Re: RC: to tie or not to tie

[Mickie Newnam <akelakhan@earthlink.net>]

Teddy Lancaster wrote:

> Horseshit...where have you been riding?  If the rope is too long, the horse will
> get tangled in it and get hurt.  If it is too short, he can't put his head down
> or lie down.
>

Teddy,Depends on the horse.  You know Akela; he's almost always tied to my trailer.
I have also picketed, and like that too, but he's fine on the trailer.  I'm not
saying there's no possiblility of an accident -- I think a horse could get hurt in a
rubber room if the mood struck it -- but for the lat 10 years all has been well.
One thing that helps is that he does not panic when hung up.  he has always
naturally assumed that it's my job to fix it and he'll wait patiently for me to do
so.  I've checked my trailer for sharp edges, and I did have to put a couple extra
screws in the license plate to make it safe.
As for rattling things while tied to a trailer, as someone mentioned, I hate that
too!  The tie rings on my trailer are covered with electrical tape so the snaps
don't rattle, and I only use rubber buckets as I hate the sound of plastic buckets
banging around.  The most I hear is the sound of hay being pulled out of his flake
bag.
I like the portable corrals in theory, but I know my horse wll enough to know he'd
leave if he really wanted to.  (Though the 4" wide tape mentioned could help.)  He
has a lot of room to move (more than the horses in pipe or bar-type corrals, and can
lay down.  Nothing is foolproof, but he's enough of a houdini without my inviting
it!
Mickie

> There is NOT a horse trailer on the market that is DESIGNED to have a horse tied
> to it all night!!!
>
> Dbeverly4@aol.com wrote:
>
> > In a message dated 6/21/99 7:09:23 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
> > Teddy@runningbear.com writes:
> >
> > << I consider it UNSAFE to tie to trailer all night...not to mention unfair
> >  to horse.  If you leave his rope long enough to lie down, he can get
> >  caught under trailer. (Among other problems). >>
> >
> > If it is done properly it is as safe as anything with a horse can be (they're
> > tricky little devile).  As far as clipping fetlock hair -- my horse is always
> > clipped, never had a problem -- how long ago was this?  I think the judging
> > at NATRC has come a long way, or it is completely different in the states
> > that I've competed in.  Some of these stories make me feel that we're talking
> > about two different sports here.  I've only been competing for the last 10
> > years, but I've never heard of some of the wacky stuff that is being told on
> > Ridecamp.  Either we've come a long way or there is another sport out there
> > masquerading as NATRC!
> >
> > Sylvia
>
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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=