Leaving a horse tied for hours?

I think it's a great thing to do. A lot of people think I'm mean for teaching my horse to stand with hobbles, but then they wonder why I am able to leave him out in the middle of the barn isle untied and him not run or even walk away.

My barrel horse, on the other hand, prances around like an idiot, so we've got work on that with her. :)

It's amazing how useful tying a horse for hours can be... example, I had a yearling hurt his leg in the field, noone but my 12 year old brother was home, he called me panicking because he didnt know what to do.. I told him to catch chevy, and Tie him in the barn so I could look at it when I got home (wasnt as serious as he thought), ... Chevy was the most paitent 3 year old I have ever seen... when told to stand he would, he would let young childern crawl all over him, and wouldnt budge, I could ride him to the lake and go for a swim, and not worry about him freaking out while being tied up and hurting himself... it also made breaking him quick and painless...

All of mine learn from weanling to tie and by the time they are weaned will tie for as long as I need them too. Think about it. Even if you trail ride and camp the horse need to tie and tie for a long time. Show horses also at times will not be showing at places with stalls so they need to learn to tie and stay tied for a long period of time.

I have horses who will stand in their stall and sleep where they are tied up. Even when they are not.

It also helps keep them calm in a trailer :)

I didn't think about that, either! Some horses today are, in my opinion, very spoiled. In pioneer days, horses weren't given paddocks or great fenced in pastures-- they were tied to a stake in the ground and that's the only area they had for the whole day (I just finished the Little House books again, and was reminded of that now). Sure, some horses should be allowed to run free, but they don't have to be. No one cried out "abuse!" when a horse was tied for several hours, it was just natural.

Hmm.. bit of a rant there.. sorry! My horses are spoiled rotten. I'll admit it. My mare will stand tied forever, but my yearling... well, he needs to learn some manners. He tried to roll next to the wire fence he was tied next to when the farrier came the other day.

[QUOTE=DubyaS6;973861]It's an over exaggeration until you NEED your horse to stand tied for a long period of time.

Exactly! It is a good practice, given it is done in a safe manner. I knew an old cowboy type of trainer as a kid that would tie them for extended amounts of time, we are talking 8+ hrs on a post in the sun, no water...that I don't agree with because it wasn't done with any concern for the horses safety. Ours learn to tie as weanlings and they stay tied until they learn to stand still. Once they are calm and stand for a bit, lesson is over for the day. Some take 15 minutes others take hours. Our babies are taught tied on a rubber tire tube at a wall that is covered in rubber mats so they can't bang themselves up and should they fight, it's like a giant rubber band with some give but teaches pressure & release, a lesson learned early that makes for easy training later in life. I also ride 4 training horses back to back each day. I tack them all up at the same time and 3 stand tied waiting while I ride another. I rotate their at-bat order so that one isn't waiting the longest each day. You could tie any of mine, anywhere, with anything and they will be patiently waiting in the same spot when you return be it 10 minutes or 3 hours later.

Mine did with mine and it made him a lot better. It taught him to stand still and not be such an idiot when he's tied. That was three and a half years ago, and now he can stand without any crossties.

By that same train of thought, isn't it cruel to keep horses in standing stalls? Horses were designed to stand easily, and can spend HOURS napping on their feet.

All my horses learn to tie well, and it's a blessing at events where I don't want to pay for a stall and I certainly don't feel like building a makeshift paddock. My horses stand quietly tied to the trailer, with hay and water available, for hours at a time.

Horses spend MOST of their day standing with their heads in a feeder anyway, how is this much different? I think it's an invaluable tool!

Standing while tied for extended periods of time not only teaches "patience", it's basic submission.

Some trainers are good at teaching submission through other, more subtle or more complex ground work methods, but standing while tied is a good, very basic way of doing it.

It's really the equivelent of teaching a dog a "long down" for basic submission at the beginning of obedience training - a horse that sleeps on the cross ties is the equivelent of a dog that naps on a long down. Not only have they learned basic submission, they're relaxed about it.

I agree with the poster who asked "How long do you think you want your horse to stand quietly?" I want a horse that will stand quietly, tied to the trailer, with a hay net in front of him for 8 - 10 hours at a stretch, with an occassional water break.

Okay; I think this is all wonderful and though I have taught other horses in the past to do this, it has been way long ago and I remember some not-so-good incidents that happened at the time.

I now have an 18 year old that does not stand well; it really irks him and he will try and untie. Break halters, etc. to get loose. (he even broke a small tree)

Teach me to teach him, please.........