Leaving a horse tied for hours?

Tree/Pole of knowledge

My horses were tied for 8-10hrs a day where I got them from. Its awesome, because you can leave them anywhere and they immediately fall asleep. They are so trustworthy.

Obviously if they are tied for a long time they get water, its really no different then standing in a stall after they run out of hay all night.

I am another that expects my horses to stand tied as long as I need them to. That can range anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 hours. What I like to do with young horses is give them a good ride, put their halter back on, and depending on how the session went and whether I decide they need another one later, I will either untack, wash them off, and tie them up or leave them tacked up and tie them up while I work with others. I consider it an action worthy of pride when I can jump off a horse in the middle of working cattle, loop a bridle rein over the fence, and come back 3 hours later to him still standing there even when he could have easily just walked away from the fence. I like a horse that sees the tie or feels the tie, and the first thing they do is cock a hind leg and go to sleep.

Just a few months ago, my brother was riding with me when he came off a bronc and broke 3 ribs. Didn't have time to untack and put up the horses so his horse stayed in the roundpen and the filly that I was riding got a halter put on and was tied up to the trailer. Come back home from the ER like 5 hours later and guess where the filly was. Still tied to the trailer with the saddle on and her eyes closed.

Maybe it's the way I grew up or something, I don't know, but I just cannot fathom why a person would be completely accepting of a horse that will break loose when tied.

I don't think it's necessary to leave a horse tied up to teach them to tie. However, I think it's necessary to teach a horse to tie in order to leave them tied up.

Teaching is the key here and that is where I usually differ with the "training" barns that drag them over to the wall where they get tied and are left. I have never done that and yet all my horses tie for as long as I need. In fact, the show Arab that I got years ago could not be tied because he went kookoo every time but then I taught him and now it is no problem at all. In fact, motorcycles went past us a couple years ago when he was tied to the trailer and when I came back from the other side he was patiently waiting for me.

Someone said please teach me.. I can't think of a good DVD but basically what you do is get a 22' line and loop it around a fence rail. The horse is attached to one end and it gets looped around a fence rail or better still a hitching rail. Now you are going to slap a stick/string/whip onto the ground around the horse and he is probably going to pull back. This when you get a chance to teach him to yield to the pressure on his poll. The idea here is not to make the rail hold the horse it is to teach the horse to yield to the pressure so that when they feel it the just have to yield and that is where they find the sweet spot. Viola. Horses that don't tie have not been taught to lead.

Oh yes ... do I think it is cruel.. I think it is more cruel to tie a horse that has not been taught to tie. I think there is no value in tying them up for hours.

Horses, unfortunately, need to learn to tie because of human society. Wild horses naturally travel 20-30 miles a day, so standing tied for very long isn't natural to them, & doesn't keep their circulation going.

Agreed with TLO that you must teach the horse to yield to poll pressure in an approach-retreat fashion, rather than hog-tie him to something solid & "see if he injures himself", & even worse, gets his spirit broken/loses trust in the human.

Horses who go to sleep when tied ARE bored/frustrated & so they "check out" by sleeping. Just because they're living beings, we want to bore them as little as possible.

The only time I think tying a horse in training would be cruel is if the person tied it in the sun or in a muddy area.

Tying doesn't hurt the horse, and it does teach them to be patient. Horses don't really have a need to lay down like we need to sit, so standing isn't really a problem for them.

I also think its practical to teach a horse to tie for long periods because there more than likely will be an instance in a horses life where it will have to be tied for more than 30 minutes in one setting.

If you are looking to show, there (usually) aren't pastures or corrals to turn your horse out while you are waiting for your class/turn. When there are corrals, you usually have to pay big $$ to get them. No corral or pasture means one of two things: Your horse is either tied or in a stall.
I don't know about you, but I would be embarrased if I was the one whose horse was going bezerk because he isn't used to being stuck in one spot for 2 or 3 hours.

Another place this skill is essential is trail riding. God forbid something happen to you, your horse, or another person or horse, but when an emergency strikes, it usually does so when you least expect it.
I was on a trail ride this summer, and a guy's (he was fairly new to riding) horse bolted and he fell off, breaking his collarbone. We were miles from the nearest road. His wife took the guys horse and tied him to a tree, while his daughter rode back to their truck, drove all the way back (it took twice as long for her to get back). It took 2 hours for their daughter to arrive with the truck. All this time the guy and his wife's horses were tied. Neither of them caused a problem. Had they not been taought to tie for long periods, that would have been a mini nightmare.

I am the one that said teach me to teach him. One of you responed by saying a 22' line over a fence rail and make them pull back. I also said he sets her down~breaks the freaking brand new leather halter. He can really PULL. He broke a tree for crying out loud. Yes, we are working on leading correctly as well. He lags behind when we lead. We all inherit or sometimes buy horses that aren't the ideal already made into what I want horses. He is 18 years old. Do you have any avice on teaching him to tie, and if so how? I know it doesnt seem hard. I have just never owned a knucklehead like this before! Does anybody have any idea besides taking a 2x4 to his head???

I, too, find tying for long periods of time to be productive and necessary. I start out doing this with young horses going into training. I would not even bother to start saddling and handling as long as the youngster is 'reactive' and not 'settled'. They are only going to resist everything I do and will learn little until they are settled and accept being tied out by themselves. Accepting this goes hand in hand with being able to focus on me and learn what I am trying to teach them. Training goes exponentially faster and better when they are settled and accepting. Tying until they are relaxed and quiet accomplishes that.

Tying out away from other horses is how I handle ALL herd-bound horses. I have had it take several days of being tied out after morning feeding until evening feeding. By the third day, even the most frantic, herd-bound horse is ready to 'give it up'. In addition to learning that they must stand there -- no matter how much they want to be with their friend(s), they learn that there IS life after being tied and they learn that they WILL see their herd mates again. After that, all of their training goes much better.

There are several safe ways to tie out a horse, but my favorite is to use a heavy nylon rope WITH a good swivel snap. I tie it to an over-hanging tree limb and tie the horse to it with a good nylon web halter. I want the snap to hang to about wither height. You MUST have a good swivel snap as all horses will go around and around at first and they will twist their rope up. The swivel snap keeps the from getting in trouble. The rope hanging down from the tree limb keeps them from pawing a fence or other structure. Mad and reactive horses WILL self-destruct if given the chance, so I just don't give them the chance. The other 'plus' to tying from a big tree limb is that there is shade and air always circulates better out in a place like that.

Aww nozzz! Dey lefted dem poniez tied up fo two owersss. Save dem !!!
Dem cruelz peeps need too b beat !!!!!

Okay I'll stop... My horses are expected to be tied for however long I need them to be. Not just for grooming and tacking up as most people do. As others have said, great training tool IMHO .