Ok - I actually have experience with this....
In many areas of the country this is normal practice. Just somethign they do to every new horse that comes in....
The way it was done where I grew up was this (prepare to be traumatized!!) Central California
The new horse woudl be trailed into the stable - usually a young untouched horse. The stock trailer would be opened to let the horse loose into the arena. Then they woudl use a roping horse to rope the new horse's front legs, tripping them to the ground. Sometimes they would drag them around like that, sometimes not. At that point four or five big men would converge on the poor beast and tie all four feet together - completley hog tied.
Using the rope horse or a truck, the horse would be drug by thier legs out of the arena and into a stall. Once in the stall, a tarp was laid over the horse, leavign them in the dark.
24 to 48 hours later - yes, that long, the tarp woudl be removed and halter with a drag line put on the horse. At that point the legs would be untied and the horse offered water.
I bought a colt they had done this to and it took YEARS to get him to relax about havign his front legs touched.
I am not above lying down a horse who has reared up by overbalancign them if they are on safe ground, but I would NEVER hog tie a horse nor would I be friends with someone who thought this an acceptable practice. I can get an unruley horse under control without traumatizing them.
IMO if a horse is bad enough that these typpes of measures are being considered, sell it for dogfood and get a new horse.
