When I am bringing my mare into the barn from her paddock, I frequently drop the lead rope as I really need two hands to do the gate back up. Never had an issue. She usually immediatly drops her head to eat grass with no intentions of doing anything but eating grass. However, I don’t drop the lead rope and then wander off somewhere.
Never let go of the lead rope. Accidents can happen very quickly. Years ago I had a very promising green horse (the most expensive horse I had ever purchased). As I was leading him out of his paddock I stopped to close and latch the gate. The horse saw some grass nearby and pulled the lead rope out of my hand. I let him go while I latched the gate thinking that I would just pick up the lead rope and continue back to the barn. In that instant the BO’s dog showed up and growled at my horse. Dog had not previously shown any aggression toward the horse. My horse took off running (dog did not chase him but spooked him enough that he just kept running). It took us quite some time to find him, he finally stopped about 1 mile away. Several injuries; months of treatment; he never fully recovered and he was only serviceably sound at the walk and light trot.
I do not let go of that lead rope now - lesson learned.
Wow. The bee can sting any time.
While I admit to being guilty of letting the horse just graze dragging a lead rope, it is not what a real horseman would do.
[QUOTE=dkcbr;8921852]
How do you train this?[/QUOTE]
I put two ropes on a horse, let one drag and hold the other one so they can’t leave you if they panic. With a pocket full of treats I would walk with the horse. When they step on the dragging rope I say “whoa”, pick up their leg that’s on the rope and administer cookie. The goal is to have them stop and pick up their own leg to release the rope on their own. I did this with my 4yo TB.
My 2yo, however, doesn’t panic when he steps on his rope, whether he steps on it while his head is up high or if he steps on the rope with while grazing with his muzzle right by his toes. Regardless, if he does step on it, I always say “whoa”, pick up foot and give cookie (when I see it happen) so he understands it should he ever be in a situation where he’s panicking.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8926006]
While I admit to being guilty of letting the horse just graze dragging a lead rope, it is not what a real horseman would do.[/QUOTE]
No, the real horseman knows each situation with a horse is different. They evaluate then act accordingly.
Both.
When I used to work at a place where the horses had no pasture, in the fall after the hay had been cut I let mine loose graze. Now, the whole property was fenced and I wasn’t worried about him escaping, but I can tell you right now, he wasn’t going ANYWHERE when it was grazing time. Dirt paddock vs green grass + alfalfa is an obvious one.
I started by hanging out with him (sitting in the grass) with a leadrope (over the wither). Eventually, he was in just a halter and I went back to the barn to do chores while randomly checking in on him. He would gradually make his way back to the barn if he wanted to.
Now, he is on a property that is not entirely fenced in and I would never leave him loose. I hold the lead while he grazes and he occasionally steps on it. I trained him from the 1st day I had him to give to pressure so he never freaks. As I always say- he’s had the SAME leather halter since he was 3.
ETA: Also good if you fall off and instead of running back to the barn and shredding their mouth open, your horse stands and grazes.
I’ll add this: at our place loose grazing horses is not allowed, but late evening some people occasionally do. Recently a barnmate let her two graze near another barnmate’s tied up horse who was eating his bucket/meds, and one of them bounced up and ate his bucket as he cowered at the end of his rope. Not cool.
Don’t do it unless you keep an eye on things please!
Um yeah if I clip a lead rope on I hang on to it…either it is a safe space for the horse to be loose or it isn’t…ssssssurrrrre my TB would just step on the lead and stop mmmm hmmmm never ever would it (or any other horse) wind up with it wrapped around a leg (or multiple legs), stuck to a shoe or any other endless bad possibilities.
tb - er, I do know my horse, I do evaluate them, but … as described above, anything can happen. It is not the most horsemanship-like thing to let a horse just graze in the open, without holding on to it…but I have done it, I’ll admit.
[QUOTE=Xanthoria;8921216]
Old git: lead rope flipped over his wither. Will graze like that for hours.
Young’in: hold on. Anything could happen.[/QUOTE]
This.
[QUOTE=Foxtrot’s;8926006]
Wow. The bee can sting any time.
While I admit to being guilty of letting the horse just graze dragging a lead rope, it is not what a real horseman would do.[/QUOTE]
I rode in a clinic with Ray Hunt some years ago. We set out on a trail ride across a 7000 acre property. He rode one mare, and let the other come along loose, with 20+ horses under saddle. Was he a real horseman or not?
[QUOTE=jdobbs64;8926544]
I rode in a clinic with Ray Hunt some years ago. We set out on a trail ride across a 7000 acre property. He rode one mare, and let the other come along loose, with 20+ horses under saddle. Was he a real horseman or not?[/QUOTE]
Different circumstance.
Real horseman or no- that is not the safest thing. The horse could run up on a strange horse, horse could run up on it. And he is probably no a measuring stick to measure the masses. Just because he can/has done it doesn’t mean it is a good idea for Annie Owner to do it. We are talking totally different skill set.
That said- no- if they are on a lead I am holding it. That is also what I teach my kids. And I wouldn’t let a boarder do that either, not that any one ever has. I have them at home so there are ones that I will allow out to graze with no lead and let them wander (now that I moved and do not have the time/space for boarders). But I also don’t let the kids sit down when the horse is grazing. I am a stickler about safety because even in the best of circumstance and no matter how vigilant you are- stuff happens.
No one said it was the safest thing. But blanket statements about horseman do this/don’t do this, quickly run smack into ‘it depends’.
We’ve turned submissive horses loose in the mountains b/c their buddies were on high lines. We do it b/c the conditions supported it. Ray turned that mare loose b/cshe was so very buddied up to the other mare no one was getting between the two of them, and there was no way in hell she was leaving the ridden mare’s side.
Would I allow it if I had boarders? no. Do I do it with certain horses in certain situations? yes. Because it depends.
[QUOTE=jdobbs64;8926645]
Would I allow it if I had boarders? no. Do I do it with certain horses in certain situations? yes. Because it depends.[/QUOTE]
I’m agreeing with you. Just pointing out what a lot of pros do isn’t what I (or they I believe) would recommend in most instance over Average Owner. Having them at home makes a difference for a ton of reasons. I perhaps would not be so fussy if it wasn’t for the fact I have kids (my own and 2 leasers). When it was just me- sometimes my old man would be out grazing on the front lawn 
For me it’s horse and situation dependent. For my guy, if we’re off farm? Hell no, he’s too up and distracted. But at home all he wants is grass. Plus he comes to a whistle so that’s handy too.
eta: There is no way my 115 lbs self can hold onto him if he decides in his 950lbs glory to “get outta dodge”. I think it’s a good thing for them to learn either way.
That said I really think (though I have no empirical evidence of this) that him learning to deal with “lead rope stepped on, I can ‘un-trap’ myself” has really helped with his panicking while tied. He used to be one of those “calm until not” while single tied and knew how to back his way out and snap to free himself. It was never done maliciously but done out of panic once he realized he was “trapped”. Never had an issue with cross ties, only single, so he’s a bit unique there.
Taught him to ground tie and he learned to give to pressure with his head. That combined with him learning to “step off the rope” seems to have eliminated the panic response and instilled a thinking one. We either now a: freeze and wait for me to “free” him from the pressure or b: move in the right direction to relieve the pressure. There are still times I can see him processing and trying to not panic if something new is introduced to that mechanic, it’s amazing to replay in retrospect.
Long story short: We actually are able to tie to the trailer now when we’re out and about with the gang, but I always have an eye out in case he randomly decides to wander off which is more likely than him panicking these days (stubborn brat :lol: )
I’ve also taken my horse up to the ranch country and let her foal/yearling run along beside the group - horses don’t go far from the herd…but that’s not the topic. But, being horses, stuff can happen so we take calculated risks…just by getting on them.
After coming from a line of horse people, I just do my thing, my own way mostly.
What I taught in Pony Club is about safety and I think in that mode.
tbh, I don’t really hand graze unless the horse is stall bound due to injury or being stabled at a show. I see no point in it. But if I AM hand grazing, I hold on. My horses are jerks and take every opportunity to remind me of that. They would both leave…even the geriatric one.
