Hi,

I just bought a beautiful 10 yo Morgan gelding.  He has not done much all his life so we are getting aquainted slowly and I am trying to figure out how he reacts to different situations.  I plan to eventually use him for limited distance rides and hopefully endurance.

Because of my choice of sport, he will obviously have to be good at trailering and tying in different situations including potential "scary" ones. 

The second day I had him I went out to groom and "bond" with him.  I tied him to the trailer so that we could "simulate" a trail ride situation.  Something spooked him and he broke my lead rope and ran down to the barn (not far).  So I thought I can't let him get away with this so I tied him again......went to spray mane stuff on him and he did it again.  OK, so now I know that he knows he can do this.  And I need to find a way to teach him not to panic when tied.

My question is, has anyone been able to fix this problem?  I am teaching him how to yeild to poll pressure from the halter from the ground and he is learning.  I am afraid that in a paniced situation he will forget.  Also are the blocker tie rings a good compromise for this situation.  I think once he gets his confidence up he may be alright.  Obviously I don't want him to get hurt in the meantime.

Thanks,

Go to the Clinton Anderson's web page and get you an Aussie Tie Ring.  He may even have a brief explanation of how it works.  I can't remember.

Oh yeah, and a Rope haulter with a 14 ft. and depending on your horse a 23 ft. lead rope.

I personally had this issue with my TB mare who, as a result of this issue, ended up with a broken neck.  I will tell you what was done to my horse as a warning to NOT do it and then I will tell you what was recommended to me after it was to late.  My horse was boarded at a facility but was not in training.  One day the facility moved horses from one pasture to another.  The facilities trainer ended up with my mare.  When he put pressure on her she pulled back so he took her into the indoor arena took a thick cotton rope, tied it around her girth in a slip knot then brought the end of the rope between her front legs, through the halter and tied to the steel beam on the arena wall.  It wasn't long before she pulled back, she was tied high and left to thrash around.  I'm not sure what the time limit was but eventually they cut her out of the halter because she did not give up.  She was ripped to ribbons, ended up with a broken neck and nerve damage in her hind quarters.    So be cautious!

What was recommended to me, but I have not tried is a rope halter with a long 20 to 30 ft rope wrapped around a round pole (maybe 2 or 3 times) (I'd test it before actually tying your horse to it, making sure when you pull on the rope it gently slides back, not quickly but also not too tight.  I was told they will USUALLY stop after about 10 ft of rope has been used but if more is needed you have it. I would try it in a controlled situation like a pipe paddock.   They also have those new things that you run the rope through which is the same principle.  Please be careful and don't let anyone talk you into tying your horse with equipment that won't give in the chance the fight like mine did.  At least if they would have used something that would have had some give to it she would have had a chance.

Good luck!

How awful about your mare.  I am sorry.  I think the Aussie tie, the blocker tie and the thing that you are talking about are one in the same.  Basically gives a bit so that the horse doesn't continue with the panic and hopefully learns that they are not in danger and hopefully will stop.

I was just wondering if anyone had any success using these Aussie ties or blocker ties. 

Thanks for the advise.

At what point can I try to tie again?  He is already giving to pressure at the poll from the halter. And he is respectful on the ground.

The Clinton Anderson Aussie Tie ring is suppose to act like a support to get them through the scary part without running off.  Similar to how it would feel with a person holding the lead line and applying pressure but going with the horse a bit so they don't feel trapped.

Has any one had any success with these tie rings in training situations?

Morgan,

  Is it only when you tie him to the trailer?  My horse did the same thing at first but will now stand perfectly still.  I just tied her to the trailer and very calmly talked/brushed her while also keeping a hand on the lead rope.  Additionally, you mentioned the spray bottle.  Does he back off when you use it by itself?  If so, hold his lead rope in one hand and show him that spray bottle won't hurt by gently brushing him with it and then doing short sprays above him.

One other thing you don't mention is how you are tieing her up.  Do you use a quick release that gives him some resistance but allows you to quickly untie him if he starts to hurt himself?  Also, try using some treats to help convince him it isn't bad to be tied.

Just my two cents

I just wanted to update everyone.  We had a great morning.  I ran his lead rope through the tie ring but did not tie.  We simply worked on giving to pressure and if he pulled back, I brought him forward with steady pressure.  Coming forward brought lots of praise.

Sprayed conditioner on his mane (he has that typical Morgan thick course mane, love it) and with each squirt with no reaction...lots of praise.  By the end I was spraying his whole mane and tail with not a flinch.

This was a positive note.  When I think he has this down I plan to repeat at the trailer until he is used to the trailer as well.

I agree with re-breaking him to lead...something was overlooked along the way.

Horses that set-back "should" stop, give to the pressure and stand.

I had a freak one time accident in my barn and two horses set-back at the same time.  Both then stood perfectlly still until I could find new leads and re-tie.

It's a good rule of thumb to retrain any horse new to you so that both of you know "the rules."

Everyone has offered good advice and good to hear that you are making progress from your update.  Roundpen work is very important and not to be taken lightly or skipped.  Sacking out covers a whole host of different days of training.  I take an old feed sack and put a few metal cans inside.  I stand in the middle of the roundpen and fake charge the trainnee, when they stop running the ring and turn to face me, I stop rattling the cans.  Eventually, they get the idea that if they don't run and turn to face what scares them, it goes away.  Lug nuts in a coffee can, gravel in an antifreeze jug are some of the things I use to creatively get them sacked out in the roundpen.  Basiscally, you are training them NOT to run away from, but just turn and face what they are not sure about.  Might save you a bad spill on a trail ride, if they just turn and face it rather than bolting away from it in full flight?

Second thought; I have a big mare and she is wickedly brilliant with a lot of heart.  On occaission, she would break away from where she is tied.  When she did, she would not run off and eventually turn to see if I was watching and give me one of those, "I'm sorry, did I do something wrong" looks! This got to be a game with her for a couple of years and I never really worried about, it was just her way of "showing off" to me.  A friend of mine had one of his horses break away while we were camped over night and by the time the dust settled, it was not a pretty sight. No one hurt, but some campsites tore up pretty bad. I decided that night that my mare was going to stop showing off about being tied.  Took me about six weeks, several cheap lead ropes, a couple of replacement breakaway straps and a lot of patience, but I have a different mare now.  Once she got the "idea" that she couldn't break away, her attitude changed a lot! She would walk in the barn, lower her head and ask me to put her halter on at feed time! She never did that before and she is still the "pasture queen" of our barn with the other horses.

Happy trails.

Houndog,

 WOW, that sounds like a great plan.  Similar to the one that was used by the trainer that broke my horses neck.

Inindiana -

There are many reasons horses pull back.  I mentioned earlier that my horse had the problem of pulling back.  The reason was not because she had a problem with respect of the handler.  I purchased her with the problem.  I know why she had the problem as before I purchased her, I witnessed the cause.  She was a TB that was left unhandled in a large pasture until she was 1 1/2 years old.  At 1 1/2 years of age she almost severed her front leg and had to have vet treatment.  This was accomplished by putting chains on just about every part of her face, under her upper lip, in her mouth over her tung, over her nose, under her chin, her ears were twisted, twitches were used and she was tied with two ropes to a fence.  She was scared to death and all she learned was to fight.  She had no idea why all this was happening to her, it was painfull, and after almost 8 months of this, daily, it was how she reacted to pressure.  She became catatonic.  It had nothing to do with respect but was her way of self preservation.  In the end, it killed her because a trainer decided he knew the way to fix the problem.  Well, she trashed and hung herself and broke her neck.  I owned the horse for 8 years and never had a problem.  I treated her with respect because I understood what triggered the behavior.   By the way, others "broomed her" during a trailer loading incident at a show, it caused her to rear and flip over. Her pull back problem was due to no handling then poor handling!  Every situation is different and it's usually not about the horse but the human.