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  Discussion on Holly Wood ...Tie ring question
Author Message
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007 - 3:12 pm:

Hi HollyWood,
If you train a problem horse with a tie ring- do you always have to use it? Will the horse still panic if its tied normal style ? Or does the tie ring teach them to stand quietly whatever they are tied to.?
thanks in advance
Leslie
Member:
sdms

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007 - 10:10 pm:

Hi Leslie! I'm not Holly but I thought I'd throw my two cents in on this question. I'm assuming you're referring to the Blocker Tie Ring. If you spend the time to "train" a horse with the tie ring you should be able to tie the horse normally after the training. By training I mean to try to make the horse pull back with all the things they normally find scary. When the horse stops pulling back you can continue to use the tie ring until you feel confident that the problem has been solved. However, if you simply use the ring to prevent injury when the horse pulls back and don't spend the training time you'll probably always need to use it. Good luck!

~Sara
Member:
hwood

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 21, 2007 - 11:58 pm:

Sounds good to me, Sara.
The Blocker Tie Ring teaches a horse that he isn't "stuck," the biggest fear of a prey animal. It allows him to move, and depending upon the thickness and smoothness of your lead rope, it allows him to move back but not come loose from the hitch. By the time a horse has moved back (but not been allowed to spin around and run) he can usually identify the scary object or sound and can figure out that it isn't going to kill him.
There is no struggle that can result in a hurt neck, broken hardware, or a runaway horse . . . and if the horse pulls back a couple or three feet, I just put steady pressure on the end of the lead rope, give my verbal "move" cue, and have the horse walk forward again until he puts slack in the lead-rope again.
If you want to "cure" a horse from pulling back, the Blocker Tie-Ring is the perfect tool for specific training sessions in spook-proofing your horse with different objects/sounds/touches as Sara S describes.
Member:
sdms

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 2:05 am:

Leslie, I know exactly why you specifically asked Holly this question.

Holly, you always know how to "teach" when you post. You think of the things I take for granted and you explain the reasoning, which I rarely do! For instance, the thickness and smoothness of the lead rope; that's very important. A braided cotton rope will not work as well (and sometimes not at all because it doesn't slide through the ring) as a nylon or yachting rope.

Thanks for your input on HA!

~Sara
Member:
terrilyn

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 10:29 am:

Hey Holly and others...we LOVE our tie rings and wouldn't use anything else. I have a horse that is very fidgety when standing for grooming. When I've gone into the tack room to get something I'll occasionally come out and find that he's pulled several feet of the line through the ring...he figured that out quickly. (This is that nice, heavy yacht braid referred to above...slides well). To avoid his pulling so much that he gets wrapped up in it if he's tied for any length of time, I put a quick escape knot in the line about 2 feet further down from where it's looped through the ring. Buys me a little time in the tack room, keeps him safer as he learns to be PATIENT. These are also great for trailering.
Member:
dtranch

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 10:55 am:

Terri .. be careful with the knot idea. I once had a person use the tie ring, but the rope had a knot on the end of it. The horse pulled back til the knot caught on the ring, then panicked. There was enough slack in the rope by now that it got wrapped around the horse's leg, and it panicked even more. Luckily, the tie ring pulled out of the post or the horse could have broken a leg. I use them as a training tool as well, but I would rather chase a horse that has gotten loose, than lose the horse altogether.
DT
Member:
dtranch

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 11:08 am:

Just another point. As I said, I use it as a training tool. I don't leave unattended when using the tie ring for training for 2 reasons. First, if the horse pulls back enough to go through the ring, he has escaped, and learned that pulling back gets freedom. Second, if use a knot for extra security when you leave, the horse can pull back and get no release and panic.
I use the ring to allow the horse to get slack when spooked, then encourage forward movement as I pull the slack back out. Eventually, they learn there is no great risk in being tied. If not using as a training tool, it is not much different than tying in any other way.
DT
Member:
leslie1

Posted on Thursday, Mar 22, 2007 - 1:25 pm:

Thanks to all, That really answers my questions on it. It sounds like a wonderful tool. Im gunna order a couple of 'em.
Thx
leslie
Member:
maggienm

Posted on Friday, Mar 23, 2007 - 12:11 pm:

Holly, Sara, Dennis, and others, I learn so much, thanks
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