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buddy sour question

11K views 124 replies 17 participants last post by  Foxhunter 
#1 ·
Hi, I'm an oldie and a newbie (to horses), and here's my first question (yay! love this site);

I have two horses, 12yr old 'D' (dominant) and a 6yr old 'B' (baby).
They only go in the barn for the farrier, so every 6-8 weeks. B is buddy sour. I have tried various options for leading them into the barn and tying them up, but I don't know what is best. The stall is open to the outside, with nowhere near the door to tie them up.

Should I:
1 Lead D in first, and leave B tied up outside freaking out.
2 Let B follow us into the barn loose.
3 Lead B in first and tie her up to freak out when I go to get D.

Is there a conventional approach with dominant and buddy sour horses? Thanks!
 
#2 ·
The only way B is going to get better, and develop a skill I think is necessary for every horse to learn, that of accepting to be tied solid and alone, is to spend time doing it.
Don't wait until you need to bring her in and tie her, but make it a daily routine, until she accepts it
I assume she understands how to give to pressure 100%. If so, tie her in a safe place, and leave her tied, until she is standing there quietly
 
#3 ·
Hi, I'm an oldie and a newbie (to horses), and here's my first question (yay! love this site);

I have two horses, 12yr old 'D' (dominant) and a 6yr old 'B' (baby).
They only go in the barn for the farrier, so every 6-8 weeks. B is buddy sour. I have tried various options for leading them into the barn and tying them up, but I don't know what is best. The stall is open to the outside, with nowhere near the door to tie them up.

Should I:
1 Lead D in first, and leave B tied up outside freaking out.
2 Let B follow us into the barn loose.
3 Lead B in first and tie her up to freak out when I go to get D.

Is there a conventional approach with dominant and buddy sour horses? Thanks!
1st, excuse me if I use old terms. Just a case of growing up with old terms and using them all my life. I've never quite wrapped my head around the new terms that have come up in the last few decades (barefoot for unshod, buddy sore for herd bound, etc...). I'm an old timer in both age AND horses :))). Nothing wrong with the new terms. A rose, by any other name, is still a rose.

If you can't separate them long enough to have their feet trimmed how on earth do you manage to ride them?

It's perfectly normal for horses to bind and want to be with their "herd". Most horses will do this, but they must learn to accept being separated no matter what the reasoning. There are various ways of working on this. Any of them that works for your horse(s) is fine. One that I've used the most (i.e. it's worked with most of the horses I've had to deal with being herd bound) is to take one out, a little ways away from the herd while keeping them calm (sometimes it helps to have them in eyesight), hold them there for a short time and take them back. I'll do this multiple times in succession, keeping them away just a little longer each time and moving them farther away. Now exactly what the horse is thinking about this process we'll never know, but they soon learn that when I take them out they'll still get to return and they stop fighting it.

It is vital that a horse learns to leave the herd. I've had new horses get 0.1 mile from home and bolt back to the pasture. The herd means safety and they are hardwired to seek a safe situation. They will naturally perceive being away from the herd as being unsafe until they learn otherwise. Our horses have to learn to deal with being separated with no other horse around for days or even weeks.

Just be patient, consistent, and work at it in short, small stages at the start. The trick is to keep them from panicking while you train them.
 
#5 ·
Thank you for your answers. My inexperience created this situation, I didn't know about the buddy sour behaviour, so I will work gradually on building B's confidence (she's prone to panic).
I'm unable lead them in together because the door to the stall isn't wide enough for two horses.
Only D is saddle trained, and I ride her within sight of the pasture, so B eventually settles down. I'm taking everything slowly because of my lack of experience.
 
#6 ·
Can you just let them both come into the barn at the same time? Tie one up and then put a halter on the other and tie him up somewhere nearby?

Disagree about tying them up in a place YOU think is safe and just leaving them until they settle down. This can result in what is call "flooding" in behavior modification terms and can result in a permanent emotional shut down. Even though many may view this emotional shut down as, "just being respectful now", it can and does result in a loss of the horse's natural spirit which should be preserved as much as possible.

Hondo was herd bound when I first got him. I did as described and took him on frequent short walks and ALWAYS returned him to the herd. Even after a solo ride, I always found the herd and then returned him, never letting him go alone running and neighing in fright searching for the herd.

I now have Hondo with only one other horse and they have developed some buddy sourness. In my case that is a good thing as the other horse is to be used as a pack horse. Since he's buddy sour to Hondo, there's less worry about him running off when packing with him.
 
#7 ·
Teaching a horse to accept standing tied alone, is not flooding, but basic good horse training fundamentals
Perhaps, on a horse that has this 'hole'in basic training, you might wish to use a more gradual approach, but horses that get this basic education, never get to that panic mode, 'joined at the hip, in the first place
Perhaps my stance comes for having started many young horses over the years, that we raised, and recognizing standard practice at many good training barns
Standing tied, after work, waiting to be ridden, at trailers during one day shows, overnight on trail rides,,are all expectations for my horses, and horses are creatures of habit
You can't enjoy working or riding a horse, if his mind is back on that buddy.
Thus, for me, if this horse is going to be started under saddle, as she certainly is not a baby, but old enough to start, part of that training program has to be time spent tied up and alone
Riding just in sight of home is a compromise and big limitation. Ideally, a safe corral for the hrose left behind, or even some companion
I can't imagine having any one of my horses, that I can't take into the barn, tie up, either before or after riding, and have then freaking out, versus standing patiently waiting for me
 
#8 ·
part of that training program has to be time spent tied up and alone
Thought that'd pull you in @Smilie :)

Well, we disagree. You have more experience than I, but there are those that have much more experience than you, that also disagree.

And of course there are those that do agree with you.

There are three horses here on the ranch that could be called babies, especially one. And that one had the most brightest inquisitive and wonderful personality that it seems a baby could possibly have.

Well, the ranch here agrees with you. And all three babies are now emotionally injured. Compared to before, the one could almost be said to be emotionally dead. Breaks my heart. Really really does.

I would never ever in one million years subject any horse to the stress of not having another horse around and also being tied up with no human with them.

I will tie Hondo up with no horse around, but only if I'm there all the time. I will not leave him.

And round and round we go...........
 
#9 ·
It is simply impossible to teach a horse to be unafraid when completely alone and unable to escape should a predator attack. They can be taught that any attempt to escape under those conditions is futile, but just because they have ceased all effort to escape does not mean they have "learned" to be alone.

We as humans can learn and understand being alone and safe. The horse simply does not have that ability. Their nature is just buried too deeply in their being for that to be possible.
 
#10 ·
I acquired a large mare (years ago) that was never trained to stand tied. I was not aware of this and tied her to a fence post and turned my back for 30 seconds to grab a brush. She backed up so hard that she pulled out the post and popped the wire off of two other posts. It is a wonder that she and I weren't both killed.

I train all of my horses to stand tied. I don't leave them unattended though. If they are new to the concept, I will tie them and sit in a chair outside and watch them for an hour or two.

The next day, I do the same. And again, and again. They figure it out pretty quickly. Just don't give them enough rope to hurt themselves with.
 
#12 ·
Agreed. I hope no one misunderstands that I'm apposed to a horse being trained to stand tied. Not that at all.

But not unattended as you say. And even if in a small safe pen, they should have other horses nearby. But like you, I would not want them left unattended even then. That's what we use quick release knots for. Stuff can happen at any unsuspected time.

Horses seem at times bent upon self destruction. We don't need to be helping them.
 
#11 ·
Well, Hondo, it depends on how it is done. Having raised many foals over the years, then weaned them, then started them under saddle, i can honestly say that none have been emotionally traumatized
I don't tie weanlings and leave then long, I just tie them enough,so they stand tied while I trim feet
As yearlings, they might be left tied somewhat longer, perhaps for half an hour, in a stall with rubber matts.
Only once I started them under saddle, did they learn to stand tied for at least an hour or so, after I worked them-alone, but not out in the woods or out of their coMfort zone, but in the stall or bARN, BOTH BEING FAMILAR COMFORT ZONES
This has nothing to do with being afraid a predator will get them,but just learning life goes on without another horse constantly with them.
Only time my horses are tied, in a place where there is a predator concern, is out on a trail ride, and I never leave any hrose in camp alone,, but will pony that pack horse along
I have gone to one day shows, where you don't have a stall, so the hrose has to accept standing tied to a trailer. There are always other horses around, so the hrose is not alone, BUT, as I used to show both a jr and senior horse, the one left behind had to accept that separation form buddy.
Many horses had to be loaded into their trailers, if buddies were taken away to show, as they would freak out otherwise. This has nothing to do with ahrose being afraid, because he is a herd /prey species, as other horses are in sight, but has everything to do with being buddy sour
I am not recommending taking a horse out to the woods and tying him up by himself. However, any well trained hrose should accept separation from his buddy, in his comfort zone, tied up in the barn, ect
It is very common for me to ride one horse, tie that horse up in the barn isle, do some house work, then go out and turn that horse out, and ride another. I find that horse quietly waiting to be un saddled, hind leg cocked, relaxed, waiting patiently. If you don't need that in a horse , fine, but if a hrose does not have that, he has a huge hole in training, in my books
I know you don't show, but I have been top shows, where the barn is full of horses, yet if a horse is taken out of the stall, next to his buddy, the horse left behind has a melt down. He is not alone. He is buddy sour
 
#15 ·
I worked with the babies the same as Smilie, they learn to tie when with their dams, they are taught to give to pressure from am early age and they learn that once tied there is nothing drastic going to happen to them.

A friend asked me to help her move her mare and foal from one field to another - something I would have thought nothing about doing it on my own. When the foal planted himself, he was about 4 or 5 months old, I kept a pressure on the rope. He sat back against it for a moment then dropped his head and the pressure was released and he moved forward.

The owner was absolutely certain I had harmed him but I just told her that I was in the process of teaching him to be tied! There was no fight between the foal and myself he learned that because he planted he got pressure, keep forward and it stopped.
@Hondo - you are correct in saying that it can traumatise a horse to the point in that animal changing character totally. There are many things that can do the same and break the spirit of an animal. I do not work that way, I want my animals to be secure and happy in their lives, to work with me not for me because they have no choice.
 
#16 ·
@Smilie The OP started with buddy sour and we got off the track. I've dealt with buddy sour on a gradual basis successfully. And I believe it is the best way. I believe buddy sour is actually fear based.

Same as being tied. Fear based. Even picking up a foot on a horse that is usually very cooperative can become a problem during a fearful alert. (Hondo) That's my escape mechanism, don't take it away right now.

All fear based stuff, which most "stuff" is, needs to be dealt with gradually and not by flooding.

It also helps if the horse has developed a huge amount of trust and confidence in the person doing the training. Trust, I believe, is developed by the horse knowing what to expect out of his human. Always. When we are predictable we become consistent and thereby trusted.
 
#18 ·
A horse that is 6 years old, and freaks when his buddy is momentarily even out of sight, is on the opposite end of flooding.
Remember how we went through the whole discussion of balance, in horse training, not just in physical cues, but concerning fair clear boundaries?
It is of course, preferable to train ahrose correctly from day one, and that includes gradually increased confidence in tying and being not locked onto the hip of another horse constantly
Unfortunately, this horse never had that education. If the Op can't even leave this hrose tied in the barn, long enough to get buddy horse, without the horse freaking out, then you either fix such a horse or ????
Only the other horse is ride able, and only within sight of home, so I don't know about you, but I kinda think a lot of education is missing in this horse
My horses certainly are not afraid of me-anyone that knows me and my horses, would laugh at that idea.
Everything we do with a prey /herd species, like a horse, involves that horse 'adapting', learning to trust and accept various things we do with him, which is counter to his natural fear based instincts, in order to make him useful.
That includes getting on his back, asking him to dampen his fear when he would rather bolt, and yes, accept standing tied.
 
#20 ·
In my continued thinking about this topic I recalled another discussion on a different thread that might be useful in some indirect way to the OP.

We were off somewhere on the topic of fearful vs non-fearful behavior and then heart rate monitors as possible way to check if some fearful behavior might just be done as a way to get what the horse wanted (ie-no work). Personally I was of the opinion that horses are not quite that complex.

Anyhow, links were posted and the discussion went forth.

One of the links was to a study that was particularly interesting and surprising. It seemed to be well designed and well executed. The people doing the study were as surprised at the results as anyone.

The horses that appeared the calmest had the highest heart rate while the horses that were all jittery had the lowest. On average.

The suggestion was, although further testing would be needed for confirmation, that the calm appearing horse was afraid but was more afraid of showing his fear which drove up his heart rate. The horse that displayed the fear did not have to deal with the additional stress of not showing the fear.

Did I say horses are not complex? I take it back!
 
#23 ·
Actually, the study that I referred to, concerning heart rate detection using monitors, was done to show that there indeed are times horses do a fake fear spook
Horses taht did a fake spook, to intimidate their rider, get out of work, ect,never had a heart rate increase, like that generated by a true fear spook

The other study, was done to show how well ahrose reads his rider's body language. Riders were told, that when they passed a certain part of an arena, a blank canon would be fired. It never was, but,both hose and rider were wearing heart monitors, and the horse;s heart rate went up , as their rider's did. Obviously, the horses did not understand that a cannon would be fired, but solely reacted to their rider's increased heart rate, when that spot was approached
 
#21 ·
Hi, I agree with lbs completely, Hondo and Smilie for the most part. I disagree that a horse cannot/should not learn to be tied(or left) alone confidently. It absolutely happens Hondo, quite regularly! I also agree that to attempt to teach this by 'sink or swim' tactics - just taking the horse & tying it alone somewhere is only likely to further traumatise it unhelpfully & at best, cause it to 'shut down'. But Smilie, sounds like you were saying just because it's not done in the woods, with real predators lurking, just because it is at home in safe environment means it isn't a fear response. Disagree with that(not saying it always is of course either).

So, OP, my tactic is the same as lbs, that I would start 'small', taking B away(or leaving her alone in the paddock) only a short way to begin with - ideally not so far that she becomes seriously anxious - the 'easier' the steps, the quicker she will progress. Ensure there's something Good in it for her too - a pick at some extra nice grass, a feed... then take her back, **so long as she's quiet. Do this repeatedly until she is comfortable being left, before 'upping the ante' a bit more & repeating process.

If she isn't, I'd teach her to tie(assuming she already knows how to yield to halter pressure well first) separately to this. Teach her first to tie & not pull back when she's relaxed & comfortable - ie with her mate. Teach her to leave/be left by her mate confidently BEFORE attempting to tie her up alone.

Until that is done, I'd avoid more stress & bad associative training with relation to the barn by either not taking her in there alone or taking her together with her mate. Hold her or tie her outside for the farrier instead. If the barn's big enough to be safe, just that the doorway is not wide enough to bring them both through at the same time, you need to do some serious work on safe leading behaviour with the 2 of them, so she is confident and well mannered whether beside you, behind, sent in front or made to wait behind her mate... Again, don't start this in the barn doorway, where things might already be tense & unsafe.
 
#22 ·
I don't see separation anxiety as being a sign of poor training or lack of training. I've seen many horses develop separation anxiety in older age when their situation changes.

You can have a horse that felt secure with a situation, enjoyed their buddies in the field and felt confident that the areas where they were ridden were safe. This horse might also feel safe being trailered to shows and other places. If you move this horse out of the area after a few years to a new barn with a new herd situation, and everything is different, the horse might suddenly develop separation anxiety and stop standing quietly when tied, stop calmly going out on rides alone, etc.

If a horse becomes insecure, that horse may decide he needs to stick with the other horses until he once again feels his environment is safe. So I've seen where some horses need to be reconditioned to leaving their herd several times or more during their life. I've seen at least several people frustrated, wanting to blame other horses, the new barn or anything at all because their horse has "never done this before."

Ideally, the horse considers a human part of the herd that creates his safety net. Then he will feel safe as long as the human is there. So while I agree with @Hondo that I wouldn't leave a horse totally alone or make the horse go out alone, I do expect the horse to learn to feel safe going out with just myself or standing tied with me there for safety. Some horses easily learn that they will be safe with a human there to be part of their herd, but others take longer to feel safe with only a human present.
 
#33 ·
I'm in smilies boat.

Trouble will tie anywhere, to anything, completely and utterly alone if I wish. It's one of the most important things (just in my opinion) you can teach a horse, apart from leading safely.

Spirit is a mess when Trouble leaves. To the point where she charged through the fence when we went on a ride and came looking for us. That is unacceptable. Completely and utterly unacceptable. Yes, they're only a herd of two, and yes when I leave she is completely alone. I could make up excuses for days, but what it really comes down to, instinct or not she will not die left alone.

She is much like OPs horse. I can't take him in the barn to be trimmed without her pretty near running through the wall to get back to him. It was my job to do whatever it took to safely teach her to stand tied while alone. I do not have solid fencing, so it was unsafe to leave her in a pen while I took him away and let her work it out. My safest option was tying her high to a thick branch that jutted out from our apple tree so she could work it out there.

I spent time every day tying her and putting Trouble away out of sight. Thankfully he will not yell back to her when she screams for him. Take this with a grain of salt, because every method is different for every horse, and some methods require tweaking for individual horses, she's sixteen and has that habit ingrained into her, so she can handle a CTJ moment.

I'd try her for however long it took for her to calm down. The first day it was an hour. The second day it was three and a half. I'd go inside where she couldn't see me, watch her out the window, drink coffee, read a book, clean the house and keep an eye out. She would do everything possible to get free- sit back on the rope, strike and beat and try to lay down- it was pretty awful to watch, but she needed this. After a week I tied her hay bag out, because she calmed down enough to think about eating, and was ready and mentally "there" enough to have it.

A routine is a godsend in terms of horses. Now, she will go stand under her tree when I take Trouble out, because that's her safe place and she's used to the routine of "that's where I stand when he's not here." Not exactly what I wanted but much better than charging through the fence. I could fix this "safe space" problem by tying her in different places every time I leave.

She is not broken. Her spirit is still very much alive. She just had a lightbulb moment of "oh, he comes back and I'm not dead. Look at that!"
 
#38 ·
I don't think you've thought that through. Or the assumption that that horse you spoke of, on some show, wouldn't have panicked & died if the owner was present. S**t happens and horses can panic when their 'herd' is there too. And if/when reactions happen & they're tied, a quick release knot is just so you can still easily undo a rope that's been pulled tight.

The way I understand it, 'tied hard/fast' doesn't mean you don't use a quick release, it just means they're not tied to something breakable, like balers twine, or 'tied' in such a way they can pull loose - ie. rope looped around rail or such. **Which makes me think about that omission in my response to OP. I also do NOT tie a horse hard/fast until such a time as they're confident & comfortable 'tied' with the loop around a rail tactic, or using a Tie Ring or such, in whatever situation. Tying to something unyielding adds to their stress, if they're not well conditioned to tie, can make them panic more & harder.
 
#39 ·
Hondo
"wrong', exactly the opposite, and I posted that link, regarding heart monitors and fake spooks , versus true fear spooks.
I think the conclusion went something like this, 'endurance riders have long known that sometimes a horse just fakes a spook, thus heart monitors were put on horses, to see the difference
In a true fear spook, that heart rate went up=not so in a fake spook
Guess I will try and find it again for you sometime

Here you go, and if you don't wish to read the entire link on spooking, just go down to fake spooks

Training a Spooky Horse | The Trail Rider
 
#40 ·
Thank you everyone for all the great comments, they've got me thinking. Hondo - your comment about fear, rings true in B's case. She just looks really frightened to me. I'm going read all the comments over carefully and work out a plan for her.
 
#41 · (Edited)
Whoops, missed 5 whole pages. Disregard :) I was also going to say just bring them in together.

OP you need to deal with the issue at hand and that means daily (or almost) training. There are lots of good threads on here if you search.

And my abused horses also get tied in their stalls with food for a few minutes as I leave. Heck, sometimes I'll leave them untied in a stall (with the door to the pasture shut) and the door into the barn open (aka LOOSE) and leave. Or since I live in the middle of nowhere actually loose yet in an area where they are alone and they....start eating! I'll let the HORSES tell me what's abuse...

And you can disagree without being rude about it...:?. There were some pretty unnecessary comments last page..

There are also a few times the horses have gotten loose on their own (bad ponies) and....left the others in search of better things.

I absolutely make sure all their needs mental AND physical are met, but it does the horses a disservice to assume they can't take care of themselves for a few minutes.
 
#42 ·
Just because YOU have a moral bee in your bonnet about stuff Harold, does not make it reasonable to state others are abusing their horses if they disagree with you. It does not make it alright to snidely make WRONG ASSUMPTIONS that they do this because it's 'only a horse' or whatever either. I'm obviously an abusive parent too, in your eyes, because I don't believe in wrapping them in cotton wool & have left my kids alone in various places, where I considered it safe(& not traumatic for them) to do so. Gee, they're so abused that nowdays they ask to stay at home or wait in the car sometimes, if I have somewhere to go!
Jees, I'm so uncaring that I've even let my kids RIDE HORSES!:eek_color::falloff:
I don't know how I(& SOOOO many others, before these overprotective parenting days) survived such abuse as having to walk home from school alone, fix myself a snack, do my homework & make dinner for the family before my parents got home from work... I could have DIED because I was left alone!
 
#43 ·
Hondo, I'm honestly a little disappointed at these posts as you seems like a logical person who is aware of being a extreme novice and eager to learn more and not someone to make comments like that about something you admittedly don't understand. I also find that comment ignorant and offensive.

There are right and wrong ways to do things but just because if done incorrectly it CAN cause issues doesn't mean that no matter what it is wrong. My horses being left alone in the barn they live in a few minutes (and sleeping or eating when I come back) is not the same as dragging a horse off a trailer and leaving them tied in the woods for a day. Heck my Icelandic LIVES in the barn by herself during the summer as she won't BY HER CHOICE join the others in the pasture.
 
#44 ·
Heck, when we logged deep in the woods we'd load the old mare on the truck, drive out, unload and stay in a cabin for a month. She was the only horse there and tied outside, in the middle of the woods, by herself, all night long while we slept. Granted, our biggest predator is a black bear, and they usually stay away from people. And that mare was tied extremely solid. The first few nights she would get worked up but after that she adjusted. It got to the point where we'd load the harness in the truck, open the tail hate and she'd hop in by herself. She knew what was expected of her and she loved it. Once her initial fear was conquered, she was fine. Horses are very resilient animals, when we lost that mare we used several different horses on loan, some that were never off property before that day, and none were worse for wear.

Biggest accident we ever had in the woods wasn't because a tied horse freaked out, but because the chain let go on one side of he harness and the whiffletree was flying around whacking that poor old guy in the flanks every time he jumped forward. He ran for almost a mile before he got hitched up. S**t happens with horses!
 
#45 ·
What I also got from that study was not that horses fake spooks, but rather that the horse appearing most calm and going by an obstacle without reacting often was the most frightened (highest heart rate). So we can't assume that a horse appearing calm but overriding their instinct for us is also calm inside. The horses allowed to follow their instinct to move away from the frightening object actually had a less strong physical fear reaction evidenced by a lower heart rate. So it is something to keep in mind, that our horses might be outwardly compliant but inwardly afraid.

The difference to me between a horse being tied and safe or tied and unsafe is the word "unattended." If I tie a horse and go into the tack room for a minute or into a portable bathroom, I can hear the horse get into trouble and go rescue him before serious harm occurs. But I'm not going to tie a horse and go drive to my home 5 minutes away to get a jacket, or go on a ride and leave the horse tied because I could come back and find that horse dead.
A horse tied overnight while you are in a tent within hearing distance is not unattended, unless you drink so heavily you are unarousable. I've seen and rescued horses people have left tied in the woods, tied to trailers, and tied at shows unattended. There are many ways for horses to get into trouble, and I don't see this practice as being part of safe horse handling.

I don't mean I've untied horses left alone just because I disagree with the practice. I mean the horses were thrashing and harming themselves and I had to save them because no one was around who knew anything about the horse. It is difficult enough to get a slip knot undone. I can't imagine ever tying a horse with no ability to release them quickly.

If it comes down to risking a horse getting loose versus being caught up in a struggle with some immovable object, it is almost always preferable for the horse to get loose. If I am somewhere it is not acceptable at all for the horse to get loose, then I should put the horse in a pen, a stall, or not leave the horse unattended. There really are many good options such as portable small corrals which I've used on overnight rides or just bringing a person along to watch the horse when I can't be there. I tend to agree that it's similar to leaving kids or dogs unattended. It's a responsibility you sign up for, and maybe you have to pay for a babysitter sometimes or leave the dog at home, but you have to think ahead about safety.
 
#52 · (Edited by Moderator)
If it comes down to risking a horse getting loose versus being caught up in a struggle with some immovable object, it is almost always preferable for the horse to get loose. If I am somewhere it is not acceptable at all for the horse to get loose, then I should put the horse in a pen, a stall, or not leave the horse unattended. There really are many good options such as portable small corrals which I've used on overnight rides or just bringing a person along to watch the horse when I can't be there. I tend to agree that it's similar to leaving kids or dogs unattended. It's a responsibility you sign up for, and maybe you have to pay for a babysitter sometimes or leave the dog at home, but you have to think ahead about safety.
I didn't really want to continue on this OT bit - just felt the need to address Hondo's remarks. But want to address this (respectfully & reasonably put) post too, just to give my take...

Speaking from many decades of experience, mostly with trail riding(or maybe hacking, as English call it, because it's often around town, not just in the bush), I can honestly say the only times I've ever had/seen horses pull back & panic is when they have not been taught properly to yield, or when they were otherwise unprepared for the situation they were put in. Whether humans are present or not. Oh and horses who have been tied to balers twine & learned to calmly pull back & break free. Horses that I know have been prepared well, I can honestly say, agree with Smilie because I've never had an issue. In decades of regular experience with a wide range of horses.

Never the less, I agree totally that it should be given the same sort of consideration as leaving a child or dog unattended, and tying a horse solid, regardless of where, is potentially dangerous. The same sorts of safety - mental as well as physical - concerns and preparation should be addressed. Including if the horse/child isn't 'mature' enough.

As for safety of horses getting loose v's fighting the tie, hands down in my situation it is definitely dangerous for them to get loose - I never tie to something easily breakable or insecure. When you're out on a road with traffic, you definitely don't want a loose horse! And I'd love to have company more often, but I often ride alone. So having someone stay with the horse is not always possible. And it's just far from practical to carry fencing around with me everywhere, to make a yard at every place I might stop. Even if it were an option to always have a packhorse with me to carry it. Even if it were appropriate to put up yards on the side of a road in town for every half hour stop. So... there really AREN'T many good alternatives in my situation, even if I wanted to. My options are prepare the horse appropriately or don't leave the horse at all.
 
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