So I recently purchased a 6 year old 16.3 HH OTTB. He retired as a three year old, was used as a pony horse for a few months, and was “re-started” (quotations because he still acts fresh off the track). Anyways, I am having an extremely difficult time with this guy. I have owned him since January. I bought him sight unseen (too far away to travel so with videos I purchased and had him shipped here) with intentions of starting in hunter/jumper training shortly after. Well it’s clear he is not ready for that by any means. One of the biggest issues I am having with him right now though is he doesn’t tie. This is my first OTTB (have owned/trained many including thoroughbreds just not of-track) and I m just struggling. All my tricks I use with yearlings and colts isn’t working with this guy. Any suggestions and advice?
I am sure someone with greater knowledge than what I have will give you better advice --but for what it’s worth, one of my [getting to be former] riding buddies has an OTTB that she says “won’t tie.” I was at my granddaughter’s trainer and mentioned that my friend had a horse that wouldn’t tie. The trainer said, “Easy fix.” He then told me that he ties young horses in their stalls for increasingly longer periods of time --the rope is long enough that the horse can back up to the stall wall and at that point the rope is tight enough that a gentle pull is exerted, but at the same time the butt hits the wall. Of course the horse is watched initially, but as the horse figures out that backing up means butt into wall, they stop pulling. When they are standing quietly, they released. When the horse is standing quietly for longer periods of time, the horse and its friends (at least one) are taken into the (really huge)arena and put on lead ropes that attach to small tires that are fastened to the wall quite high up. There they stand as lessons and training takes place around them. The horses are always under someone’s watchful eye (they are valuable). After awhile (and it might be a couple of hours) the horses are released and taken back to do whatever horses do. Another way I’ve heard of is with a “Patience Pole” but never seen one or seen it used.
I did mention to my OTTB owning friend the trainer’s method of teaching horses to tie --and she said, “It wouldn’t work for my horse. She’d figure out there wasn’t a stall wall and yank until the rope broke.” --I guess she missed the entire explanation of the lead rope-tire-arena part of the training. And that’s why she’s on the road to becoming my “former riding buddy” --she’s one of those people who would rather complain and excuse any training holes than figure out a way to fix them. But as my husband pointed out, maybe she just doesn’t want to ride with ME and uses that as an excuse! LOL! All good. And if you haven’t already, search YouTube and the Web for “Train an OTTB to tie.”
we have one Thoroughbred, she is now ten or eleven but was never raced due to a pasture injury as a yearling… I am just glade she doesn’t run over me. This mare has only one thought (other than worshiping the ground her buddy horse walks upon) and that is to go FAST forward… for having only three good legs she is faster than anything else around here…but doing anything with her is pretty much questionable
How is this horse with routine desensitization?
Does she drop her head when asked (pressure on the poll)?
Does she panic with a rope around her butt? Around a foot? Etc.
Most OTTBs tie reasonably well. But, they are used to being tied in their stalls or in other sorts of “protected” situations. Many are not used to be cross-tied (although some are). So, first I would try tying in his stall or another protected location. Many TBs are sort of “catered to” in their life as a racehorse because no one can afford for them to get loose or get hurt–situations are very protected, there are always extra handlers, etc. So life in a regular barn where horses are tied in an aisle way and expected to stand there patiently, etc., can be a bit of an adjustment. Some horses adjust better than others. I also use a blocker tie ring when teaching horses to tie, or sometimes simply even run the lead rope through the ring and hold the end. Choosing a quiet time to work with him and getting him in a regular program are both things that will help.
Honestly, I hope this horse works out for you. After being off the track for three years, and having been “restarted” the problem isn’t his racing history.
What kind of halter and lead rope are you using? I ask because there are two schools of thought; basically, things that break and things that do not break.
IME, breakaway halters (and unintentional breakaway halters as well) perpetuate the issue because a big horse with a big reaction will learn that they can break literally anything and get away if they just panic hard enough.
I may be unpopular for this but I use rope halters and tied-in lead ropes for every horse on my property, all the time. The weak point of any halter is the hardware so I just remove the hardware from the equation.
I come from a western background where horses generally tie well. Part of the reason for that is the prevalence of rope tack. Frankly, I have seen many more horses injured in breakaway tack, including a few fatalities where the halter or rope broke at exactly the wrong time and the horse went over backwards. Broke a neck in one case, fractured a skull in another. Horses also get hurt once they have gotten loose, and usually they end up more scared than if they had just fought the halter and lost.
My 2 cents. And it is worth exactly that. YMMV.
I’ve had good luck using a Blocker Tie-Ring on a couple of horses who didn’t tie well. The link is to the Blocker Tie-Ring page at SmartPak, where there is also a short video on using it.
I am NOT suggesting this, by any means… but an old cowboy once told me you tie the horse to an inner tube from a tire that’s been tied to a higher up (but still flexible) branch of a tree. Nylon halter, nylon rope (yikes).
The theory is that the horse will fight the tie and bonk himself in the head with the branch as a self “correction” (I say punishment) and eventually they will grow weary of being bonked.
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For most of my horses, I use rope halters (I am in the don’t teach them to break it camp), but I had a mostly thoroughbred mare that just never figured it out. For her, I used a rope halter, but I didn’t hard tie it. I just rapped it around the post (or thru the ring). It had a little resistance, but it gave. That seemed to work well for her. I think it took the idea of being “trapped” out of her mind. I never left her alone for more than a few seconds that way though.
I teach them to stand still with a halter then they are taught to stand still without a halter.
With the halter they are taught to yield to the halter. You can then yield them so that if they are standing on a lead they will drop their head to their knee. They will lift their hoof so as to release the lead. They can lead around trees and poles and fences or anything.
They are given spooky object training which teaches them to stand still when they get a fright.
Tieing is then not a problem.
I really wouldn’t recommend taking an OTTB and hard tying it with a nylon halter to an unbreakable post or some version of that. That might work…or it might be a lot more drama and danger than you are prepared for. Some horses are capable of really hurting themselves in a situation like this. For a sport horse, particularly a TB, I’d be worried about a neck injury that would be an issue down the line. And if you don’t have a tried and true setup in place (I imagine you are boarding), something unexpected might give way. You really don’t want your horse running loose around the farm in a panic, dragging a post (or whatever) with him.
I’d recommend going slowly, teaching the concept in a stall or with a blocker tie ring, or some other method where there is some “give” but the horse doesn’t actually get itself loose.
I don’t disagree with Suspira’s method, I think those methods are valuable and have a place. I’m just not sure that a horse like the OP describes is a good candidate for them–this sounds like a horse that would be at high risk of hurting himself. I totally agree with the dangers of horses getting loose or learning that they can get themselves loose.
Blocker tie ring(s) and a really really long rope(s)–if your barn is like most these days with only square posts.
If you are lucky enough to have good, stout round posts like in the olden days barns, do it the old fashioned way by WRAPPING your really really long rope around the post. --Edit: make sure your rope is ROUND and will slide with enough pressure. NO flat “ropes”, they will not slide/give. Wrap twice for the new tie-er, wrap 3 times for the he’s-getting-the-hang-of-it tie-er. Experienced tie-ers who have learned to pull back to break free should always be tied where there is a wall behind them–grooming stall, regular stall, or end of the aisle with the door closed, and still on the Blocker ring or wrap method.
Second edit–“tie” with a rope halter. They need to feel some discomfort, not a nice wide, flat surface–no negative feedback, defeats the purpose. If the halter is breakaway it better not break before the rope gives or you just taught him a new trick!
These methods make teaching to tie really really easy and really really safe. Everything else is scary (and risky) as hell. Best of luck.
You teach horse to tie because you WANT IT TIED!!! That protects the horse (from getting out on a highway and getting hit a by truck) and in protects people from getting run over by an escaped horse.
Your system is perfectly fine for reaching that goal. You have to teach the horse to respect the lead rope. Good system, this.
The “rubber doughnut” is another good, safe system. As long as the horse is tied “eye high, arms length, with and to something that won’t break” the risk of injury to the horse approaches zero.
All restraint systems for horses (including fences, stall walls, straight ties, cross ties, or anything) else present a risk of injury to the horse if they panic. If a horse will panic strongly enough to inflict a self injury then, IMO, you have a much bigger temperament issue than just a refusal to respect the rope that ties them.
The OP can pick the system they like best but whatever they pick has to be effective. All effective systems run some risk of injury to the horse. That’s just the way it is when you work with 1000 pound animals.
G.
Use of Blocker tie ring carries almost zero risk of injury and is wildly successful so long as your rope is longer then your aisle/pen diameter/horses will to go backwards. Horse is not trapped/snubbed down so horse does not panic. Rope halter/sans hardware is key indeed. All hardware breaks under load. It cannot break to free horse but horse cannot be snubbed down either. Blocker tie ring, yo.
Horses panic for lots of reasons. The ID on the tying system is generally not one of them.
Not all hardware breaks under load. Good quality hardware does not as long as the load is within the specifications of the hardware. A conscientious owners takes the time to know what the limits of their hardware are.
Blocker may work for some but might not for others.
G.
Round posts utilize the same theory as Blocker tie ring but most modern barns do not have them. Round posts and/or the old school hitching post are as rare as hens teeth these days. In lieu of such olden days amenities, there exists a lovely product. Not cheap, but far less expensive then massive skeletal damage. Feel free to snub them down with a bull snap. Works for some. Seriously ****s up a lot more. To each his own.
I’ve got a horse that won’t tie. He’ll stand tied all day, until the panic sets in. He does just fine with a blocker ring. Tied fast, he’d break himself. That’s not okay with me. As long as the rope gives a couple inches, he stays where I put him until I come back. He’s not one of the sneaky “yank, yank, yank, I’m free!” types.
since we’ve got a system worked out, we go with it.
My mare is pretty much the same way. She ties well… until she doesn’t. The “snap” of hitting the end of the lead rope causes her to panic. The little tug from a Blocker ring just reminds her that she shouldn’t go anywhere. I’ve been using one for years – with a 12 foot lead rope so if she ever figures out that she isn’t actually tied, I have a chance of halting her before she gets away.
She also ground ties – what a useful skill! – though not well enough for me to leave her. But for grooming, saddling etc. in the barn aisle, she’s good. (If she starts wiggling, I put her back where she was and tell her to “stand!” Sometimes this does require a few repetitions as she’s your typical curious, wiggly Morgan.)
The idea of “we have a system worked out” has been very useful for me.
I personally find rubber inner tubes super handy when teaching horses to tie. Especially horses who might be prone to panic and break something (like themselves).
For adult horses, a doubled up tractor or truck tire inner tube is perfect. Fold it around a sturdy post, tree, branch, or rafter that can’t break… then tie a heavy duty bull snap lead rope through the loops made by the tube. Inner tubes give just enough so that while the horses can’t escape the pressure, the little bit of give helps prevent horses from bracing against the rope and engaging in a panicked game of tug of war. When they stop pulling, they get an instant release of pressure. Eventually, the horse learns to give to pressure and stop trying to fight the rope. Then they can graduate to tying without the inner tube.
Just make sure you have no “weak links” that might break. I like to use heavy duty nylon web halters with minimal yet durable hardware. If I think the horse is going to be a real stubborn dunce about fighting the pressure, I might even put two halters and/or two leads on him. I don’t like using rope halters to train to tie only because I believe their narrow diameter makes them a greater risk of scalping/damaging the poll if the horse starts to really fight. Nylon web halters can certainly cause road rash, but narrow rope can actually cut through the skin in extreme situations.
Interestingly enough, my horse will stand tied for as long as you want as long as he’s wearing a nylon halter. Put a leather halter on him and I guarantee he’ll sit back and break it within a week. Don’t know why or how he knows the dif. I’ve had him since he was 3 and I didn’t teach him this!
