Is tethering ok?

Oddly, on my way to the mountains for thanksgiving I saw the same thing. A horse, tethered to a lean to, with absolutely no fencing around him. No people, no nothing. By himself standing there. I literally gasped! But like my family said, its not your problem. Sad but true.

Let me ask you all -- If a horse is broke to stand tied on a rope and it has plenty of food and water, why is it any different than being in a pen?

I used to take hunters out on long pack trips and used to take photographers out in the wilderness areas of the Colorado high country. All of my horses and mules were trained to stake out by a front foot or by their heads. They never got tangled or rope burned and they were perfectly content as long as they got moved often enough to have plenty of grass to eat.

So, why is that any different than standing in a pen or worse yet, a stall?

While all of you think anything different than what you do is cruel, I think making a horse live in a 10 x 10 stall is a hundred times worse. Why is a tethers horse sad and a stalled horse ok?

What say you?

I personally, don't "tether" my horse. I will tie them while being groomed and tacked up but not for long periods of time. The can easily stand still for 10 minutes with nobody around (probably longer I just haven't done it any longer) When I first got my mare we tied her so she could eat grass and not run away... She got so tangled she fell down and couldn't get up... That us why I don't tether, also because I have no need to. My horses live in a pasture or stall.

I think why people thinking tethering is bad is because they aren't being protected by the elements or wild animals like a stall would (Also no worry for your horse to get accidentally tangled)