18/03/2024
Tying- is it a dying skill?
The amount of horses I come across who can’t be safely tied, who break cross ties regularly, who break halters and snaps under normal every day circumstances, is a bit worrisome to me.
Many people maintain that tying is cruel, an unneeded skill. They may say they have no need for tying at home. That might be true, but then there are the what if’s-
What if you get in a trailer wreck, and the only safe place you have to keep your horse is tied somewhere?
What if you have to evacuate for a natural disaster and the only place you have to keep your horse is tied somewhere?
What if you’re at a show, trail ride, clinic, event, and there is no stall for you?
What if you can’t be near your horse while you attend to an emergency? Many times I’ve had to quickly tie my horse up to run and close a gate, catch a loose cow, chase a baby down, etc.
If you’re not teaching your horse to tie safely, you’re short changing their ability to stay safe in life.
Of course, there are cruel ways to teach tying and quiet, systematic and logical ones. People sometimes generalize in thinking- because someone did it roughly somewhere, it must all be done that way. Tying and the education for it can be done well, and should be done this way to educate a horse to tying safely. There doesn’t need to be and shouldn’t be drama.
But to me, a horse lacking the education to tie safely is missing out on a very important part of his education.
