[RC] the horse can't out pull you - tying and rolling the dice - RHONDA LEVINSON
I really think it depends on the horse, Mike. I have had one little mare who was terrified of being tied when I got her. She was a wonderful mare, generous and kind and would just turn herself inside out trying to please. But, for whatever reason, being tied TERRIFIED her. Tying her up tight and rolling the dice would not have been a good choice for her. For her, I put the lead through a fork in a tree, so when she pulled back, it gave her slack and she calmed down. As she calmed down and became better about standing, I wedged the lead further down into the fork so it created more friction, until eventually she could be tied.
On the other hand, I had a mare who was sweet, but unutterably willful. She would periodically just declare, "I WON'T," and she wouldn't. She decided she wouldn't stand tied -- after four years of standing tied with no trouble. She broke six or seven halters and at least that many leads. She wasn't upset or panicked in any way. She simply sat back until the halter or lead broke and then would walk off and graze. For THAT mare, I bought a thin rope halter and lead made with rope climbing rope, with NO HARDWARE, tied her up and rolled the dice.
When I put that thin little halter on this mare, she was puffing and snorting and shaking her head. She as much as flipped me off, she was so sure that she was OUT OF THERE the minute I finished tying the knot. And the instant I stepped away, she sat back and started yanking back and forth. That went on for a couple of minutes, and she finally stood up and went, "UGH," really loud. She took a deep breath and sat back and starting yanking again, but for a much shorter time. She stood up, shook her head, made a little tug to the right, a little tug to the left, sighed, and stood quietly. All over in less than five minutes and she never pulled back again, UNLESS she was tied with a web halter. Any time she was tied with a web halter, she would pull back.
Rhonda
> From: mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: FW: [RC] the horse can't out pull you > Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 07:56:37 -0700 > > Horses will pull back against nylon webbing trailer ties and washrack ties > hard enough to break them or break their 3/4" nylon webbing halters. > Everyone has stories about this sort of thing, even pulling up hitching > posts and running off with them. How often is this truly damaging to the > horse, and how often is it the result of poor handling techniques? I've made > the mistake of buying breakaway halters and trailer ties; soon they break > away and have to be replaced with regular ones and upset horses have to be > chased. I will probably get flamed, but in my experience your best bet is to > tie the horse up tight and roll the dice. Is there anyone out there who has > not had a horse pull back hard, fail to break anything, calm down and be ok? > > Regards, > > Mike Sherrell > Grizzly Analytical (USA) > www.grizzlyanalytical.com > 707 887 2919; fax = 707 887 9834 > > -----Original Message----- > From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On > Behalf Of Kristi Schaaf > Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2008 6:54 AM > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: [RC] the horse can't out pull you > > Kat wrote: > And if the horse can't out pull the rope, it can out pull itself (i.e. > if the horse pulls hard enough and the rope doesn't break, then the horse > will--horses most definitely can pull hard enough on ropes to injure > themselves in the process...even if the rope DOES break eventually). > ______________________ > > Ain't that the truth. I have a sweet but very timid Arab gelding that may > never be 100% sound, probably due to some idiot and a rope. I don't know > exactly what happened because it was before I got him, but he has permanent > bald spots on each side of his atlas where it appears a halter burned him. > The marks aren't the issue - the issue is that he also has permanent atlas > problems that affect his whole body and keep the equine massage therapist > and chiropractor in business and have prevented him from reaching his > potential as a distance horse. All because someone most likely didn't take > the time needed to gain his trust but instead decided to man handle him > and/or 'let him fight himself'. > > Kristi > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >
