Endurance Horse Training Basics Part 2: Tying

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A quick release knot on a cotton lead rope. Keep in mind that if a horse pulls back, it can put enough tension on the rope that it won't qiuck release.

Watch out for horses that like to play with their ropes! You may need to pull the end of the rope through the last loop in the quick release knot.

If you are going to be traveling with your horse, camping overnight and attending endurance rides or other events it is important that your horse knows how to stand quietly while tied.

To have a horse that ties well he must give to pressure.  That is one of the most important things that you can teach your horse.  It is why I started off with a hobbling lesson, since the lessons learned via hobbling are the basis for everything else.

If you are following my blog posts on these basic endurance horse training lessons your horse should learn and progress well if done in order.  Keep in mind that different horses will respond differently so you may need to spend more time working on one thing than another.  You didn’t learn how to read in a week or even in a few months so be patient with your horse and don’t worry if some of this training takes longer than you want it to.  These lessons are like teaching your horse the alphabet.  They are the base for everything else and just as necessary as the riding and conditioning part of your horse’s education.   Many horses will benefit from these lessons even if they are already trained and experienced.  It never hurts to do some basic reinforcement from time to time.

Most horses at some point will pull back while tied, for whatever reason.  It can become a real problem if the horse manages to get free as they will quickly learn that if they pull, they can get free and in only a couple of instances it has already become a bad habit.  Those horses will need a lot more work with tying and learning to give to pressure than one that progresses through the basics without any mishaps occurring.   Many times it is the human part of the equation that leads to a problem.  This is why it’s so important to pay attention to detail, use proper and safe equipment and always only tie to stationary secure objects that cannot be pulled apart if a horse does pull.

Quick releases should never be attached directly to a horse. Here is one of my favorite ropes, wrapped around the hitching post and clipped with the quick release.

There are many types of tie rings and other items that are marketed and sold to people who have horses that have problems tying.  If it works for a particular horse, then by all means consider using those items.  My feeling is that many of those things are only a substitute for not training a horse; a way to shortcut that ultimately is cheating the horse out of the education that he should have gotten (or is still getting) in the first place.  It can be a frightening thing to have a horse that panics, fights or freaks out when tied.  Taking horses that do that to endurance rides is a wreck waiting to happen as well as a huge liability.  This is why it is so important to spend time doing the basics and taking the time it takes to teach each horse these lessons at a rate that they area comfortable with.

Before you can teach your horse to tie safely, you need to have a horse that will lead and stand.  Take some time to make sure your horse understands giving to the pressure of a lead rope.  Apply pressure by pulling down on the lead rope.  When your horse responds to the pressure immediately release and praise him.  Repeat this exercise many times, pulling down or even sideways on your horse’s lead until he is consistent about giving to the pressure.  If you run into resistance here then go back and do some more rope work around the legs, hobbling, and spend more time working on leading.

Once tied, the clip on the end of the lead should not touch the ground. This is the longest you want to have a rope tied to your horse.

How NOT to tie a horse - this is way too long! A horse can easily get a leg caught if the rope is too long.

Once you have your horse leading and giving to pressure, you can then move on to teaching him to stand.  Lead your horse to a quiet area that is free from distractions and ask him to stand.  Once he is standing, move a couple of steps away.  If your horse tries to follow you, quickly correct him by asking him to back up a few steps, moving forward again to the original spot and asking him to stand.  Repeat this several times until your horse learns to stand quietly while you move away.  An example of when this work will be useful is if you go out into your horses turnout area with a hoof pick and can expect him to stand quietly while you clean out all four feet (without needing to put on a halter or lead rope).  It is also important that your horse knows how to stand, since they will be doing that quite a bit while tied .

You can see that teaching a horse to tie is not as simple as tying your horse up.  I have had a couple of horses that needed some work in this area.  It takes time to resolve those issues to the point of having a horse that is safe enough to take out in public.  Some horses may tie fine for years and then they have some sort of incident that then causes them to panic and pull when tied.  These horses need someone with patience and that will spend the time to develop trust and work through the fear or other issues.

Here is a quick rundown of a list of things that you should do in preparation for tying training your horse:

Hobble and rope train your horse (this sets up the initial lesson of “giving to pressure”)Work on leading, standing and getting your horse to give to the pressure of the lead ropeUse good quality, secure equipment:  Rope halter, cotton lead rope with bullsnapOnly tie to secure, solid objects that cannot be pulled down or apart by a horseDo tie the rope short enough so that a leg cannot get caught, and keep checking on your horse to make sure he hasn’t stretched the rope out or started to untie himself (some horses are Houdini’s when it comes to getting out of being confined!)Use a quick release knot when tying your rope, or use a rope that has a built in quick release snapWear gloves, good boots or shoes and consider wearing a helmetKeep a sharp knife close byBe aware of your surroundings – stay out of your horses way should he decide to pull or dance around while tiedMake every day you see your horse a learning experienceGet help if you are having problems

Here are some things that you should NOT do!

Never clip a quick release snap of any kind to your horse’s halterDo not tie a problem horse without practicing the other lessons firstDo not leave things lying around that your horse could get tangled in – such as water hoses, manure forks, etc.Do not simply tie your horse up to a solid object and leave him, especially if he has had tying issuesNever leave a horse new to tying unattendedNever tie a horse with reins attached to a bit in his mouthDon’t use bungees to tie withDon’t fall for gimmicks;  they are not a substitute for trainingDon’t wait to get help if you are having problems -  you don’t want to turn a minor issue into something serious! Here, i have placed feed in front of Chief after purposely wrapping his lead rope around the end of the hitching post so that he can't possibly reach it. He stood there patiently, perhaps giving me the "evil ear look" and waited for me to adjust the rope so that he could eat. Would your horse panic if his lead rope got wrapped around something like this?

Start with shorter tying sessions of around 15 minutes or less and gradually build up to leaving your horse tied for longer periods.  After your horse is showing that he is comfortable being tied practice tying him to different things.  Tie him to your trailer (if it is a bumper pull, make sure it is attached to your tow vehicle), a hitching post, a sturdy tree, etc.   Practice tying higher up, lower down – just remember to always keep the lead rope short enough so that the snap cannot touch the ground.  It is preferable to have the snap a few inches off of the ground especially if a horse is going to be tied overnight.

Eventually you’ll want to work your horse up to being able to stand quietly while being tied for several hours or even overnight.  All of my horses have spent multiple nights tied on my trailer in advance of going anywhere overnight.  This is important.  You don’t want your horse to go to an endurance ride having never spent any or hardly any time tied to your trailer.  Your horse will be calmer and better adjusted if he is used to experiencing something on a regular basis.  If you are tying for more than an hour or two during training, be sure to offer your horse water and feed -practice just as if you were at a ride or traveling away from home.

My horses view their horse trailer as a “home away from home”.  Even if you plan to use a portable corral system at rides your horse should know how to tie to your trailer, or a tie-arm if that is what you use.  You never know when you may not be able to set up your corral due to limited space, or perhaps your horse or somebody else’s horse has run through your corral and damaged it (this does happen!).  You could get hurt during the ride, leaving others to attend to your horse.   They may have no choice but to tie your horse to something for several hours.

What if you are riding and encounter an obstacle on the trail – you can move it, but first have to tie your horse out of the way.  Having a horse that is difficult to tie could cause all sorts of problems and this is why horses that can’t do this should not be taken out in public and especially not to an endurance ride.  Think of the liability and danger that you could be causing not just for you and your horse, but for others.

One of the things that I like to do with my own horses, is to expose them to as many things as possible at home.  That way, it’s not a big deal if it happens while we are traveling or at an endurance ride.   I purposely set things up so that they can experience a variety of things.  These things are only done after a horse has done all of the basic work and training that I’ve blogged about so far and only after they have proven to be able to tie safely without panicking or pulling back.  I will do another completely separate blog post on some of those things.  I call it accident avoidance training or as my horses might refer to it as “what is she going to do to us next?” 

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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