I have a two horse straight haul trailer with chest bars, not mangers. As a matter of course the horses get tied to the front wall, leather halters and trailer ties.
What would happen if you didn’t tie them up? They can’t really turn around.
I guess worst thst could happen is they fall down and get their necks stuck under the chest bar, panic and try to bolt out of the front door?
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I tie my horses in that kind of trailer.
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Tie them. As seasoned as my trail horses are, I always tie them.
The only horses I would trust untied, to not hurt themselves, are ranch horses who are already “dressed” and ready to spend the day chasing cows , the second they unload themselves from the trailer ------ period.
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Tying them prevents them from TRYING to turn around and getting stuck.
I have a good hauler and I don’t tie him. But I would never do it with a horse I wasn’t 100% sure won’t turn around.
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Tie them to a piece of weak baling twine. That way, in an emergency, the twine will break.
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I just bought Blocker tie rings and I plan to use them to tie my horses in the trailer and outside the trailer. I just had an incident where my horse was stung by a bee or bitten by a horse fly in a sensitive place. She reared up when tied to the trailer and broke off the running board while also getting the lead rope behind her neck which twisted her head around and she was stuck. She managed to free herself while I was looking for a knife to cut the rope. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again! Hence the tie rings.
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Tie them the way a horse should be tied, so they can’t “elope” cause they feel like it.
You tie in a trailer because in the event of a “sudden stop mishap” the horse becomes a 1000 pound missile impacting a trailer wall (and we can’t be sure which one). Note that I don’t say this; Newton does. 
G.
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I tie so they cannot turn around, nor can they get a leg over the trailer tie, but still drop their heads a reasonable amounts. Horses love to try all kinds of stupid tricks, and I have seen them try to turn around in some god awfully small spaces, then panic. I use a trailer tie with a quick release end on the trailer end, as well as a Equi-Ping at the trailer end.
http://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Equi-…age-EPSTR.html
You’ll find that trailer tying is one of those subjects that if you ask 50 people, you’ll get 50 different opinions. I just know from my own experience what I prefer. I also haul cattle in a stock trailer loose, and I hate it. Even in a one ton dually, I can feel them move around more than pulling a huge LQ trailer with horses on it. Live loads are something to take seriously.
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I always tie my two ponies, because they WILL think about turning around or going under the breast bar, and they might even be able to pull it off. For my bigger horse, she is also usually tied, but sometimes when I take her ten minutes to a lesson by myself, I just send her in and leave her untied.
Speaking as someone who has a mare who thinks she can turn around in a trailer, despite never quite managing it and getting stuck more than once … tie your ponies. Just because they can’t fit doesn’t mean they won’t try until it take 3 burly men to unstick them.
And no, I don’t leave Ms. Mare untied but I do trailer by myself a lot. All my horses are taught to self load/unload. Ms. Mare, in my big old kingston, would occasionally try to turn around instead of backing out. It took three guys to un-jam her the last time, she was that certain she could do it if she just pushed a little harder. Luckily, Ms. Mare is not the excitable sort and didn’t panic but just gave me a “help” look from her pretzel position.
New trailer is narrower and so far, she has backed out like a properly trained pony.
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Oh yes they can turn around! I have seen monstrosities of horses in bitty straight stalls turn themselves around. I’ve also seen them get stuck trying.
I’ve also had horses go under breast/butt bars, or get stuck trying.
Everyone always says horses balance better untied… but the only time I had a horse go fully down in the trailer is the time I left the horse untied. I don’t know if it was because she had learned to use pressure on the trailer tie for stability, or if she was just too active and lost her balance. She was on her back with her feet up in the air and scrambled quite a bit getting up. Any time I’ve had a tied horse slip badly in the trailer, they never go completely down and can recover more easily.
99% of the time, a well-behaved horse is going to be fine untied. Until they aren’t. So I’m now of the opinion that unless you have a large box stall in a trailer with excellent suspension, they are always better off being tied (provided they know how to tie). The less opportunity for movement, the better.
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The horses are tied with leather halters, and those will break if they put full weight on them. When they are tied to the trailer, it’s trailer ties and leather halters as well.
I’m not sure how much tying them would stabilize the horse in an accident. They are already wedged in tight.
The possible problems would be getting head stuck under chest bar. That actually happened to my horse years ago in a different trailer, on a short haul by someone else (experienced hauler who didn’t bother tying that one time). Horse just stood there until unloaded, uninjured but soaked in sweat and covered in poop.
Horse can’t really effectively try to turn around, too wide and muscle bound.
I did try hauling her untied yesterday and there was a lot more stomping than usual and even a kick at the trailer wall or back. The center divider keeps them separate but perhaps she was able to irritate her neighbor by sniffing under it.
That was the first time I’d not tied her since the chest bar incident.
She does in general load and travel well.
Well, after a hunter pace yesterday, a horse got bored with being in trailer, and cleverly extricated its 18-hh self by somehow going over the breast bar, landing in the hay tray, ripping the hay tray off its fasteners, and plunging out the escape door. Horse was tied in trailer, so when horse flew out the escape door (with surprising agility), horse got pulled around by the trailer tie. So, good thing was that horse did not go galloping amok among the other trailers and horses (all of whom were quite agog. I was thinking, 'Shoot. My fella probably just learned something I don’t want him to learn.") I don’t know if it might have been considered safer for horse to be able to get free, as horse might need some chiro for being pulled around by the neck that way. But, horse probably needs chiro for having fit a drafty 18-hh body through a trailer escape door anyway. 
(Horse seemed fine afterwards; no obvious scrapes or bruises, and when put back in other side of trailer, was vewy vewy quiet for the rest of the time. I think he was embarrassed.)
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I always tie.I have a 2 horse slant load. I do use a tie ring for my mustang but I do double loop it so she would have to FORCEFULLY sit back to get undone, and she can’t set back at all because of the divider. Baling twine works as well to tie to. I would never NOT tie. But of course, I have a slant as well, not a straight load.
I do not tie - large mare just stands there on the angle.
I always haul my horses in sturdy leather halters. They rarely break on me, which is perfect in my opinion. If it’s a true “thrash and panic” situation, they will give, or can be cut more readily than nylon. But they don’t break easily.
A good friend of mine never ties her horses. A bunch of us were caravaning to go on a trail ride together and I was driving behind her trailer, which had the top doors open. Her two horses were playing a pretty rousing game of halter tag the whole trip. I wouldn’t have wanted my horses carrying on that much. She said she barely felt anything in the truck and wasn’t concerned, but from my vantage point, they were playfully lunging and even doing little rears. One unexpected brake tap or an over-exuberant move from the horse could have led to disaster, yet having their heads tied would have prevented the game from even starting.
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I used to just send mine in and leave him untied in my slant load. Until the night I got home to unload on a dark rainy night and he had removed his halter and fleece cooler on the 15 minute ride home. No idea how he did that in a slant stall that is just barely big enough for him to stand in. But now he gets tied, every ride.
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I keep mine tied while actually driving, with a leather halter and a trailer tie with a quick-release snap. Once I get somewhere and park, while she’s hanging out on the trailer, I’ll often untie just to allow a little more range of motion.
2 horse straight load- I tie. It keeps them from trying to turn around or from trying to reach the neighbor horse. I do have a head stud divider by some of them try to reach behind that.
I have 2 short backed horses and it keeps them from stepping back, putting their head down and then under the chest bar. I used to haul ponies for my trainer and some of them could walk under the chest bar or butt bar. It helps keep them where they belong.
I use a piece of baling twine tied to the trailer. I figure if the manure hits the proverbial fan , they break that and get loose at least they already have a leadline/trailer tie attached to help grab them. I would prefer that to break than the halter and have a loose horse with no halter. Of course, I am perfect and have never forgotten to untie a horse before I back them off only to have them panic and break their halter- nope never happened to me or anyone I know.
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