All Tied Up | RES 041 - a podcast by Van Hargis

Everyone has a tying your horse up story. I’ve heard quite a few recently through online conversations I’ve been having with folks, and some people have claimed things that I’m not sure I totally agree with. So, in this episode, I’ll be setting the record straight with where I stand on the topic. And for starters, we’ll dive right into what I see as being the biggest mistake people make when tying up their young horse: trying to tie up your horse before they’re halter broke.

Key Takeaways

If you have to pull and tug on the rope then chances are your horse isn’t halter broke. Just because the halter is on your horse and they are dragging a lead rope around doesn’t mean they’re good to go. Being correctly trained should have your horse respecting the lead rope and halter. You should be able to control their body, and to an extent, their attitude.

Something I’ve heard before is training your horse to stay tied by roping them off to some deserted post in a field and leaving them there. Remember, the release of pressure is how horses learn. That release only comes from you, their leader, properly training them. The post isn’t going to do that for you.

One of the most common problems with tying up a horse is when the horse pulls back. See, a horse’s first instinct when something is wrong is to flee. And guess what? Being tied up to something takes that away from them. This ties into the need to find the cause before the cure.

We had a horse that was fine being tied up, so long as they could see through or around whatever they were tied to. It took time and effort to figure that out, and more than two or three attempts after that in order to teach them properly. As their leader, you need to be able to work with your horse until you can make the learning part of their brain win out over their instinct.

Another common behavior is pawing. This is not only embarrassing but can wreck equipment and cost you a lot of money as well. Pawing can occur when a horse is bored or anxious. That anxiety comes from the horse not knowing when, or if, you’re coming back to untie them.

From the horse’s perspective, when they are tied up you’ve left them exposed to danger. So, tying up your horse around their buddies is a good way to alleviate some of their worry. Tying them up for short intervals to start off with helps as well. This lets the horse know you are in fact coming back and helps build up the trust needed to leave them for longer periods.

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