap with a grooming brush to send it forward enough to release the pressure. The only horse I've ever had that broke its headcollar was an English horse....

I had one that broke a brand new nylon headcollar. That was the last time I cross tied him! He was German though not English.
 

Imogen Rose

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In America I was always taught to tie like youre going to war- to something solid, and tie it well.
In the UK at the yards I have been to there are very few places to safely solidly tie your horse up. If my horse pulls back it needs to be tied to something unbreakable, or something that breaks very easily.
If the rope headcollar with a sturdy new rope- not a leadrope, is tied to something solid like a tree or truck the horse cant hurt itself. The injuries come from taking the wall or gate down with it, or the headcollar or leadrope snapping and the horse flipping over vertically onto concrete.
I have a pony who will not tie, ahe has learnt to break leadropes etc by yanking quickly. She cannot be tied to anything that is not unbreakable. Its a massive pain as she has to be held at all times when out, as is a danger to herself and everything around her.
 

VikingSong

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I'm very tempted to make several generalisations over the supposed excellent "horsemanship" I observed in several countries.

I could talk about the under-worked, morbidly obese, horses I saw who were fed on huge buckets of "sweet feed." I could talk about the peculiar grooming habits such as owners picking their horses' hooves last after spending a riddiculous amount of time plaiting their horses' manes like barbie dolls (they think it's weird we Brits pick our horses' hooves first. Well, I go by the very sage advice of "no hoof; no horse").

I could talk about the bizarre "shows" I saw, where slobs in jeans and t-shirts would parade their fat ponies around wearing fake tails and make-up.

And I could talk about a certain hunt pack who beat the ***** out of their horses when they slip and fall over because the poor horse's thick as mince rider rushed the approach.

Frankly, I rate the average horsemanship in England as being better than I've witnessed in other countries, but I'll keep my opinions to myself.. ;)
 
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oldie48

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Please can someone explain why if a horse has been trained to stand like a rock in any circumstances and not pull back it is safer to tie to something solid rather than something that breaks very easily. I'm not sure of the logic.
 

Turitea

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...because there is no such thing as "standing rock solid in any circumstances"... better be safe than sorry. Example: "Rock solid in any circumstances" pony decided to take offence because of a hen (has seen hens all his lives, shared stable and even his food with them), spooked and ran away with not so rock solid bench it was tied to. End of story: Insurance did not pay out because horse hadn't been properley secured.
 

stencilface

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Just fewer native ponies heading to grass? ;)

My old chap still likes to test even the most experienced horseperson that isn't quite paying enough attention... despite it being a rule for the last 11 years, sigh!

Must be related to my sisters horse, although we've had him 21 years and he still gives a certain look if he's about to do something, time to take a sharp pull in that instance!

I have a 4yo that has broken off a couple of times, but not recently, but he's still a work in progress. The mule did it once or twice, but I then worked him by holding a lunge line through the ring so he couldn't get away. He ties ok now, I wouldn't dare to tie to something solid as I'm pretty sure he'd kill himself rather than admit defeat at any point.
 

oldie48

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If he had been tied up on something breakable, he wouldn't have taken the bench with him. I suggest the bench probably scared him more than the hen and it probably did the damage too. However, I'm sorry the insurance didn't pay out but tbh I wouldn't tie up to a moveable object anyway but that wasn't the context of my question.
...because there is no such thing as "standing rock solid in any circumstances"... better be safe than sorry. Example: "Rock solid in any circumstances" pony decided to take offence because of a hen (has seen hens all his lives, shared stable and even his food with them), spooked and ran away with not so rock solid bench it was tied to. End of story: Insurance did not pay out because horse hadn't been properley secured.
 
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