Tying/locking horses in at night?

[bluewater rangerbreds]

I do competitve trail riding and my horses are trained to stand tied to a trailer all night while camping. And if you tie them right they CAN lay down. At my last competitive trial ride my mare scared me because she was lying completely flat out like she was dead and didn't move when I touched her. She was just enjoying her sleep. you CAN tie horses correctly where they can lay down at night.

It's not cruel as long as the horse is allowed some time off the lead.

I would NEVER ever leave a horse tied up over night. They can't move, or lay down if they feel like it. What if they get tangled up? What if they pull back? I can't even imagine doing that.

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[beckyburkheart]

I can't really imagine a situation where I personally would bring a horse in and tie it up every night routinely, but I don't really think I'd consider it cruel or dangerous (all the usual stuff considered). I know tie stalls historically were more popular than box stalls for a long time. ... of course lots of stuff through history isn't necessarily good, but even people who considered horses nothing more than transportation needed a rested horse, ready to work, the next day.

 

[goodhors]

Guess it is all part of what you have been brought up with, been exposed to in horse keeping ideas.

A horse who doesn't tie for long times, is pretty useless for things we may want to use him for. There
are no stalls out in the woods, for overnight trail ride camps. I can't take him to places without having
to personally hold him during the day. He would be unreliable in the trailer, since I never haul loose horses
as being unsafe.

So then I would need to get out some tricks to make sure he would tie, and BE THERE when I got back.
He wouldn't like that, but he would tie and tie well, hard and fast, be pretty much undamaged at the
end of his 30 day tying experience.

Tie stalls of the appropriate size, DO allow horses to lay down, move about some, but are expected to
be used with horse having daily turnout or several hours of work. NOT just a 45 minute lesson once a
day! He gets exercised so body is using good circulation, maybe even TIRED! Horse then is content to
stand in that stall with friends near by.

Horse thinks like a HORSE, not a person. If tie stall, exercise time, then quiet time, is part of his daily
routine, than that is what he expects. He is CONTENT with food, drink, friends or alone. A person with a
busy PERSON brain, is NOT a horse, doesn't relate to horse thinking! Person expects some kind of CONSTANT
entertainment, stimulation, so they are not BORED. Witness those who CAN NOT be doing nothing if standing
around. Cell phones constantly in their ear or looking at texts! People put THEMSELVES in the horse's
place when stalled, maybe eating, so then say HORSE wouldn't like this or that, so it is MEAN to do that
tying up, leaving him stalled.

What we do with our horses, means they have to be trusting, VERY obedient, because people can get hurt if they are not.
We also live in a cold climate, so bringing them in out of the weather lets them dry off, each eats their rations
in peace. We touch and go over them DAILY, find wounds, soreness, see if one is "off", sick, real quickly. That
doesn't happen so well in horses kept outside, with sheds. We find horses that get handled daily, moved around
into and out of their tie stalls, stay a LOT more civilized, than horses kept in other fashions. We SAY "you can go
run like a wild Indian in the pasture", then turn him out, watch as he races to his friends across the acres. Then ALL of them get to running.
He doesn't get to choose to do that, in his attached paddock, since we don't have those. So it "seems" they appreciate what WE do for them,
and they accept that WE make the choices that they can enjoy. A horse here wearing ANY tack, halter, harness, means our
horse must follow directions of the people. NO exceptions, so his self-control is required. No tack, he gets to do
whatever he likes, in his turnout location.

I do feel we get to know our animals very well, with the daily handling, know them healthy, can spot a "wrongness" if
they are not right that day. They know how to do as expected, because we are consistant in handling, are handled often.
Makes them pretty reliable in situations, they look to us for direction, instead of spazzing out when new things happen.

Daily stalling is a bit more work. Takes more time, leading in and out, cleaning stalls, than leaving horses outside most
of the time.

We put high demands on our horses, they are expected to perform at high standards, in almost ANY situation. That takes
work to get horse trained to meet those requests, be PROMPTLY obedient, when moving at high speeds. These are smart,
BRAINY horses, sensitive, because we enjoy having those kind responding when asked. Most are half TB, so it isn't that
"hot blooded" horses can't be trained to tie well, stand in tie stalls. That it totally a PEOPLE idea!! We have also had the
half-Arabs using tie stalls, with no issues being tied for long times. No bad habits developed either!!

If you have no expectations of your equines, they will never get any better. We set the bar pretty high for our animals,
whatever they are training for. They manage to still get up to that high level, look around and say "What is next?" And
yeah, they can also do the picket line for a week or two, on our Michigan Cross State Trail Ride. TB blood doesn't matter, they are
TRAINED to tie, hard and fast. They lay down tied on the picket line, get up, wade in the rivers for drinks, same as any quiet, other horse
does on the Ride.