Using picket lines to let horses graze?
 

Hi I was wondering if it is safe to tie a horse so it can graze. has anyone tried it? thanks.

Yes, I've done something similar to it but we didn't stake anything into the ground we used trees. With anything there are always risks of your horse getting injured but, IMO it is a safe practice. Though you should always work with your horse in getting it accustomed to this type of "tying" not, just assume they'll be okay with being left alone on it.

DH and I have retired from CW Reenacting, but the US Cavalry ground tied their horses. They used a 14" (maybe 16") metal "picket pin", pounded into the ground with a swiveled ring on the top, that was attached to a long lead rope, and this was rolled and attached to the saddle when on campaign.
Some people hate to train a horse to use it bc a horse not used to getting a leg caught will get a rope burn. If you train your horse by lifting legs and desensitizing him to fright of getting caught with a rope, you can easily ground tie and graze him. When we did the National Gettysburg (1993), we had about a 12' x 20' area to ground tie our 3 veterans (horses.) They we rather immune to ground tying, so we made it work with 8 ft. ropes. I suggest longer ones.

Thanks! We have a fair sized paddock for him to spend the night in but not big enough to graze in. we have more grassy land but it isnt fenced in and i really dont know when we will be able to fence it in. so I was thinking of tying him out (with a 30 ft lunge line) to graze in the daytime (checking on him a thousand times a day:wink:) and letting him spend the night in his paddock. Do you think this would work?
PS
When I was six, our neighbors had a horse tied out and it seemed to work fine although the horse was out there day and night.

They need to be trained to the picket pin. When "Corporal," 1982-2009, RIP) was first put on one he thought it was a snake. I would spend several days working with a lunge line and capturing feet so your horse will get rid of his fears.

Ok thanks, I'll do that. my horse is pretty quiet so i dont think that would be a huge problem. Last year I had to hand graze him because the paddock didnt have enough grass and i want him to get the nutrients from fresh grass. Sometimes id just let the leadrope lie at his feet while I sat on the grass reading a book. He never really payed any attention to it but he might react differently to a longer line. Should I put rope around his feet to get him used to it?

Yep. If you have cable and/or satellite, both RFD.tv and HRTV have many reputable trainers who do many, many programs about ground manners and ground training, which include shows that teach hobbling, etc. THIS is the basic training you want to do. Try You Tube, also. =D

NOOOOO!!horse will get caught up in rope have seen it done in minuets!!!

It's really a lot easier to hobble them...

And tie the rope to the hobble?