[luv_2_gallop]

Warning: Big Long Story!

Okay when I bought my little 3 year old mare (Zoey) the lady said that sometimes she had a problem with being tied up. She said that it was a genetic thing as her mother, grandmother ect all did it and the habit wasn't broken with them so people just gave up. She is not at all sensitive or head shy. I think that she is just stubborn and doesn't want to be tied up.

I have owned her for a month and a half. For the month that she was at my house I had a very easy time gaining her trust. She never once freaked out when tied up, and I tied her up all the time. I was like okay you don't have a problem with being tied, so it seemed. She has been at the trainers for just over a week. So the trainer calls me and tells me that she has never seen a horse be so bad when tied up. She said that she was really sorry about my horse. So I went there expecting to see the worse. She has cuts all over her face from hitting the fence with her face, and a couple on her legs from hitting the fence. I am not at all mad because she could have done the same thing with me. They said that they tried something where you tied a rope on there halter through there front and back legs and over there bum, or something like that, and if the horse pulls back it puts pressure around there bum. Most horses will pick up on the idea with no more of an hour of pulling, but not Zoey. She just hates being tied.

But here is what I don't get at all. I have never had a problem with her being tied. When I went there yesterday the trainer said watch this your horse will be ******** out within 5 minutes or less. Well we stood there for over 15 mintutes and not once did the horse pull back. When I was there she didn't pull back once. I think that maybe the trainer doesn't have her trust enough and that the horse doesn't want to accept her in that way. I dont know.

What do you think the problem is? What do you think we should do?

[prairienights]

I'm not a fan of training gadgets for the most part, but I really really recommend a tie ring of some type.

You get a long rope (I'd say 22 feet or longer for a horse this bad) and loop it through the ring as instructed. The ring is attached to a *solid* object. Absolutely nothing that will break. I suggest using a rope halter so she can feel the pressure a bit more.

Normally what happens with a horse that pulls is they've been frightened by the sudden realization that they cannot move. They feel the hard tug of the rope, and they panic. Many of them have learned that if they panic and struggle enough, the rope will eventually snap and they get an instant reward of a release of pressure. What will happen with the tie ring, is whenever she pulls back, the rope will go through the ring. That way she won't feel it tighten, panic, and throw herself backwards. She'll get to move away, *but* she will feel tension on the rope. As the rope slides through, it'll still create pressure which she'll feel. She may fight it and keep pulling and pulling (this is why I suggest a long rope), but eventually she'll stop and there will be no more pressure. After a few times of this, she'll learn that she can pull back and move so no need to panic, but when she is moving there's an unpleasant pressure on her head. Only when she stops and stands and maybe even moves toward the tie ring does that unpleasant pressure go away. Eventually she'll get to where she won't want to pull back at all to avoid the pressure.

In a way, you almost want to encourage them to pull back so they teach themselves through the pressure. Put her on the tie ring and then flap your arms at her face so she'll go backwards. Eventually you can flap your arms all over and jump around like an idiot and she won't want to pull back. I have despooked a few horses now by using the tie ring and rubbing tarps on them and tossing ropes all over their bodies, etc etc. They know that if they get too nervous and feel like they have to run, they can move backwards. But they learn quick that if they move backwards, they get an unpleasant pressure on their head and it only stops when they stand. Usually the desire to avoid pressure overcomes the panic, but it's no big deal if they do feel the need to go backwards.

The problem with the method of tying a rope around their butt is that it still works on panic instincts. She pulls back because she's panicked. When she feels the rope around her butt, she panicks away from that and will go forward. It does work for some horses because they're avoiding the panic feeling when they pull back not because they've learned to give to pressure.

Again, I'm not a sales person of any of these products. I've used them for my own horses, and I've seen other people use them and they do work!!

Here are some products:
http://www.legacytack.com/p/10738/Bl...ie%20Ring.html
Clinton Anderson also endorses a tie ring, I think he calls it the Aussie tie ring or something, but I couldn't find a good link for it.

[Horsepower KJ]

I think You should Feed her in the morning and have tied all day to a strong post and tie her high for she wont get her neg broke then feed her in the night

[BornToRide]

Originally Posted by Horsepower KJ

I think You should Feed her in the morning and have tied all day to a strong post and tie her high for she wont get her neg broke then feed her in the night

Just a question.. Did you get this from spirit or something?

[prairienights]

Originally Posted by BornToRide

Just a question.. Did you get this from spirit or something?

Haha, that was the first image that popped into my mind too.

[Hunter-Eq Rider]

Originally Posted by Horsepower KJ

I think You should Feed her in the morning and have tied all day to a strong post and tie her high for she wont get her neg broke then feed her in the night

HAHA Are you kidding???
You dont tie a horse that freaks out when being tied, Tied up all day without someone watching the horse.

Way way to dangerous IMO.

[jmook]

I agree with BornToRide, my mare was the sameway you have described your mare, would pull back and break everything, until I invested in the tiering, a life saver! Now my mare will stand for as long as I want her to, without pulling back........I would not recommend tying her to a tree, at this point, or would I ever put a rope behind their backend!

[Bruce Wiley]

Originally Posted by luv_2_gallop

I think that maybe the trainer doesn't have her trust enough and that the horse doesn't want to accept her in that way. I dont know. What do you think we should do?

The trainer's technique may have work on some, but it is clear it didn't solve the issue with your horse.
Your above statement and I want to pass on this fact.
Most horses submit to us humans often.
They submit, allowing us to touch, halter, lead them around & tack up, mount, ride and even those washing times & being groom and more, but the fact is clear, trust is the very last thing we get from our horse.
If we could only think about this... they can, or will do alot of things without trusting us & many of people feel they have their horse trust.
The horse's trust happens after, they have selected us as their true leader.

I feel the horse should be taught into small stages, to prevent any more bad experiences.
The focus should be on how to yield to pressure and this could be started in hand by you & much later the horse could be secure, tying the horse to a stationary post.
The handler shouldn't wander to far off, keeping the horse in sight until the horse has build up enough good experiences.

Understand what going on... the horse is only feeling like he is being trap & him, the horse needing the ability to move or get the release.
Its part of their flight instrinct.
If they never hit the end of the rope that holding them, most of them would stop the panic reaction & backward motion.

There are products off there on the market that may help.
I believe it's called the Blocker ring.
The product infromation should be read & understood and it wouldn't hurt to get assistance from a competent, experienced horse person.

I hope this helps.

[TrickPony]

Horses that set back are a big problem, and in my experience it's often a very, very difficult habit to break.

[Caterina]

Originally Posted by Horsepower KJ

I think You should Feed her in the morning and have tied all day to a strong post and tie her high for she wont get her neg broke then feed her in the night

Could you explain why you would recommend this?