Re: RC: Re: Reply to rearing

[Howard4567@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/26/01 7:39:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
penelope_75647@yahoo.com writes:

> ust playing devils advocate here..but... what
>  happens when ur horse has his head down to eat or
>  drink, something startles it and some how he manages
>  to get a hoof caught up in the tie down or the tie
>  down caught in a root or immovable rock?

I use an english leather strap around the horse's neck, run the tie down 
through that so it doesn't hang loosely.  This will prevent it from getting 
tied up in the horse's front legs. You can also use an attachment to your 
breast collar, or just run it thru the breast collar itself.
>  
>    Also what happens if you are crossing a large wide
>  stream, it suddenly dips or your horse stumbles on an
>  unseen rock, his head goes under for a split sec, and
>  he panics when he can't raise his head high enough to
>  clear the water.

You want the tie down to be realtively loose.  The idea is to not let your 
horse get into a big rear.  The tie down is not for everyone and it wasn't 
the main point I was trying to make in correcting a horse that rears.  If you 
don't want to use it you don't have to.  It's the way you ride, the two 
point, when walking or trotting (you can do it even when cantering but a 
cantering horse won't rear) that will prevent your horse from rearing.  The 
tie down is a back up, a safety net.

Keep in mind I'm talking about trying to fix a horse that has a severe 
problem.  Eventually, you will want to remove the tie down entirely.  I'm not 
suggesting you make it a permanent fixture to your tack.

cya,
Howard



cya,
Howard