[Luna9]

So another vice that my mare, Sassy, has is that she has learned to break lead lines when she is tied and doesnt want to be. She did this once on accident when she was spooked and now does it just because she knows she can. The reason I say she is doing this on purpose is because I watched her try to walk away and realized she was tied, she took 3 steps backwards so the line was tight, jumped up and sat down and pulled back till the line broke. A friend of ours gave us some help in how to tie her to break that habit but Im wondering if its going to be something that we arent going to break unless she is tied in this manner. I would love to be able to take her on camping trail rides and what not but not if she cant be tied. I just dont want to take the chance. Do you think its something that can be broken or is she going to still try everytime???

[Heavenly Jumper]

Invest in a rope halter and a good sturdy place to tie her.

Once a horse knows they can just bust things to get loose, it's going to be even harder to fix.

[LateralFlexion]

I concur. A good rope halter and a very strong rope(marine grade) should do it. Horses are reluctant to pull back hard on a rope halter since the pressure per sq inch is so much greater than a web halter. They are great for training and everyday handling.

[Lindsayanne]

One of these can work as a good in-between, as well:



Invest in leads with really tough (really annoying, LOL) bull snaps, and only tie to solid stuff (trees, steel beams, etc)

[pippy]

An alternate method to those already posted - and if you take the time to train properly (the tying to something hard works - but can cause poll damage) is to get a really long rope - loop it through a ring above your horses head height hold it, and get a broom on long whip, everytime she steps back get her to move up again, having the rope above her head means you can let her move around a bit and control her a bit more and keep anough pressure on her head, but not that much it will hurt the poll. Sometimes helps to have two people do this (can confuse you if you aren't proficient at it to start with)

[Luna9]

Sassy does wear a rope halter and still breaks the lines. Also we have tried smacking her what ever when she does it but as long as we are standing next to her she wont break the line. But the second we are just out of reach (wether we are looking at her of not) she does it so quickly that there is nothing that we can do but chase her down and tie her again when and if we catch her.

Our friend told us to take a strong rope (we are using a 5,000 pound tow rope) and tie it around her neck and then slip it back through to make a loop to go over her nose. This way when she pulls it tightens and puts pressure on her nose, plus she cant break it. We did this yesterday during feeding time cause she has made a habit of stealing Sunny's food (hes a slow eater) and she tried to break it two different times but gave up when she couldnt. We tied her again today and she tried to break it again while we were letting Sunny finish his food. She only tried once this time but Im wondering if its something that she is going to give up on or not. She is a very smart horse and at times its a problem.

O and she is being tied to a tree so that we are sure it wont break as she almost broke the fence post.

[freedom32]

She'll keep trying as long as she thinks she can get away with it. If the method you're using now works stick with it. I'd tie her for each feeding, then randomly when you can for increasing amounts of time.

[Oklassic]

I have the exact same problem with my mare! when she decides she doesn't want to be tied anymore she calmly leans back until the lead snaps then walks away. once I bought her a brand new $70 halter and within minutes it was broken.

I'll keep tabs on this thread maybe ill learn something too.

[Endorphins4u2]

Use HEAVY duty rubber (short) as the tie.

Horses aren't smart enough to go forward for release when the pressure is on and no give will only make them panic more.You can also injure the horse's poll or worse if the tie snap because she'll land on her butt with force which could injure her spine.

Also, when they panic. You stay away from them for a number of reasons till they stop fighting.

a) hitting them on the butt won't help, the poll pressure is making them
passout, do you think they are going to worry about a smack on da butt

b) you don't want to be close if that tie gives or you could have a horse
on top of you

c) most horses will lunge forward striking at the tie and fight like
an alligator till they are free

d) when they do freak out, they will stop for a second or two for a
breather and re-cap then freak out again

The only chance is the rubber having a bungee affect that will keep dragging them forward so they can't plant their feet and pull them down if they rear as well. They should give it up after a few attempts but only if the rubber doesn't break so get it right the first time, choose rubber that could hold a truck and a halter that won't break and you can fix this before it gets habit.

[Luna9]

Originally Posted by freedom32

She'll keep trying as long as she thinks she can get away with it. If the method you're using now works stick with it. I'd tie her for each feeding, then randomly when you can for increasing amounts of time.

Yeah this is what we had planned on doing and we dont let her go till she has been standing calmly and not pacing or trying to break the line. I just hope she gives up. She is a great horse that has just learned how to get what she wants. LOL