[juliesowner]

We have a 18 year old TB that will pull bakc occaisonaly. Not a lot just sometimes. Sometimes it is because something scares him and sometimes he just does it. How do I teach him not to do it?

[DoWeDance]

I assume you mean when tied...Just reassure him when he pulls back. I wouldn't untie him because he will quickly learn that bad behavior gets him good results. Something probably happened to him in the past that sometimes pops up in his mind and makes him pull.

[Blistering Winds]

Join the Club. I just fought Sandy ALL Morning on it. I go to adjust the rope halter, WHAM she's loose. TWICE!!! I'm like UGH!!! So I fixed her halter, tied her, and every time you go to touch her neck, WHAM, she'd set back. Just get off tothe side, but behind her and encourage her forward. That is all you really can do. Just don't let them get loose and they do figure it out after they sore themselves one too many times. She is currently (has been an hour so far) standing quietly in the pen. In another hour, I'll turn her loose to graze. (she got a bath and is drying AND getting a tying quietly lesson.)

Chris is out there right now with her watching her.

[Blistering Winds]

Also, make sure this hosre is tied to a sturdy pole or something. I do "SET UP". Basically tie them, and just do TONS of things around the horse that might set her off. I talk to her quietly, reassuring her the whole time, but will jump around, swing my arms......till she stands quietly, then I quit.

I do this every once in a while if I see that one of the horses I'm working with decides to flake out n me.

[Solsalia]

My Sophie pulls back also. She usually does it when tied alone. Makes me so mad. She's pretty strong so a halter will get very stretched out or she will break the lead. It's the only time when she freaks major is when she is tied. We haven't had one in awhile but still. What kind of halter and lead would you suggest while I try and train her out of pulling. I also heard something about horses making themselves lame from pulling back. They some times hurt their back, spine.

[juliesowner]

I have heard the same type of thing solsalia.

Thanks BW for your help. I was trying to figure out if I should like tie him to a tree and just stay with him for a while and do it aa couple times or something.

[LadyDulcinea]

I can't help you on how to teach a horse not to do it, but I would like some help in that area myself. One gentleman at the show I was at last weekend had an Appy that wouldn't tie, so he just kept putting the rope back on her are rehooking her to the trailer. She would rear, strike at the trailer, and twice she flipped over backwards with a western saddle on. He said eventually she'd learn not to pull. Well, Bugsy won't tie either. He will stand all day with someone holding him, but if you put him in cross ties and he meets any kind of resistance, he rears up. Same with trying to tie him to the trailer. Any kind of resistance at all on his face, and he pulls back and rears...no matter how nice I am talking to him and how much I am petting him. He even ripped the bottom right off his new halter one day. (We had him tied to a fence post and I was standing there petting him and talking to him when he did this) When we got him, even leading him, if he wasn't walking fast enough, or didn't walk off when I did, I would apply pressure and he would pull back and come up. Thank goodness he's pretty much over that! The cross ties in the barn that we got him from were so long that he was able to walk "around" from one side to the other, probably a good 15 feet. He would go from one wall to the other. He didn't have to stand still for saddling or anything. So back to my original thought, if anyone has any advice on this topic, I would be interested to hear it, too. (Hopefully other than the "leave him tied till he learns, which i'm sure works for some horses, but in this case, I fear he would really hurt himself or those around him.)

[Solsalia]

I hope you get it figured. I've heard from some trainers that they should be taught giving to pressure before you tie them up again. I'm not sure if it makes a difference when they are tied though.

[Shotgun93]

There is a tie ring that works wonders if you are willing to put in the time to teach it correctly. Clinton Anderson has one on his site, I know you can get them other places to. But, if you can find an old jointed snaffle bit, you can make one yourself, that's what we did.
if you go look at his web page, it explains how it works and you can see it and get an idea of how to make one yourself.

[juliesowner]

I have seen that Shotgun93.

I wish I could teach him not to pull though.