I have some friends I see on occasional trail rides and for some reason when we get back they don’t untack their horses for hours. They leave them standing there fully tacked in the sun with nothing while they get themselves drinks, snacks, visit with others. etc. I asked them about this and they said they don’t want their horses rushing back to the trailer thinking they’re going to eat and drink. I haven’t tried to explain to them that horses can’t think that far ahead and don’t reason. They live in the moment. They don’t have the capacity to think that “hey, if I rush back to the trailer, I won’t get to eat and drink so why rush.” And, recently I heard that some old timer cowboy told them that all their blood is in their legs and by removing the saddle too soon could kill them. 
So all of us who to untack our horses when we return are putting them in mortal danger :lol:
I haven’t said anything about both of these ridiculous ideas, yet, but I think next time I’m going to push their buttons a little and ask them if they really believe this crap they’re saying.
Do you untack your horse upon returning or do you have them stand around for a while. I can understand a short time but not like these folks who leave them for hours.
I untack when I get back to the trailer. I also offer hay, water, and if it was a long(20 +miles) or hard ride I offer mash.
Many cowboys here will loosen the chinches after they are thru and lift the saddles and let some air under there, but not take the saddles clear off for a bit.
They think their backs cool off too fast if they do, unless they hauled them for a bit first, then they will take the saddle off, just not right after riding a horse hard.
Now, I am talking of maybe for 15-20 or so minutes, not hours.
Horses get offered water at every chance to do so all along thru the day and at some times, in some places, hobbled to graze around a little.
I remember endurance riders saying you shouldn’t remove the saddle right away because of heat bumps. If I’m on an easy trail ride I will untack within ten minutes of returning to the trailer. If the ride was hard and we didn’t get a chance to cool off on the last leg I leave the saddle on while I start cooling him down. I have never left the tack on over thirty minutes though.
I saw a video where a cowboy tied one of the horses legs up for 15 minutes every time he returned to the barn from any ride. Said it makes the horse not want to come home.
I do think horses can think beyond the moment. That is shown by horses that learn to misbehave at certain points of the ride because they know the rider will take them back to the barn.
I will loosen the girth and then give water and hay. I treat it like taking boots off after a hike, for me if I take my boots off right away my feet tend to swell.
I give the back muscles time to adjust after I get off before I lift the saddle right away. However, I’m talking 5/10 minutes. Not “wander off and do other things”.
I will loosen the girth and then give water and hay. I treat it like taking boots off after a hike, for me if I take my boots off right away my feet tend to swell.
I give the back muscles time to adjust after I get off before I lift the saddle right away. However, I’m talking 5/10 minutes. Not “wander off and do other things”.
“I saw a video where a cowboy tied one of the horses legs up for 15 minutes every time he returned to the barn from any ride.”
How evil. I wish such discomfort and more on this fellow.
I think those who “wander off and do other things” for extended periods of time under the guise of “teaching the horse a lesson” are just using that as an excuse for lazy horse care so they can go be a social butterfly (I’ve seen the type plenty over the years). There are better ways to retrain the barn sour horse than to ignore its comfort and basic needs after it has packed your butt down the trail all damn day.
My after-ride routine is to loosen the saddle, remove the bridle, cool the horse out if needed, then offer hay and water while untacking/grooming and checking the horse for rubs/cuts/etc. I’ve never had a horse turn barn or trailer sour because I routinely tended to it after long rides and the mindset of “making your horse comfortable after a long ride will turn it sour” just sounds absurd to me. I’ve heard that line a few times over the years and seen people I’ve ridden with practice that…and had no problem telling them I thought they were complete knobs.
I was once told “well you don’t have to worry about it, your horses aren’t barn sour”. Exactly, and look at how I treat them after rides. I think it is more effective (and humane) to deal with the issue of barn-sour in the saddle while the horse is actually acting up than to punish it after the ride is over. Tying a fully tacked, hot, tired thirsty horse up in the sun to stand there for an extended period of time for whatever reason is just a jackass thing to do.
[QUOTE=Bluey;7926215]
Many cowboys here will loosen the chinches after they are thru and lift the saddles and let some air under there, but not take the saddles clear off for a bit.
They think their backs cool off too fast if they do, unless they hauled them for a bit first, then they will take the saddle off, just not right after riding a horse hard.
Now, I am talking of maybe for 15-20 or so minutes, not hours.
Horses get offered water at every chance to do so all along thru the day and at some times, in some places, hobbled to graze around a little.[/QUOTE]
I do this. I don’t want a blast of cold air to hit those back muscles. I think it sucks when people don’t take care of their horse first.
Lots of flawed logic here. Air is not going to cool off a muscle too fast. And the reason that a horse is tied up for a little bit (10-20 minutes) after riding is to avoid connecting barn/trailer to immediate comfort, and, it helps make a shorter ride into a “job.” Ever hear the comment, “horse does best when he has a job?” Tying a horse up for a little while before and after a ride helps stretch the training session into a '“job” without unduly stressing the horse physically or mentally. The horse becomes resigned to not having control over what happens, and since nothing bad is happening, the horse usually learns to relax and accept it.
I take the saddle off, lift the saddle blanket and replace it back onto the back to stop heat lumps. Of course we dont get as cold as you do.
It doesn’t hurt the horse if it is not fed immediately. Psychologically it is better for a horse to work for its food rather than to just get it.
The horse should get fed when you feed it. Not if it is demanding to be fed.
We feed at different times every day. Our horses never stand around expecting to be fed.
That said if taken somewhere the horse is looked after before the people.
“I saw a video where a cowboy tied one of the horses legs up for 15 minutes every time he returned to the barn from any ride.”/quote
How evil. I wish such discomfort and more on this fellow.
exactly. This is exactly what these people are doing by tying their horses up to roast in the sun without water or relief from the tack- they are torturing the horses in a misguided effort to avoid “barn sourness.”
You take care of your horse first when you get back- as much water as the horse wants, get the tack off, wash the sweat off, etc. If the horse is hot and it’s cold out, you toss a cooler on, you don’t leave the saddle on.
Stress and dehydration can easily cause colic in horses.
I often untack and have them loaded in 5-10 minutes. I’ve never had heat bumps (knocking wood). I don’t run back to the trailer, so they aren’t hot and sweaty upon arrival. My horses, given their head, will bypass the trailer and keep on riding. I do love that about them.
[QUOTE=sonomacounty;7926309]
“I saw a video where a cowboy tied one of the horses legs up for 15 minutes every time he returned to the barn from any ride.”
How evil. I wish such discomfort and more on this fellow.[/QUOTE]
Ditto, I don’t want to think about all the uneducated or brain dead people that will watch him and think what he is doing is right.
Well I was raise by Pony Club - the needs and comfort of your horse ALWAYS come before your own!
You are thirsty? Well your horse that has been hauling your butt over hill and dale is probably thirsty too… Some people are so selfish.
So yes, I WATER my horse when I get back. I remove tack. I loosen the girth the moment I dismount - and on an cooled down horse, I remove the saddle. Back when I was an eventing groom, we would loosen the girth (bridle, and breast collar) right after crossing the finish line - and wait for the horse to recover a bit before removing the saddle.
But if these people are worries about “blood in the feet” and other such nonsense. Well then they are people who show that they are poorly educated and believe voodoo over common sense.
I have waited for 15 minutes or so because my gelding would get swollen in the cinch area if I removed the saddle too soon. I know a couple who also wait before untacking for similar reasons, but maybe a half hour at the most. And I remove the bridle and offer hay and water.
I don’t think I’ve seen anyone leave them tacked up for that long. I’d rather take care of my horse and then socialize. In fact, if I’m desperate for a drink I’ll grab one and enjoy it while taking care of my horse. If we plan on going out again shortly I loosen the cinch too.
If it’s hot out, I yank tack as fast as possible and hose or sponge off. If it’s cold out, I probably don’t move quite as fast taking the saddle off but within a couple minutes of dismounting and then I’ll throw a cooler over them. I always loosen the girth right after I get off.
PS- If you are getting “heat bumps”, swellings or a sore back then there’s an issue with your tack
Yes, and no longer have the issue. It was a strange thing, I don’t know exactly what was going on. I did read at the time though that it wasn’t a bad idea to not immediately untack.
As for leaving them for hours after a ride, I don’t think that is teaching them anything useful. It’s okay to not be in a rush to get them back out to pasture, but unnecessary to leave them fully tacked for so long. Now, mine have been left tied to a trailer, untacked, while I relax after a ride.
I was taught by an A pony clubber and later Olympian to leave the saddle on a little while after a strenuous ride, say foxhunting, girth loosened, to prevent a sore back from the circulation point of view. Now, if I am doing something all day like Pony Express or working cattle, the tack stays on between rides, while in the trailer, but with girth loosened.
