Buying a horse that does not tie?

[Dreamchaser]

I was wondering through the horse for sale ads, as I find myself constantly doing. Anyways there was this lovely sounding horse, but there was one thing that they mentioned about him. He does not tie. Would you buy a horse that does not tie? What kind of problems would that make for me? It seems an odd characteristic for a horse. What do you think?

 

[KarinUS]

Minose of course doesn't tie. But she doesn't lead either.
In fact we are just getting used to being haltered and will work with her on the leading this weekend.

Dj used to have a problem with being tied in cross-ties. He'd come up infront and sit back. Pretty scary for both of us. We worked through it though and it hasn't been a problem again. He has 'soft corrections' elastic thingies on his ties.

How old it the horse you are interested in?

 

[tbtess]

I' sorry if i'm being thick here but what do you mean when you say a horse does not tie, until reading the thread and reply i thought you meant he couldn't be tied up????

 

[kona_and_misty]

My first horse, Kona, wouldn't tie. He still doesn't! I got him from an abusive owner, and they used to tie him and beat him. I know this, because the owner was my uncle.... Kona will stand still for me, and last weekend, I did tie him, but it was one of those knots that come out as soon as you pull on it. But other than that, Kona is a great horse. He is gentle, and sweet, and once, my sister's horse tried to kick me, and Kona got infront of me and was kicked instead.

 

[Peace]

Wow, I would think that'd be pretty inconvenient and something you'd have to overcome.

 

[kona_and_misty]

I do agree Peace, but for the right horse, it's worth it! I mean, I don't know what I'd do without Kona. It just depends on if that horse is right for you in every other way.

 

[Dreamchaser]

How old it the horse you are interested in?

The horse is 15, so it isn't just an issue of being green.

I' sorry if i'm being thick here but what do you mean when you say a horse does not tie, until reading the thread and reply i thought you meant he couldn't be tied up????

That is what I mean. The horse would be unable to be tied up.

 

[Morwenstow Stud]

If a horse was good and suitable in every other way then I wouldn't reject it just because it won't tie. I'd want to make sure it would stand being held while being handled though, then I'd buy an extra long lead rope or use a lunge rein while holding so I could reach all areas. While mine will all tie up I choose to hold them while doing things and they are all happy to stand being held while being groomed, tacked up, feet done etc. I don't need a second person to hold them. People say it's inconvenient if a horse won't tie up as you can't leave it tied at shows.My answer to this is it's unsafe to leave a horse tied at a show anyway, so it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[tillynz]

My mare was 26 when i got her and she wouldn't, now she just so you can teach an old dog new tricks. I depends why they won't tie

In Red's case she was just a cheeky tart but Sam does it out of fear and coz he noes he can. I tied him up with a bum rope on as well.

The bum rope goes around his bum and there is a not over his back so he can't pull it tight like some of them then it comes either side of him, thorugh is halter and is tied onto string.
It works really well and he shuffles back till he feels it then just stands there. I also tie him by his halter as well but looser than the bum rope. He now stands there just tied normally, it just took a while for him to learn how, and the bum rope is far easier than him galloping off around the showgrounds plus if he is having a naughty day I can use it and he will stand nicely.

Don't be put off by ages, horses are clever they can learn new stuff all the time. Even if it is the case of getting away with it for too long.

 

[HorseyGurl]

There's a horse at the stable I ride at who is awesome. A perfect novice/child horse, but he doesn't like to be tied up. So instead he was taught to "ground tie", that is whenever you drop the lead rope and tell him "stand" he'll stay in one spot.

I think he just doesn't like having that much of his freedom taken away from him. It freaks him out. But as long as he feels he can run if something scary happenes he feels much more at ease.

 

[galadriel]

In just about every case, if you get someone knowledgeable to work on it, a horse can be re-trained to tie. Often the horse has had a traumatic experience being tied--sometimes they were never properly taught to tie, and that was the root of the traumatic experience--but it can be worked through.

 

[jumpthemoon]

How would you travel a horse that doesn't tie up? I wouldn't fancy leaving it loose in a trailer or horsebox. I suppose it depends what you want to do with the horse. I'd want it to tie up though. Maybe you could speak to an instuctor about the severity of this horses issues and re-train it to tie up.

 

[Dreamchaser]

How would you travel a horse that doesn't tie up? I wouldn't fancy leaving it loose in a trailer or horsebox. I suppose it depends what you want to do with the horse. I'd want it to tie up though. Maybe you could speak to an instuctor about the severity of this horses issues and re-train it to tie up.

They said in the ad that the horse can trailer, just not tie. I wonder how that is possible...

 

[lisae]

You can trailer a horse loose in a stock trailer, it can be easier on them as they can spread their legs out and steady themselves.

My draft cross filly who is now two came to me without tie training. I then never bothered to train her as we never go anywhere and she was quite content to stand for grooming. So I bought a "Blocker Tie Ring" which is a $20 circle of stainless steel with a tongue that you put the rope through, if the horse pulls back it allows the rope to play out slowly and they theoretically don't panic.

Well, we never got it mounted properly so recently I simply looped the rope over a rail and held one end. When she tried to pull back I told her "step up" which she did, and the halter loosened, and after about ten repeats I realized she was now playing with me and I simply tied it in the quick release knot. And she tied nicely, - although I would not leave her alone at this stage.

So if they know the command for stepping forward, and they know how to yield to pressure, you're nicely started towards tying safely.

 

[Angel2]

You can trailer a horse that wont tie up as they tend to pull back until they feel the tension in the rope and then panic. In a trailer they cant pull that far back as the breech bar and ramp stop them. My old mare would not be tied up for love nor money, she would break every head collar, rope or tie ring and completely freak out until she was free. She would then stand there and look at you We never cured it but once we were used to it we just compensated. If I was by myself I would just have a very long rope and put it through the tie ring, holding the other end, if she moved I would just play it out a little so it was never tight. It meant I could reach all around her without her getting upset. At shows we just handed her lead rope and a can of beer to Dad in his deckchair My babies are all tied up (under very strict supervision) from about 6 months old, for very short periods of time. The eldest are now 4 and 5 and are great to tie up.