approach.html

Approaching, Haltering, and Tying

While approaching, haltering, and tying a horse it is very important to be safe. You have absolutely no control over the horse until you catch them, and still then, especially in a big pasture, it is a dangerous situation.

You should approach a horse at his shoulder, not behind or in front of him. Horses cannot see directly in front or behind of them, and you want them to be able to see you when you approach, so that you do not startle them. You should also talk to the horse, so they hear you coming, and when you get there offer your hand for them to sniff, with it hanging loosely with your palm facing down.

Now to halter the horse you have just approached, you should put the leadrope over the horse's neck, by the poll. This is so you have some control. then put the halter on the horse's head. If it is the kind with the hook by the throat strap, gently fold the ears forward and put the crown piece over the ears, then snap the hook onto the ring. If it is the kind that you must buckle, slide the halter onto the face, and use one hand to hold each side of the halter. Pass the crownpiece over the head to the other hand that is holding the buckle, then buckle the halter. For horses that like to run away, it helps to bring two treats- one to give when you approach them, and one to give after the halter is on. Be careful using treats in a multi-horse pasture, however, because the treats may attract more than one horse.

A horse can be tied several places: cross ties, the trailer, or a fence/wall. When tieing on cross ties, make sure the cross ties have breakable bailing twine between them and the hooks they are on, and make sure that the snaps on at least one end are quick-release. Hook the cross ties to the rings on the sides of a horse's halter, not the one under the chin. When tieing to the trailer, be sure you use bailing twine between the hook and the leadrope, have a haynet and water for the horse(which should be properly set up- ask someone or see the LB pages), and use a cotton leadrope and leather halter(so that they can break if necessary). Another trailer tieing safety rule is do not tie to an unhitched trailer- the horse can pull it over!! Also, for the leadrope, use a quick-release knot to tie. See below for info on tieing one. When tieing to a fence/wall, make sure what you tie to goes directly into the ground, and is not one of the horizontal bars. Also be sure to again use bailing twine to tie to, and use a quick release knot.

GENERAL TYING RULE: NEVER TIE WITH RIENS

To tie a quick release knot, make a loop with the rope around whatever you are tying the horse to. Then take the end of rope not attached to the horse and make a loop in it, then push that through the rope that is around whatever you are tying to. Tighten the knot, and pull on the end attached to the horse to make sure the horse cannot escape.
The rope from the horse to the knot should be about the length of the horse's neck, and the knot should be shoulder height for the horse. The horse should not be able to get his feet over the rope, or the rope over his head.