Re: trailer tying?? Pet Peeves

["April" <adlee@bigfoot.com>]

Title: Re: trailer tying?? Pet Peeves

Well, go right ahead and park elsewhere, then.  I'll be trailer tying until I get convinced that it's not safe and/or I get enough money to get everything that I'd like to have.  I appreciate your thoughts and I'm sure you've been around loud horses.  I really didn't think my horse was that loud and I slept in a tent very close to him (up next to my rear truck tires).  The only thing I could hear was him eating.

 

Frankly, I was more worried about my horse in the small pen I put him in after the ride than I was having him tied to my trailer.  During the ride, the extra horse that was along went visiting.  I'm hearing many more stories about that than I am about trailer tying problems.

 

I took as many precautions as I could.  For starters, my horse ties well.  The tires were "boarded up" with his buckets to keep him from getting caught between the tires.  The buckets were then strapped together and back to the tires to prevent him from moving them.  (He loves to spill his water)  His lead was just long enough for him to lay down, but not long enough to get his legs wrapped around.  I used a thick cotton lead with a bull snap instead of my thinner nylon one with a bolt snap.  He had plenty of hay to eat.  He seemed quite rested in the morning.

 

Sure accidents can happen, but you do what you can to minimize the risks and keep going.  I'm no expert, and I don't have any answers for anybody else, but for now, this one works for us.

 

April & Apache

Chattanooga, TN

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Flemmer, Linda

My personal feeling on trailer tying is it isn't safe - I've seen too many horse wrecked when they were trailer tied.  I admit that I've seen horses escape from everything (even ties), but I've seen no direct injuries from a panel or a wide-webbed, visible electric fence yet.  (We use 4" wide white nylon fence with a hot wire woven through it.  It LOOKS like a white board fence!!)  Of course, once any way of containing the horse fails, all bets are off.  Once free, they are an accident waiting to happen.  (as if they weren't anyway.) 

I've seen horses tangle in their ties and injure tendons & joints, get lacerations (including arteries) on the metal of the trailer, yank back and have tie rings hit them in the face/eye, have severe rope burn when tangled, and I have heard of (but didn't witness) a broken leg when a back leg wedged between the two tires.

You hit on my personal pet peeve for a trailer tied horse, though...  He makes constant noise that keeps ME up when I sleep in my trailer.  The only thing any worse is if I need to load him on the trailer overnight because of horrendous weather.  (hail, heavy lightning, rain & 33*F, etc.)   If it looks like a person is planning on tying out for a ride, I'll do my best to park somewhere else.  That way I'm not awake all night or administering first aid while someone is trying to wake up a ride vet who has sutures with him!

Linda

-----Original Message-----
From: April [mailto:adlee@bigfoot.com]
Subject: RC: Re: trailer tying??

Of course, you'll remember, dear, my horse was trailer tied and he lay down,
munched (you said you could hear him from inside your truck!  :) )