Horses on Trailer Ties - Weaver & ChiefSo often we get caught up in the conditioning and riding aspect of our horses that we forget about some of the other things that we should be teaching our horses. Everything we can do to expose our horses to in advance of attending an endurance ride is going to help them. Let’s face it, going to an endurance ride for a horse can be a *really* exciting experience. Starting an endurance ride can be even more exciting still!
There are many different ways to confine a horse at a ride. The most common method these days is to use a tie-arm of some sort. That’s the method that I use. I have two trailer ties on my trailer far enough apart that I can put a line between them and allow one horse to have a quite a bit more freedom. That works well when I have just one horse at a ride (that horse can be on the line all of the time), or when I have two horses the horse left in camp each day can be on the line all day.
Next common are portable corrals. There are many different types – some are made out of steel, or aluminum. Some riders choose to use corrals made out of electric fence tape. I don’t like electric fences due to the wrecks, accidents and fatalities that I’ve seen occur as a result of them being used. They are right up there on my list of things I don’t like to see used along with bungee ties 
. I’m not here to debate the pros and cons of the various containment systems, just to discuss the whys and ways of training a horse to survive in them without injuring themselves.
Each horse should be treated as an individual and evaluated for their ability to be safely contained in the different types of containment systems. All horses should be trained and experienced in whatever containment system is being used prior to going to an endurance ride. Why do I think this is so important? Because I have seen just as many fatalities in my 30,000+ miles of riding endurance as a direct result to how a horse was contained in camp than I have for any other reason. If every rider attending an endurance ride took the time to pre-train their horse to be safer when contained at rides, it would do as much or more to reduce fatalities or career ending injuries than anything else. Traveling and camping with horses can be dangerous; time spent training in advance can go a long way to make things much safer. Notice I said safer – as I still don’t believe that there is any completely safe way to contain a horse.
Keeping a horse in a temporary containment system is kind of like driving in winter conditions. You may know how to drive using 4WD in the snow, but there are lots of people that don’t and haven’t yet figured out that 4WD will get them moving and to “go”, it doesn’t do a lot for “stopping”, especially on ice. Same thing with horses in camp. Your horse may be perfectly well behaved and respectful of his containment system, but other horses in camp may not have respect for theirs, or for yours either for that matter.
Hearing the sound of horses running about camp in the middle of the night, or even during the day can make your heart skip a beat. Especially if those loose horses are heading towards your horse. It’s even worse if they happen to be dragging stuff behind them. Most of the time if something is being dragged, it is the remnants of an electric corral. Sometimes, it may be a broken tie-arm, rope, horse blanket or part or all of a metal corral.
One night at a ride many years ago, two horses were camped next to me in an electric corral. The owners either did not turn it on, or their horses didn’t have any respect for it – they were wearing blankets and likely didn’t feel it ‘zap’. Their horses went through the fence at 3 a.m., dragging it behind them and right through my two horses. I got out there as quickly as I could to find electric tape wrapped around my horse’s front legs. They were standing still, not moving. Together, my horses and I watched the other two horses disappear from sight into the dark forest. I cleaned up the mess; the other horses eventually were caught and I went back to bed.
No matter what type of containment method you choose, your horse should still be able to tie to your trailer. You never know what might happen beyond your control that could require your horse to be tied either temporarily, for several hours, or for even over night. Practicing this ahead of time as well as practicing containing your horses in any system you have chosen in advance is a good idea.
Start with setting up your system in a safe place at home. If you have a portable corral system, set it up inside your horses living area or in an area that will keep your horse confined should he get out of your system. Start with putting your horse in his containment system for a few minutes. It’s okay to set up hay and water, just as you would at an endurance ride. Work up to putting your horse inside for longer periods, gradually working up to having your horse contained for two to four hours at a time. During this time spend doing some additional training with your horse.
If you have a second horse, take that horse out of sight/view from the one that is in the containment system. Do this briefly at first, to see how your contained horse reacts. If it looks like your contained horse is acting up and could get into a wreck somehow, then do this lesson when the horse is tied directly to your trailer. All horses need to learn to be left behind, either in camp, at the start of a ride, or under a variety of circumstances. This type of training can take some time to establish a consistent calm reaction from the horse being left behind. Start with short/brief moments of separation with a second horse. Gradually work up to longer periods. Your goal is to eventually be able to leave your contained horse while taking the other horse out for a ride (or even just a walk around the neighborhood). After a certain amount of repetition the horse being left will learn that his buddy is leaving, but will come back. The separation anxiety that some horses exhibit can be dangerous especially if it results in a loose horse, or an injury of some sort. Horses can become attached to other horses in record time – often becoming attached to a neighbors horse in camp, or perhaps another horse that you just met and rode with on the trail. Teaching your horse to handle being separated is also an important lesson and can go a long way to helping you get through vet checks. You don’t want to have a horse whose pulse won’t come down because his buddy is walking over to a water trough to drink.
Eventually you will want to be able to leave your horse in his containment system at home overnight. I’m usually pretty comfortable having a horse spend two to three nights that way prior to going to an actual endurance ride. When I started using the high-line on my trailer ties I did this training again with both Chief and Bo. I wanted them to learn the restraints of the system. I also would leave each one on the line when I took the other one out for a ride or walk. This way they learned how far they could go back and forth while still respecting the limitations of their system.
Then again, when I got the horse’s their neck collars in advance of the long XP ride I spent time tying the horses to the trailer and to the high-line and trailer ties directly for several sessions each before we used the collars while traveling and at an actual ride. Even with experienced horses, I feel that it is important to spend time training them and getting them used to any changes in equipment.
The nice thing with doing the hobble training, is that if your horse finds a way to get caught or tangled in your containment system – he should stay put and wait to get rescued. If you’ve taken the time to pre-train your horse to staying in your containment system then hopefully he will know the limitations and won’t get caught up in anything.
Chief dreams at a ride. It's good if your horse is comfortable enough in his containment system to lie down, and also to roll.An additional tip for training: After returning from a ride, or after giving your horse a bath put him into your portable containment system. Hopefully he will want to roll. This way he can learn the limitations of rolling – to stay away from the edges of the corral, or how to roll without getting caught in his tie rope. This means you’ll need to set up your corral or park your trailer on ground that is suitable for your horse to roll on.
In my experience, horses will typically get caught somehow at least once with their containment system. Either when they roll, or when scratching an ear with a hind foot and getting it over their rope. Plan on this happening and don’t be surprised and don’t panic. If it happens, stay calm and quickly release your horse. It is preferable to have this happen at home, rather than at a ride.
Another tip: If you witness another horse at a ride caught in something it is important to stay calm. Don’t run screaming towards the horse; it only freaks the horse out more! Take a moment to assess the situation. If the horse is hopping about or still panicking keep your distance. If the horse has already gone down and the horse is tied look for a quick release snap somewhere along the length of the rope or tie. If you can reach it safely, then do so. Be aware enough so that you don’t make a bad situation worse, and always be prepared to move quickly out of the way!
Disclaimer: These lessons I am covering are meant to be for endurance horses or for horses that travel that already have some training and conditioning base on them. They reflect my experience and opinions and are not guaranteed to be effective in the hands of others nor are they meant to be the only method or means of training a horse in order to accomplish the same things. Working with horses can be incredibly risky and dangerous. You should only try these methods with proper supervision or assistance from an experienced trainer or horse person that you trust, and at your own risk. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email
me or comment in my blog. Happy trails, Karen
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