Posted 2007-03-24 12:06 AM (#57656 - in reply to #57629) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Member
Posts: 46 Location: Corvallis, OR
I've made a few cross country trips w/ my 2 quarter horses... open road straight freeway I tend to leave them un-tied. I've got a 22 year old and a 7 year old. I tie the 7 year old and leave the 22 year un-tied most of the time. One trip I even took the divider out (was only hauling 1 horse about 700 miles) of my 2 horse sundowner. The 22 year old LOVED it... like a box stall on wheels.
I wouldn't leave an inexperienced horse untied however. Theres a lot of trouble to get in to... especially if you are feeding them in the trailer. thats when you get a horse under a divider and end up with a mess. But then if you don't tie them tight enough, then you get a leg over a lead rope tied to the roof of your trailer, and a whole different load of problems.
Its best to just use good judgement. Know your horse, know what sort of terrain you will be driving, and if need be, you can resort to bubble wrap.
Posted 2007-03-24 9:46 AM (#57673 - in reply to #57629) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Expert
Posts: 1723 Location: michigan
I don't tie my horses. This isn't a matter of right or wrong since many people handle this in the manner that suits them and the horse. If you tie, allow some room for them to move their heads ( side to side and lower but not to the ground) I like my horses to be able to drop their heads, they stand and wait to be unloaded and are sensible enough not to climb over or under anything. Yours may be different. So if you feel you want to tie- go ahead.
Posted 2007-03-24 5:24 PM (#57689 - in reply to #57673) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
I lead them to the trailer and throw the lead rope over their back so it doesn't tangle in their feet or get pee'd on, and watch them climb in. Once in place I shut the divider behind them. If I was going for a long distance, I'd probably remove the lead.
when I let them out, I just open the divider and stand back out of the way as the back out. I don't have to climb in and untie a lead.
With the dividers shut they really can't go any where. So why bother to tie? I use a slant load trailer. straight load may be different, since opening the gate would let two hroses back out at the same time. Which probably would be a wreck waiting to happen.
Posted 2007-03-24 11:27 PM (#57724 - in reply to #57629) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Member
Posts: 44 Location: Montana
I tie all my horses. The bigget reson is that I don't want them hurting their head on the under part of the divider or getting stuck under it. I use trailer ties and sometimes leave the lead ropes on.
Posted 2007-03-25 6:30 AM (#57733 - in reply to #57629) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391 Location: Columbia, KY
like a couple others said it depends on the horse. I never tie my older horses.. they've been hauled thousands of miles no problem. I have a 4 yr old who still is a little nervous in the trailer and I"ve tried him both ways but he seems more secure w/ being tied, so thats how he rides. (have a 3 H slant) when we're going long distances and i only have 1 horse I'll put the dividers to the side and use it like a box stall. they seem to enjoy that and always end up facing backwards, so I'll hang a hay bag on what normally would be the butt side.
Posted 2007-03-25 12:01 PM (#57748 - in reply to #57629) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
New User
Posts: 2
Location: Red Bluff, CA
Thank you for all the wonderful points of view. Since we're on the trailer thing, by the way which seems to be my biggest hurdle with my horse, is it o..k. to remove the middle divider and let the horses ride side by side and use the end divider to close them in? My horses are retired trail horses. They are 19 years old and have been best friends since they were 3. We went out and bought a nice two horse slant thinking this would be great for the horses- wrong. They felt very uncomfortable in the small trailer and really hated the divider. I later found out that they have only been hauled in a stock trailer just a couple of times a year. After alot of frustrating efforts to load in the 2 horse slant I decided they needed a bigger trailer. We just bought an old 3 horse sland that is open on both sides. We brought it home and tried loading the horses. Much to my relief the both just walked in. Neither of them like the divider though. Would it be dangerous to let them ride side by side? It is amazing how you can over think something when you are nervous about it and get things a out of focus.
Posted 2007-03-25 12:12 PM (#57749 - in reply to #57748) Subject: RE: To tie or not to tie
Expert
Posts: 2828 Location: Southern New Mexico
You could haul either way. Are your dividers solid or does the head area have bars? My horses like to see each other. The trailer I have right now has the solid divider at the head and they spend a lot of time trying to peak around it. My youngest gelding panicks if he thinks he is alone on the trailer. As soon as I get a chance I am going to have the sheet metal removed and bars welded in its place so he can see everone else.
To tie or not to tie
.jpg)