Hi! I currently have an outside cross ties for washing and one that’s covered at the end of my barn. The outside cross ties has wood planks on the side but open back and front obviously. The other cross ties is open on all sides. I’ve never had an issue with my horses backing up on cross ties if there isn’t anything behind them, but I have my sisters horse coming and her’s will panic and back up if there isn’t anything behind them. I don’t want to put wood, I’d like to have something that I could easily put up or tack down if I’d like, and I was wondering if I could just put a stall guard behind? It sounds safe and good to me, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t anything I was missing. Also, I was looking at the nylon one for the inside and for the outside the rubber with the chain. I feel the nylon is fine, I’m more concerned with the rubber and chain one, I don’t think it should be a problem, but just want to get opinions. Thanks!
If you have crossties with no barrier behind the horse, IF the horse pulls back (or throws himself over backwards in panic), you need those crossties to release, rather than hold. If you have a back barrier, it will limit how far the horse can shift his position in a backward direction, which MAY encourage him to move forward again, and change his mind about pulling back. This is why most “grooming stalls” and “wash stalls” do have a barrier at the back of the horse. If you don’t want that barrier to be there, then you will probably come across a horse at some point who will pull back. If so, you need those crossties to release in case of panic. Cross ties made out of baling twine break if this happens, and the horse is not hurt. He does get loose. A removeable plank behind the horse could work for you, that slips into a pocket on each side of the stall behind the stall, easily removed if you wish by lifting it out of the slots it fits into, strong enough to put up some resistance if a horse goes to pull back. Putting a “stall guard” up behind the horse may work for you, but DE snaps break pretty easy if a horse is pulling hard and sits on your stall guard. Always make sure that cross ties are made with an auto-release (able to break in a panic situation). Easy and cheap to replace when it’s baling twine. Better than having the horse upside down and tangled up in ropes or something strong that won’t break in an emergency situation.
I remember Pony Club and later using natural sisal baling twine, which I believe was an excellent choice. But then sisal twine for bales was replaced with synthetic twine by many folks who bale hay. I haven’t myself seen a sisal twine hay bale in thirty years, though I see sisal baling twine rolls on the shelves at Tractor Suppy, so someone must still use the natural fiber twine.
This is a great idea. Better than a stall guard, IMO.
A horse may not realize the stall guard is a barrier until they sit back on it, and depending on how the horse reacts, slips, or fights, you may have him go under the guard or just break the whole thing. A guard would be fine for the sides if you chose to do that, I think.
It’s dyed green, but it’s still just an organic twine. Maybe hennakin or something that’s not sisal, but it must still be a cheap thing for them to use it.
