I have this thing with crossties...

[Lunabear1988]

I have the thing about crossties. Call it a pet peeve. Or hypervigelent tendencies. But I can’t be the only one.

I only use crossties with a hay string or something breakable. None of my horse’s have had really issues with crossties but I’ve seen a horse pull back and scramble, not fun! I’ve also known of a horse that flipped over. And heard of eye injuries from bungee cord crossties.

My current barn has cotton rope crossties but no hay string. They are actually attached very high up on the rafters and triple wrapped around the wood beams.
They have quick release on the ends but I’ve never found those to be enough if you have a horse really panicking.

I have a young horse so I haven’t used them. The general grooming area has a small door right behind where people and dogs are always coming and going, directly behind the horse who is crosstied. So basically you have people and dogs popping up around a corner right behind the horse. My horse is okay most of the time (but not crosstied) but has been surprised. I’d hate to have an incident with no breakaway.

Same with the washrack. Tied to the rafters. Plus at least for my horse, so tight. He can barely move if he’s in there and crosstied.

I’m thinking of getting some haystring and my own clips and attaching them just on the ends when I’m using them. It’s hard to give baby horses baths when you can’t tie them. He stands pretty well but it would be nice to be able to grab something on the other end of the aisle! But I’m all about not having an accident that I can prevent.

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹

[flexion]

My experience is that things that break are halters and horses. Things that do not break are quick release clips and common synthetic baling twine. This has always seemed very unfair to me! The workaround is to keep loops of string permanently on the halter hardware so that you can attach the crossties to the string.

[Scribbler]

Hay strings these days are all plastic fiber. I see them used for breakaway ties every where. But I’ve often wondered if they do break? I’ve never seen one break or hanging broken. I have however created horrible messes tying cotton lead ropes to hay string loops where the two get so tightly meshed you have to cut the hay string

[wildlifer]

Yes, hay string absolutely breaks. I use it both on my x-ties & on my trailer ties, I’ve found it the perfect strength to hold a casual pull but quickly break when a whole horse weight is on it. It has broken appropriately in both places when needed. I have never had a halter break, but have had snaps break (back when I used to board & had less control over what the ties were).

[Lunabear1988]

Yes I’ve had haystring break-although years ago.

This barn strongly encourages rope halters, which is fine- but I’m not wanting to use them in crossties, especially ones with no breakaways. Because it’s either the hardware on the crossties breaks, the horse breaks or the rafters! (Kind of kidding on the last one.)

So I think I’ll just have a regular halter outfitted with strings in my tack box :winkgrin:

[Lunabear1988]

I know when someone sees me at the barn with my strings, they will think I’m rediculous! But even the best trained horse can have a moment and an accident.

[Scribbler]

I use rope halters for ground work and handling but I do not tie in them if I can help it.

For the wash rack I have a nylon halter with a short quick release trailer tie and clip it onto a twine loop. For the trailer I have a leather halter. It will break.

I don’t use cross ties often, I just tack up in the stall which obviously you don’t want to do with every horse.

[candyappy]

I agree with you 100%. I boarded decades ago and we had cross ties in several places. For some horses it was no problem but for the ones who panicked it was a horrifying thing to watch and the safety releases are a joke when the horse is scrambling…

Anyways I used them from time to time with no issues on my older horse but alway preferred to tie outside my stall and tied to something that would break under the pressure of a real pullback. Never happened. Back then halters were actually well made and did NOT break. The rings might become misshapen but they held.

Todays halters break so I would never use cross ties again. Today I always tie using a loop of twine, even in my trailer. I would rather have them pull back and get free , over pull back, break the halter and fall on their a##. Too much chance of getting hurt.

My mare has only pulled back maybe 3x in 15 years but they were scare worthy and one episode broke the halter, the other 2 the twine. No comparison.

[kande04]

@Lunabear1988

I know when someone sees me at the barn with my strings, they will think I’m rediculous! But even the best trained horse can have a moment and an accident.

I unwind the strings, whether sisal or plastic, and only use as many strings as I think will be strong enough. How many depends on the horse and the circumstances.

[SuzieQNutter]

Okay I admit it. A lifetime with horses. I have worked in 3 different places and lessons at many other places and given lessons at other places

. .and I have NEVER EVER seen cross ties

At home my horses stand to be groomed and tacked without being tied and often without a halter on.

[Kyrabee]

I don’t like crossties. Take a claustrophobic prey animal and slap confinement on both sides of their face. No chance of things going bad there:rolleyes:. I know a lot of horses tie well on them but I have had some bad wrecks with them and only once with a straight tie. We have a tie wall at my barn with a single tie.

That said, I have had horses that didn’t tie well. My fault for not doing proper training and just assuming they would stand tied. Blocker tie rings have been my savior. I won’t leave home without them. At the last barn I was at that had crossties, I put them on both sides. I put them on the tie spots in the current barn. I have several in my trailer. I don’t like to use something (except inside my trailer) that will break. The Blocker allows the rope to play out. Horse realizes they aren’t “caught” and stop pulling. The nice thing is the horse is still attached and not running loose dangling a lead line.

Mr. Blocker should have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize:yes:.

Susan

[JFJ]

@SuzieQNutter

Okay I admit it. A lifetime with horses. I have worked in 3 different places and lessons at many other places and given lessons at other places

. .and I have NEVER EVER seen cross ties

At home my horses stand to be groomed and tacked without being tied and often without a halter on.

I see you are from Australia, I would say it is extremely common to use cross ties in the USA for English riding (especially hunter/jumpers). I think it is more tying for western horses. I think it is important to teach horses not to panic with cross ties or tying.

[SuzieQNutter]

I am an English rider.

I have done dressage, show jumping and eventing, and I didn’t know about them until I joined this forum, and it is mentioned in what seems like more than half of threads.

[SuzieQNutter]

@JFJ

I see you are from Australia, I would say it is extremely common to use cross ties in the USA for English riding (especially hunter/jumpers). I think it is more tying for western horses. I think it is important to teach horses not to panic with cross ties or tying.

I am an English rider.

I have done dressage, show jumping and eventing, and I didn’t know about them until I joined this forum, and it is mentioned in what seems like more than half of threads.

[Nezzy]

I also use Blocker tie rings on both sides. My current horse was a bit nervous when i got him, so i switched out the regular for the blocker with nylon lead lines tied to them. They work great. AND no worry about anything breaking. Years ago i tried a Break -away halter. This taught my QH at the time to break out 3 x. I hated that damn thing. i will never use a breakaway halter again. With the blocker- i even re-trained a horse back to the cross-ties that had broken out of them.

[sophie]

My barn is big, and several horses can be tied in the aisle with cross ties. Most cross ties are tied to a ring on the wall with string, so that it can break free if horse panics.
I once saw a horse panic, break the ties, and take off down the aisle where 2 or 3 other horses stood tied. The loose horse barrelled through them all.
By some miracle, no horses were hurt.

Having witnessed this, I almost always groom and tack up my mare in her stall, unless there are NO other horses standing in cross ties in the aisle.

And I have no shame bringing my own string to the barn - one that I know WILL break if my horse panics. She also always wears her break-away halter when tied.

[pluvinel]

This is why I teach all my horses to ground tie.

My long-time trainer had a barnful of stallions. They were expected to have all 4 feet firmly planted even when walking mares by them.

It definitely established the level of my expectations for what a well-trained horse should do…tied or not…preferably not.

But it is a lost art… and not easy to find a trainer to learn from these days.

[going_gray]

I absolutely love my Tie Safe cross ties. (Bought from Dover) The halter snaps are attached with Velcro to the nylon cord and pull apart very easily when a horse gets upset and pulls back. You can make the tie shorter or longer just by adjusting the Velcro sections. I won’t use another type. I use a shorter version in my horse trailer too. They are not expensive and last a long time.

When either of my horses has gotten startled and pulled back with these attached to their halter, the Velcro pulls apart and makes a ripping sound. That sound gets their attention big time and stops them from moving off.

I just reattach the Velcro sections and go back to working on the horse. No big deal at all! (Oh, you don’t get clobbered with a safety snap flying into your face either. The snap stays attached to the halter.)

I’ve seen horses get seriously alarmed and then fight crossties that don’t give. Not a fun sight and potentially dangerous for horse and owner. Had a friend many years ago who had a lovely Tb that went up while on crossties in an old barn. Mare hit her head on an overhead board and came down. She was dead. It was so sad. Truly recommend these ties. Love Velcro.

[Bluey]

Many western shows if you walk down the aisles you will see many horses cross tied.

Trainers string high lines and cross tie to them where they want their horses to stand.

A loose horse because some horse got loose happens in cross-ties, single tying and just getting away from someone.
It is always dangerous for a horse to run loose, no matter why it got loose and if running where other horses are tied, single or cross-tied, it may cause several wrecks.

Any time we tie a horse where it can get loose, if it is where there are other horses or people or highways the loose horse can get to, consider that your horse may be better off fighting being tied solid than the damage it may do to itself and others and property while running loose.

Our military officer riding instructor always considered that a horse be properly restrained one of the most important anyone handling a horse can do.
If a soldier tied a horse where it got loose, they were punished with a week of heavy work above their regular work detail.
Safety was first and that included no horses running loose.

Now, in your own private stable, your horses and your liability and responsibility, if you want to use breakaway halters and strings and being careless and hoping your horse will just stand there this one more time, why not?

When in public, maybe we ought to be way more careful.
Keeping horses where they can’t run loose becomes our responsibility.
That may mean some horses you don’t tie anywhere in public, keep in your stall, trailer or with someone attending directly to the horse.
Most horses do fine tied any one way they can’t get loose.
Accidents happen easy enough around horses.
Let’s be sure they don’t happen from tying a horse so it can get loose.

It is the old question, what is more important, one … or all those that to try to keep one safe come to harm?

[SuzieQNutter]

So horses are being taken out of a stable to be put in crossties in an aisle?

At our riding school they are taken out of the paddock and put in a stable on the left side of the aisle to be groomed or tacked. On the right side they are in a place they can turn around and has a chain about shoulder high across to keep them in. 2 chains are there.

Fold up saddle racks are outside each. Plus a hook for the halter and bridle.

If full a horse can be tied in the aisle. The horse is asked to stand parallel to the stable so as horses being led can pass.

No cross ties.