How do you teach a horse to tie?

My New horse is turning out to be quite the project for me, but that's okay. I love him to death!!!! He has a problem though. His old owners never taught him to tie. They always had someone hold him when working with him (grooming and tacking up), so now if I put him in the round pen to lunge he goes crazy, but the minute i take him by the halter he's fine. It takes me a while to get him to walk into the wash rack because they didn't have one where he is from, but at my stables that's where you tack up your horse. His old owners said they tried to cross tie him before and he sat down and pulled the cross ties out of the wall. I'm nervous about putting him in them because I don't want him to hurt himself. How do you teach a horse to tie? Especially one who gets scared if there isn't someone by his head at all times?

 

One trainers opinion would be to tie him up on a fence post that he can't pull out of the ground and leave him for an hour or so. Just walk up, tie him, and leave him. you could try tieing him and giving him a hay net or some grain and leave him, so that he learns good things can happen if your not there.

 

Some will not agree with my method but it worked for my yearling. I used a strong post and a bicycle inertube. You take a 20" tube and wrap it around a strong post, then put the lead line through the loops of the tube and tie in a quick knot. While my yearling was tied I brushed her and talked to her and then I would walk away for a little while and then come back. Some horses do not like to be tied snug and the tube allows them some give. I have heard horror stories about using a tube however. It worked for me with no problems. I have an older mare that I tie with a tube because if I don't she will pull back and find out she is tied snug and then break my halter. I have gone through alot of halters before I started using a tube.

 

Thanks, guys, for the response. I'll try it out. I'm sure it will just take patience and persistance.

 

Try going to the Clinton Anderson website - www.clintonanderson.com. He has a ring for sale (and the video that goes with it) that he uses to tie his horses. I've seen his video on the training process for tying and I think it's the easiest and least dangerous so far. My horse seems to be coming along great and I'm sure yours will too.

 

This takes time but i think is good bonding. But Treat our 4 year old Noriker Gelding was not trained to tie either and it was a huge problem to even Lead Line him in from the Pasture he had no idea what this rope meant and would often either plant his feet firmly on the ground until you came and took him back his halter or pull losse and take off leading a hour long chase :roll: .

Treat had been through some rough stuff in his past with an educated owner and my dad just keeps him as a pet. But he did need to learn how to tie. We tried the who tying to a pole of fense thing. But oh buddy was that an ordeal Treat acted like someone had tied him there to shoot him. Hi bucked and kicked and made horrible low grunting noises ( his angry whinny) and it just stressed him out and made him fear Leads and cross ties even more. So one time I just went up in the pasture with a pocket full of carrots and mints and a lead. I gave Treat a carrot and while he was eating i hooked on his lead. I then gave him anouther carrot when he did'nt freak at being hooked. So i then wrapped the rope around my hand and held on to his halter. I led him bit by bit letting go of alittle more and more rope still rewarding him with praise and carrots or mints until halph way to the barn I had the lead line completely out and Treat walking along fine. It took a few weeks to get him to do this normally and to get him to cross tie nicely with no problems.

Like I said this is more for if you have the time and patience and if the others methods don't work.

 

NEVER tie an unexperianced horse up to sometihng with No give like Horse_child suggested. Your asking for neck injuries.

One of the best ways to teach is to get a tire intertube. Use a chain, and secure it to a tree limb. Then tie the end of your lead to the intertube. (be sure to keep it intackt so it looks like a donut).

Do not walk away from him. Gradually step back. reassuring him he's ok. Then slowly get out of his site. HE may try to set back. when he does, the pressure he exerts on the tube, will safely exert the same amount of pressure back. Without causing him to strain his neck or worse...

Never run up to them, yelling to stop, or anything. One, your jsut going to scare them more, two they might end up hurting you.

Do not give in and take them off the tie. Let them stay there. BUt keep watch at all times. He will learn that he's not going any where, nothing is going hurt him, and your not giving in to him.

 

sorry, didn't mean to give bad info. that's just what my trainer suggested to me. my horse never did haul back again do i didn't have to worry. the trainer didn't tell me about neck injuries. i really trust this trainer, that's why i took his word for it. thanks for the info sams.

 

One of the most dangerous training techiniques is teaching to tie. For that main reason.
A horse's neck is not as strong as most think. The slightest injury can deem a horse lame for the rest of its life. I can't belive a trainer suggested that!!!

 

Agreed!

How would one teach a horse to ground tie instead? Thoughts??

I had a gelding that pulled back all the time and we ground tied all the time...(not for real but what we did worked) and that worked out fine... IT seems that in a trailer (not stock but horse) they don't have the issues with being tied (he didn't) that he did with being tied out in the open... I figure he was tied to a post and sacked out that way... like the old cowboys did (some of them anyway)... HE's an Arab and it obviously didn't work... I want my new gelding to ground tie and be okay in a trailer tied... Thoughts?

 

basically use the same way I meantioned. Arabs can be high strung and stubborn, and in that fact are more apt to injure themselves. I always have a halter on a foal before its 24 hrs old. Imprent and by the time its a week old, their halterbroke and can begin tieing.

 

I'm relatively sure that my gelding coming has been tied for many things... His owners loved him much and I figure they treated him like a pet... You know what I mean? just based on how comfortable he is with people on the ground I just can't see him being to nutty tied... The saddle spooked him a bit going on and coming off and that can be remedied nicely... We'll see how it goes...the test will really be in how he acts in the trailer before he's unloaded... TWICE once for pre-purchase exam and then to unload at the stable. My New gelding is the appy mentioned down a few threads... Rodeo Blackjack...much more docile than even my 30 year old Arab.

I'm an Arab. fan though...so watch those comments folks.....LOL...