Does your horse understand about being tied?

 

How often do you tie your horse and how long do you leave him/her there?

 

Jody Ruysen – 3 Star Parelli Professional discusses tying horses.

 

There are a few things I come across when it comes to tying horses; one is that people say their horse is so good that they don't need to be tied, which is great from a relationship perspective.  The other is that the horse is tied but will then paw the ground and that often results in the person becoming frustrated. Another is that the horse doesn't get tied up because it pulls back/ breaks any baling twine. Or, they have a horse that knows its job and can stand tied up with no worry about what's going on around them. 

Which would you like to have happen?

Horses are claustrophobic to varying degrees, so tying horses can accentuate their prey animal instincts which can end up a very dangerous situation if your horse cannot think its way through it.

To help a horse with their claustrophobic tendencies, they need drift in the rope and there are now gadgets such as blocker tie rings that allow for this to happen.  

Tying to baling twine, which is common practice in the UK, can teach your horse to pull enough to break free which isn't hugely useful either although I do understand why people choose to do that.

 

For a horse to understand tying, they need to understand:

 

1) How to yield to pressure

2) Yield to pressure and be relaxed so as to think their way through it. 

3) Able to yield and stay relaxed with varying other distractions going on. 🚀 🚜 ✈️ 🐮 🚗 (quite extreme examples!) 

 

These things are taught prior to tying your horse! 

When tying horses, it's better to tie high so that the horse has less leverage.

Tying Horses Coorectly

In this photo, I used a rail where I could wrap the rope to allow it to slide if he needed some drift but also it was fixed enough so he couldn't just slide it out easily.  

He knows how to pull away so it's important that he learns a different response and doesn't get released from yanking the rope!! 

You can see where he found some relaxation and that would be the best time to release him, so he learns that that is a good response. I’d played with him on the ground prior to tying him so he had more desire to chill out and relax. 

 

Lastly; how long do you leave them tied for?

 

Initially, it’s rewarding the relaxation and then building up the amount of time that they can do so. It’s an excellent way of helping a horse with its patience.