All about horses

To correctly train a horse to stand tied will require a lot of patience and effort.

Very young horses or foals should not be tied because they can injure themselves.

First start with the in hand and leading program as I have put into previous blogs .

Make sure your horse is settled in a box stall or small pen .

Start by putting a halter on and using a short piece of string bailing twine (sisal is best).

The baling twine string should be tied to a post or put on a screw eye or metal ring attached to the wall at the eye level of the horse .

NEVER tie a horse to a fence board or gate .

Use a small piece of baling twine to make a ring and then slip the end of the rope through the baling twine ring .

Don’t tie the rope right away .

Allow the horse to slip the line a little while you groom him.

Work in this way for several consecutive sessions so that your horse or pony does not feel that the rope won’t give a little.

After your horse is used to this then start to occasionally tie the rope using a quick release or slip knot.

Stay with your horse so that if he should panic and pull hard you can easily release the pressure on his poll by getting him untied quickly.

Eventually you will be able to back away and leave him for longer periods.

Some horses are smart and will learn to untie the knot themselves!

If you have one like that you may put the end of the rope back though the loop but then it will no longer be a quick release.

Only do that with horses that will not get claustrophobic and panic and try to break the line .

Cross ties should also have breakaway strings or quick release hardware but be careful not to cross tie a horse that has not learned to stand tied on one line first .

Horses that break out of cross ties can cause injuries to themselves or the people around them .

If you are not sure that the horse will stand tied quietly it’s best to just hold him yourself for the veterinarian or horse shoer.