Tying Out To Graze Safely

I hope I don't ruffle any feathers by asking about this...

My pasture is drying out and I plan to buy a roll of hay tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, I'd like to offer my horse access to the lush, green grass that is immediately outside his pasture. I have a 20 foot cotton lunge rope that I've tied him outside the pasture on in the past, and he lived staked out for several years before I bought him.

What is the safest way to leave him tied out for a few hours at a time so he has grazing access until I can get a roll of hay into his winter paddock? I can see him from my window.

I hate that I even have to ask this, please don't be mad! I will be buying a roll of hay ASAP and this is very, very temporary!

It's not safe, there is the very rare odd horse you can tether out but for the most part, it's an accident waiting to happen. Best way is to hand graze, meaning you walk along with horse on a lead & let him graze.

The big thing, in my opinion, to watch out for in staking out are rope burns from the rope wrapping around the legs and what happens if the horse panics when the rope catches him. If you're using a cotton rope that will help lessen a burn if an incident does occur. If your horse has been staked out before, hopefully he's seasoned enough to not panic (you mentioned 'several years ago' so he may be rusty at it so take extra care).

I have heard of people tieing by the halter. I have also heard of tieing by the hind leg. Perhaps some of the forum members who have packed into the mountains could comment on this technique if they used it on any of their excursions.

Just for the record, I personally wouldn't tie any of my horses because of their temperments and training. Otherwise, watch him carefully and good luck.

I got him about 6 months ago, he was seized from his former owner in January 2012. Prior to that he spent +/- 3 years living staked out on a rope tied to the halter. Pretty much his entire life. He does have a rope burn scar, and a nasty one at that, which is why I'm fretting so much about doing this even semi-supervised. I know he's calm enough and experienced enough at being tied out... Once I finish my college homework I'm going out to the pasture to study in my car.