| It is important that horses learn to stand safely when | | | | breaking the horse in. |
| tied up. If a horse panics when tied up they will | | | | There are many hints and tips out there for teaching a |
| generally pull back. Depending on what they are tied to | | | | horse to stand tied up. One that generally works well is |
| this can cause disastrous consequences. You always | | | | putting the horse on a long rope or lunge line and |
| need to have a breaking point between the horse and | | | | looping this through the tying up ring whilst the handler |
| the tying up ring, this will snap if the horse pulls back | | | | holds the other end. The handler can then apply |
| and will set the horse free. This is essential because if | | | | increasing pressure without causing distress to the |
| the horse panics and is not able to get free it will | | | | horse. Another technique is by using a tail bandage |
| continue to panic and will inevitably slip or fall and injure | | | | rather than string to tie them too. The tail bandage will |
| itself. Canvass headcollars are not designed to break | | | | have natural elasticity which will lessen the feeling of |
| so these can cause injury to the head and neck if the | | | | being restricted and so make the experience less |
| horse falls and remains tied up. The problems start | | | | distressing. |
| when the horse realises that with minimal effort they | | | | Teaching the horse basic ground manners will make it |
| can pull back, break the string and set themselves | | | | much easier when teaching to tie up. A pressure halter |
| loose on the yard. Once a horse has learned this it is | | | | can be used for groundwork but these should only be |
| difficult to break the habit. For this reason it is essential | | | | used when in hand and should never be used for tying |
| to give young horses the best start and teach them to | | | | up. The pressure halter will teach the horse to accept |
| be tied up from an early age. This can be started at | | | | pressure and they will learn that if they move towards |
| any age but should definitely be complete before | | | | the source of the pressure then it will relax. |