Horse Tied in stall- need perspective

[TWH_Girl]

Hello,

A fellow boarder whose horse is pastured with mine (and who I do not talk to via FB or text) sought out my cell number to message me at 10:30 last night and ask me if my (5yr old gelding) horse should ‘still be tied’?? Um, what? Tied to what, for how long, by whom, and why??? I don’t tie my horse except occasionally to the trailer for a ride, or at the hitching post if I am tacking him up outside. He is fine in cross ties. He is a 5 yr old with his moments but handled a lot and a very calm, docile horse. He is a TWH.

The BO’s BFF, who asserts herself as BM, has been doing this for a while now when I texted her to ask why. She said he is naughty when he comes in. They come in about 7:30 or 8:00 in summer. So you’re telling me at 10:30pm my 5 yr old knows why he’s still tied up!!! I am beyond livid. This place has its issues- very catty/backstabbing, inconsiderate boarders, ill maintained auto waters and crummy outdoor…there is often a lot of tension as the owner and her BFF/BM sit around in the evenings and laugh and joke about boarders; have heard it and I am sure they do it to me, fine no worries, I am a big girl and can handle that. I cannot handle NO COMMUNICATION with me regarding my horse being so bad he has to be tied in his stall for hours, instead of working with me to find a solution.

POA: I am bringing both my horses in EVERY NIGHT until I move them which I plan to do ASAP. Going tonight after work to see a place I’ve had in mind for a while, smaller, quiet and my trainer, farrier and vet will all still go there. A bit more $$ but even my frugal non-horsey husband agrees this is too much.

If anyone recalls,this is the gal who asked me for $100 donation when a girl’s horse was put down to go towards her vet bills…and she recently left a blue tarp in the middle of the trail path that my 5 yr old spooked at. Go figure. Very passive aggressive person with a toxic personality…but I can handle all that, I just can’t handle my horse being put at risk.

I would appreciate any input or feedback on whether this is a ‘standard’ disciplinary tactic or what are people’s thoughts on this??

[Simkie]

Unacceptable.

Would be one thing if you and the barn together had decided that his antics could be best managed by having the horse come into his stall and be tied while the others are brought in. Even in that circumstance, still being tied at 1030 would seem to be very out of line.

But not taking to you at all, and leaving your horse tied up for hours? Nope. Not okay.

[Didi]

Move as soon as you can.

[Rusty15]

If you were tying your OWN horse or had talked it over with the barn staff, that would be one thing. I know many people who have a “patience pole” and make their horses stand for a long time on occasion (not every day!) But since they were doing it w/o you knowing and for a very long time that is unacceptable! I would be moving ASAP.

[Marla_100]

Get out as soon as you can.
I’ve seen this tactic used on quarter horses in a high dollar AQHA barn. When I asked why it was done I was told, “It makes them think about their misbehavior,” Say What?! Tie their head UP HIGH and TIGHT and then the horse repents and will never do the bad act again. Okee Dokee.

Move as fast as you can.

[Appsolute]

I would have been LIVID - not okay, never heard of such a thing (actually - only time I saw it was an abusive western pleasure trainer). Glad you have a place you can move to.

[ladyj79]

If you aren’t paying these people to train your horse, absolutely not. God that’s obnoxious. I would flip out.

[Abbie.S]

Yeah, this is a no-brainer. Bye-bye, like, yesterday.

You have every right to be livid. They are lucky that your horse didn’t injure himself while he was tied. That’s a nice way to set themselves up for a major lawsuit.

I have never, ever seen a scenario where a horse that was tied for punishment actually learned the intended lesson. Never. Most end up exhausting themselves and stand quiet because they’re tired/mentally fried. Or they continue to fight and end up hurting themselves/get untied because they’re becoming dangerous. It’s not standard, it’s the moronic attempt at “punishment” by people who don’t understand how horses work and aren’t competent enough to deal with it appropriately.

Glad to hear you’re moving your horse(s).

[BUSY]

MOVE !

[PeanutButterPony]

move

[TWH_Girl]

[QUOTE=Abbie.S;8239738]
Yeah, this is a no-brainer. Bye-bye, like, yesterday.

You have every right to be livid. They are lucky that your horse didn’t injure himself while he was tied. That’s a nice way to set themselves up for a major lawsuit.

I have never, ever seen a scenario where a horse that was tied for punishment actually learned the intended lesson. Never. Most end up exhausting themselves and stand quiet because they’re tired/mentally fried. Or they continue to fight and end up hurting themselves/get untied because they’re becoming dangerous. It’s not standard, it’s the moronic attempt at “punishment” by people who don’t understand how horses work and aren’t competent enough to deal with it appropriately.

Glad to hear you’re moving your horse(s).[/QUOTE]

My stomach has been in knots all day. Actually, he is lame in his R hind and I had no idea why as of last night, but perhaps this is why. I’ll never know for sure. I have to go there tonight too and see her/them. Ugh…TG my friend will be with me. I am outta there Saturday if all goes well when I look at new place today.

[Bluey]

“You can’t fix stupid”.

Don’t leave your horse in the hands of stupid people, because they will do stupid things.

Glad you found out and will move your horse.
Mad along with you about what all people do.
Common sense is not very common, is it.

[findeight]

Even the “patience pole” tree or whatever, used properly, is NOT in the stall or pen. The horse is taken from the stall/pen. After standing tied and/or worked, the horse is returned to the stall/pen and left loose because school is out. He’s done.

Cant for the life of me understand how that horse will see the error of his ways when hes all alone in what should be his safe space and unable to eat, drink, lie down or roll. There’s no relation to doing as the human wishes because no human is there, not going to learn a thing.

BTW, don’t confuse the “patience pole”’ tree or whatever lesson with abusive Western trainers tying the head up all night. They are not trying to teach the horse anything. They are trying to get the neck so sore the horse cannot lift it so it’ll stay low at the show. One is actually teaching the horse to chill and just hang out waiting for instructions. The other is BS abusive treatment in the name of placing higher.

No connection between them but the horse was not tied for either of these reasons. He was tied and left all alone all night because that idiot was mad at it. Or mad at OP.

I would have been out of that barn yesterday. Thats not passive aggressive, that’s a sneaky bully who thinks they are in charge of everything and everybody on the property.

[TWH_Girl]

She is a bully. Period.

[Wonders12]

Ya, no.

Even IF I thought tying was the way to fix naughty turn in behavior (and I don’t), I would certainly inform the boarder immediately with a detailed call or text explaining the behavior, how I’m handling it (and why), and how long the horse will be tied for. At that time, or soon after, we would have an extensive conversation about the horse’s behavior and how we will fix it moving forward.

There are just so many strikes here. Tying. Not notifying you. And forgetting about the horse (which must have happened). Any one of those happening once would be a big concern but perhaps forgivable one time. All three, especially without graveling at your feet explaining how it will never happen again, is just not.

The good news is that standing tied for several hours is unlikely to have any negative long term effects. I would be shocked if the lameness was caused by that. But I would be leaving ASAP and limiting her contact with my horse as much as possible until then.

[TWH_Girl]

I would agree that anyone can get frustrated or make a bad decision. The thing is, I’ve thought about leaving for a while now. Then this. Prior to this, there have been a few other safety issues- free running of 5-7 barn dogs (3 owned by this girl) who run out of her truck loose and they have scared by younger horse as he was not used to having several loose dogs around barking. Last week, she had the blue ‘desensitizing’ tarp in the middle of the trail path and my guy freaked, cuz yeah, normally, it’s not there!! Then the passive aggressive stuff like can you please contribute $100 to so and so’s vet bills cuz we feel bad for her?? Yeah, I have vet bills too and I just pay 'em myself like a big girl and no one takes up a collection…okay sorry, I digress. I guess this was just it for me in additional to the tense atmosphere there.

[enterata]

If I went to the barn or heard that someone had tied my horse in his stall like that I would be so furious my head would explode. Makes me wonder what else goes on there when they think nobody is looking!!! I hope you can get out there asap!

[FineAlready]

Get him out NOW. A barn I was at was doing this with my horse (among other terrible things). I FLIPPED OUT. NOT OKAY AT ALL. Incidentally, my horse has limited range of motion in his neck now and probable neck arthritis.

Go immediately.

[stb]

I would be livid. I would also be leaving asap.

[yourcolorfuladdictio]

So I have met the occasional horse that has needed to be tied in a stall around feeding time (usually in close proximity to his/her buckets). Said horses are usually dominant AND food aggressive and will gladly injure themselves (spinning around in the stall and kicking the door) as well as anyone else to guard their food from the horses being brought in/turned out.

So having them tied while eating keeps them from doing too much damage to themselves and makes them easier to retrieve from their stalls for turnout. For the most part, they spend lest than an hour a day tied and are much happier because the “fight has been taken away”. It is not a punishment, it is to make the horse feel more secure in his stall and not feel like he has to defend it.

I have been to “all around” shows where I’ve seen horses chained to the wall unable to lay down or reach their water for hours on end. It’s usually to induce a specific head set when the head is finally allowed to lower. Although I don’t agree with the practice the horses did not seem to mind it.

There is also the “patience pole”, which is supposed to teach a horse to be patient when tied. It’s a training technique that has its applications in certain situations as well. I couldn’t imagine an endurance or trail horse being unable to tie patiently for hours on end at an over-night camp.

But what this “BM” is doing to your horse is not a training technique, is not for performance, and is not for your horse’s comfort. It’s cruel.

I’m happy you’re moving.