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<<My observation is that the horses that pull back the most are the ones
tied to a rack with baling twine. ?They don't get hurt, but then they
learned that they can escape with the baling twine, so the cycle is
repeated because they know they can break free. ?Not all baling twine
users have escape artists though, and use it just as a safety measure.
?I tie hard to a rail w/o baling twine myself.>>

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LOL...we had this situation some years ago with a little Paso Fino mare we bought.? We separate our horses for feeding, and where we lived at that time, the only way to separate them was to tie each to separate trees while they ate.? We hung their feed buckets on rings, and clipped each horse to lead ropes pre-tied to rings attached up high.? Well, whenever we tied this mare, she would very deliberately set back, pulling from side to side, practically sitting down, really working to break free.? Never frantic or frightened, it was all very calculated.? We'd simply stand by and watch till she gave up.? She did this daily for about a week, and then tried it every now and then for another month or so, and then has never done it again (we've now owned her 7+ years).? We happened to mention to the prior owner that we tied her for feeding, and they looked at us in horror, saying, you can't tie Barbarita, you have to use a "break-free" halter, she sets back!? We told them, not any more!? She had obviously been "taught," by use of those halters that break when a horse sets back, that she could break loose.? Once she found out she couldn't, she gave up.? :)

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Dawn Carrie

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 1:04 AM, Kathy Mayeda <klmayeda@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

This is probably not applicable to your situation and maybe not
advisable... but it worked for me. ?Drako did not tie and he had
little respect for the halter when I first started handling him as a
pretty wild unhandled 4 y.o. ?I put a rope halter on him and tied him
high on a ring that my ex welded onto a steel frame feed bin he built.
?Drako started pulling and setting back until he figured out that he
was hurting himself whenever he did that, and he couldn't get himself
free. ?He never pulled again. ?No skin damage. Rope halters have a
"bite". ? I use rope halters almost exclusively, as do most of my
friends, and I have yet to hear of anyone having skin damage from rope
halter usage. ?The flat halter does not have a bite, and I think they
may pull against it more because it isn't inflicting any pain. ?They
learn that if they fling their head around with a rope halter they are
self-inflicting, and if they misbehave there is a physical
consequence.

My observation is that the horses that pull back the most are the ones
tied to a rack with baling twine. ?They don't get hurt, but then they
learned that they can escape with the baling twine, so the cycle is
repeated because they know they can break free. ?Not all baling twine
users have escape artists though, and use it just as a safety measure.
?I tie hard to a rail w/o baling twine myself.

When teaching babies to tie, I've seen an inner tube used to put the
rope through ?and the end held while a little bit of sacking out
happens. ?When they pull, there isn't as much resistance so they don't
panic, but there's still a halter hold, and they should eventually
calm down and learn to stand while tied.

I'm sure there's a better way to "cure" it, but I don't really have
any horses that do that anymore so it's out of my realm of direct
experience.

K.

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 8:30 PM, Judy Etheridge <misxfire@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi Val,
>
> The firS
>
> The first suggestion I would make is that you use a strap halter rather a
> rope halter when tying your horse.? The rope halter can tear into the poll
> area and injure the skin or worse when he pulls back.
> The previous owner gave you what may be some valuable info--your horse may
> be still be scared of the trailer tires and when anything noisy, etc.,
> happens?it might make the tires move just enough so that he reacts as he did
> when the cat frightened him.? What you might try is to put something like a
> piece of plywood the same color as the trailer between the fender and the
> tires and make sure it won't move around by blocking it well or screwing it
> tightly to the fender.
> ?I just read Temple Grandin's latest book "Animails in Translation" about
> her autism and animal behavior in which she describes cattle (her
> speciality) being frightened by things that aren't always apparent to their
> handlers.? To complicate the situation by now your horse may have become
> fearful of any sudden movement or noise such as the manger door closing
> suddenly, etc.
> Well applied sacking out in a safe area may also help--like putting a piece
> of plastic on the end of a whip and gradually getting your horse used to it
> being moved around? and tapped on something which also will get him used to
> a noise.? I hope you are able to solve this problem--it is a tough one.
> Judy Etheridge
> West Region
>

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