Tying up a youngster.

[ponynut]

How old should a filly be when you first tie them to anything?I would like a hint as to age. She will need to travel soon so need to get her used to being restrained. How do I set about it? I have a quick release clip I got for this occasion.

I bandaged her legs today for the first time!!! All was fine! Kizzy approves of burgundy!!! Suits her!

[ponyvet]

Really? I haven't tried bandaging penny but was wondering when I should start (remember I'm new to this foal business too - I mean normal healthy ones!! :D ), did she not try and kick them off? I want to try because I want her to be used to as much as possible before she gets old enough to start fretting.

I haven't tried tying up penny, yet. I suggest you have a go whilst you play with her and see how she reacts.

Did you get my message about worming?

[ponynut]

Yes I did! Thanx!!!
Kiz was fine though did give them a chew!!!!

[Shiny McShine]

I don't think it should be a matter of at what particular age you tie your horse up. Before a horse is tied up it should be taught to stand still by itself. If you tie up any horse who cannot stand still when you leave it alone, ie. it wanders about, then it will not stand still when tied up and will pull back or break off or fidget.

If your horse reliably stands still while your handling it, then it is the right time to start tying it up.

[ponyvet]

LOL!! My little foalie reliably spins round in circles if you try and get her to stand still with you!! Trying to lunge herself already!! But if left on her own will stand about for ages!! So the whole "will she stand with a rope fixing her in place" is an interesting one!!:D

[Shiny McShine]

When horses are allowed to do as they please around us I am sure you will encounter behaviour like that. Standing still is something that must be taught to most horses, it is not something they learn by themselves for the most part.

I teach my horses while I am grooming, checking them over, tacking up and mounting (in older horses obviously). I continually practice standing still with my horses until they don't need be reminded.

There are different ways people teach their horses to stand still but I find it useful to teach them a simple lesson in which when their head is turned they are to stand still.

When they first are asked to turn their neck they will usually move their whole body so I go with them until they stop at which point I let them have their head. In a couple of trys they simply stand still and eventually I do not need to turn their head for them to be calm.

I have my horses head bent towards me which they already understand as a neutral standing position when I am handling sensitive horses and when I am saddling and mounting young horses.

They tend to become used to standing still and being calm in all circumstances from this simple practice. I use it from a very young age as it also helps to create a supple neck. Once a horse knows to stand still I no longer need to turn their head and I feel confident I can tie them up.

[Dizzy]

If they lead ok, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I taught Breeze to tie up by using a lunge line instead of a lead rope, I threaded the line through the tie up ring, but didn't tie it. I held the line and groomed her, giving lots of praise for standing, if she pulled back I let off some slack, wait for her to compose herself, then I put her back in position and continued.

I kept things short and sweet, starting with only a couple of minutes, but doing it every day. Some days she didn't have a great deal of patience so I'd grab the first good note I could, praise her and take her for a walk then call it day.

One thing which I think helped Breeze immensley was, as she was brought in at night the first winter after she was weaned, she was taught by myself and everyone else that turned her out on a morning, that as soon as she walked out of her stable, she then stood and had her slippers removed. Within a couple of weeks she would dutifully stand still, while we picked up her feet (we did it in the same sequence every day) she's now a 4 yr old, and when I put down her nearside fore, she shifts her weight off her nearside hind - ready for me to pick it up.

Breeze's first ride in a box was as a young 2 yr old, she loaded first time (though thats never been repeated! - last time I about carried her in, moving each foot up the ramp individually - she didn't back off, just planted) but with the first time, she was brilliant, the only hiccup was when the box had to stop for gates or junctions, she did get a bit anxious.

Have faith, it takes quite a while (with some) but you will get there in the end - believe me :D !

Lesley

[heland]

I would agree with Dizzy. If you handle the youngster every day, gently stoking it with your hand and alsso picking up the legs it will get used to it very quickly.

I personally would put a lunge line on the halter, thread it through the ring and just hold it and do what Dizzy said. Lots of praise when standing.

[Lucy J]

Some of you may remember I had problems tying up my young horse, although 4, she has hardly been handled and is greener than the grass! Generally she is quite lazy and does stand, but gets anxious when tied up. I have found that if I tie her up in the yard where she has a good view she is fine, but if I tie her up facing a stable/in the corner of the yard she gets concerned and paws the ground. Now I just tie her up where she is happiest and she is perfectly happy to stand there all day. Don't know if that helps any!

[myEllie]

It helps if you tie your horse to something that has a little give so that if he pulls back, he won't panic, like he would if met with stiff resistance. Try something like an old tire or a bungee cord. There are even lead ropes, trailer ties, and cross ties that stretch. They don't cost much, maybe ten dollars, and many people have found them to be very effective. I use the trailer tie, but have never really had a problem with my horse pulling back, so I can't give any first hand experience to their effectiveness.

[Tina J]

The traditional way of teaching to stand while tied, was to thread the lead rope through the tie-up ring, and then to attach a weight to the end. If the horse pulled back, it pulled the weight up, which gave, but was a lot of effort, so easier to stand still.

I think this would require a bit of thinking about though, so that it was safe and would break in extreme situation.

In terms of loading and travelling, one of the ponies where I am was always fed as a youngster in his owner's lorry. He would load himself if the back of the lorry was down in the field (bit of a nuisance in fact if you are trying to clean the lorry out!) So start just going in and out as a routine as soon as you start leading your foal around, (with leg wraps/bandages on of course). Make it part of the standing still training - load, stand a few minutes, fuss and treat, then off and more fuss. Though I appreciate that's only really practical if you have some hard standing and can put your trailer/horsebox in the field. How lovely to have your horse from a foal though, so that you never have to end up sorting out the problems other people have given her, and always know her history.