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ground tying

3K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  Horse Poor 
#1 ·
so i was wandering how would i teach my horses to ground tie?
 
#2 ·
Is that to have them stand still when the rope is on the ground?

I just place the horse where it should stand, using a ropehalter and a somewhat heavy, long rope (so that the horse easily feel the weight when the rope is lifted vs on the ground). Then I walk away, backing so that I can see him and perhaps keep him from moving if I use my body language in time.
If he moves, I put him back immediatly.
And keeps doing that untill he learns.
 
#3 ·
Yeah bascially what Zab said It basically a process of putting your horse back everytime they move and praising them when they stand.
 
#4 ·
It is a long process. Basically just teaching them to "stay put". Zab's explanation is what I have always done...I say that but neither of my current horses know how to stay put. :lol:

It's definately worth the training time.
 
#5 ·
You can choose to leave the rope on the ground, or toss it over the horse's neck. Whatever way you prefer, do it consistantly. At the same time, tell the horse a firm Whoa. Then walk away. I prefer not to back away from the horse as I find that it draws the horse with you. Turn your back and move away from the horse. You'll have to be very keen about watching your horse as you move away. Don't look directly at him - which could also draw him towards you. Use the shadows to tell if he's moving, listen for his feet moving on the ground, look out of the corner of your eye, etc. Any time he takes a step, you need to immediately turn around and charge toward him - do whatever it is that you do to get him to move his feet but without touching him or grabbing the lead rope. I stomp my feet, wave my arms, etc. while moving towards the horse, and I continue doing that until he moves his feet backwards. He should end up back in the same spot that he started from. Again, without touching him or the lead, I will stop my body language and tell him to Whoa, then walk away again. Keep repeating until the horse learns to stand without moving his feet. I would not ask him to stand for extended periods of time when you are first teaching this, just a minute or two at a time.

This skill comes in handy in so many ways. One time, I had a horse in training that I told to stand ground tied and I went over to help someone else with their horse, which turned into a long process, but that training horse stood quietly still where I put her and I nearly forgot about the poor thing! She was unattended for about half an hour! She got lots of praises that day. Another time, I was on a trail ride with a small group and one of the ladies needed to get off of her horse for some reason (can't remember why). I had trained her horse so he knew how to ground tie, but I don't think she ever asked him to do it. After she dismounted, she left her horse standing in the middle of the trail and walked over to another rider. It took probably 5 minutes before she got back to her horse - but he never moved his feet once during the time he was left unattended. I told her it's a good thing he knows how to ground tie otherwise she could have been chasing him down the trail all the way back to the trailers!

The first part of this video shows what I would expect from a horse that is ground tied.


One thing to consider before you teach your horse is his maturity level. Usually horses about 3 years old and older are ready to learn this skill. I have a yearling at home that is not ready for ground tying, but most other horses I've worked with are ready for it when they are 2 1/2 years to 3 years old. It should be really easy to teach this to an older horse.
 
#7 ·
Good post by Gottaride. The only thing I would add is that for the first few times, do it in an enclosed area or round pen and not on grass. Initially you don't want anything to distract him.
 
#8 ·
Ya i think that if i were to try this with my 2 1/2 year old, im pretty sure if I charged at him he would ignore me and go about something else, or he would run away with that long heavy lead rope....then i would prob be scared he would break his neck. maybe when he's older.
 
#9 ·
I'm guessing that your horse has other issues to be dealt with prior to ground tying training if this is the case. My comment about making sure your horse is ready to learn this skill relates to the maturity level and specifically the attention span of the horse. Babies just can't be expected to stand unattended without wandering. You build their attention span by doing other things, like expecting them to stand quietly without fuss while you are holding the lead rope or while being tied traditionally.
 
#10 ·
ya i know we have a lot of training to do.....im actually getting overwhelmed. just trying to take it one step at a time. just thought i would chime in on this topic. thunder needs refining on his ground manners and im stuck. he doesn't have a lot of "issues" persay, because he's not a "bad" horse.....I just haven't had the right training schedule or ability.
 
#11 ·
thanks everyone :)

gottaride - my older tb mare does what that qh does as long as i dont move too far away lol i think all of mine except for my new mare would have the mentality to do it. my new girl is 8 but she still has a very young mind :)

thanks for all the info ;)
 
#12 ·
I not only want a horse to stand and "whoa" while the line or reins are dangling, but I also want him to "whoa" if I fall off or the saddle comes off or both...so I do things a bit differently than most...and I start them young. Once the horse leads well and is dependable, I will toss a saddle up on him...no cinch and no latigo. Then I'll lead him around with it, if it falls off, I'll give him a sharp "whoa" and stand there till he calms down (if he spooked), if he didn't, I'll praise him and simply stand there for a few seconds. Then I'll put the saddle back up and we'll keep doing that until the saddle falls off and he doesn't move. If the saddle doesn't fall off and I want it too, I'll reach up, grab the stirrup and pull it off. Once he's comfy with the saddle falling off and standing quietly when it does...I'll start dropping the lead and asking him to "stand"...then I'll walk a circle around him. If he moves to follow, I'll stick my hand up and repeat "stand" and put him back where he was. Once he's good at that, I'll widen my circle to 10' or so. You get the idea. It really doesn't take all that long before they will stand when you ask with the lead dangling. A few won't get it and for those I do something a bit different...but for most this works great and with the added benefit of them learning that whenever the saddle (or you) falls off, they are to "whoa" and "stand".
 
#14 ·
Zab had it right and if you have a lot of time and patience, you can teach them sooo much more. I saw the coolest thing ever the other day. My dad, brother (Jason), step-mom, and I were working cattle. Dad and Jason had to rope this steer (maybe 800 lbs) and give him a shot. Anyway, Jason ended up having to get off his horse to put his rope on both feet since he had only roped one. He tied his rope to the saddle horn and got off and left his horse standing there. When he needed more slack in his rope, he just pulled on it and smooched (kiss sound) to his horse and Zippo took only 1 small step forward giving just enough slack in the rope for Jason to get it on both hind feet of the steer. It was so cool and the ultimate example of a ground tied horse. I wish I had gotten video of it.
 
#15 ·
Perhaps we are talking two different things here...to me, ground tying refers to a horse who stands (without supervision) when the reins or the lead rope is dangling. It's called ground tying because the horse looks and acts like he is tied to the ground (when he isn't). It comes in handy when you are out riding and you need to dismount and leave your horse. I want my horse to stand where I put him without having to be held or tied to anything. Such as when I dismount to open and close fence gates, check something in the brush line, move something off the trail, take a bathroom break behind a rock, or when hunting. I want to know that my horse is going to be where I left him when I get back to him. I also don't want my horse tearing towards parts unknown if I fall off or loose the saddle, so I teach it the way I do for that reason. Roping is different. Ropers are taught to stop when the rope is thrown and the rider stops riding. There's a bit more to it than that, but you get the idea. Having a horse hold the line taut or step in is something entirely different than ground tying - taught differently as well.
 
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