My Horse Pulls Back Sometimes When She's Tied Up

  QUESTION: I have a horse that when tied up will sometimes pull back. This has become a concern of mine since she did it in a barn and almost hurt both of us.

  ANSWER: When a horse pulls back it is mostly due to claustrophobia. Be it being away from the other horses or feeling confined and trapped. The first thing I would look at is does your horse ever pull back when leading. See if your horse pulls back if you go from a standstill to a trot. How about untying and walking quickly off? You will most likely find that the horse will pull back as soon as the lead rope becomes tight and the feels it is being pulled behind you. Many people encounter this when they are ponying a horse.

  There are a couple of different exercises I use to help a horse move towards us and away from the pressure on the halter. The first thing I do to a horse that I know will pull back is do not tie them up. You are only causing the problem to get worse. It is best to start these exercises with you being the tie post. Start by having about four feet of the lead rope between you and the horse. Now walk off like you are going somewhere. If your horse doesn’t walk to you and you are running out of lead rope don’t try to drag your horse just hold tight until they come towards you. Most often the horse will pull back away from you. If the horse pulls away from you go with them. Our worst mistake is trying to hold a 1200 # horse from running away from us. Allow the horse to drag you along, not literally, but with you holding pressure against the horse. Those of us with learn burns on our hands know that this is true. As soon as your horse quits going away from you, give some slack in the lead rope. This will reward the horse for standing still and not going away from you. Keep this up until the horse realizes that when you start to walk away the lead rope will become tight.

  For the harder to work with horses, I use a stick and string. Start by walking backwards away from the horse. As soon as the lead rope becomes tight, time it so your string lands on the top to the horses back near the hindquarters. Do this very softly as your horse could interpret it as a beating. Especially if you haven’t desensitized them to the stick and string! If the horse pulls back, go with them, dragging along until they stop and then repeat this exercise. It won’t take long for the horse to realize that the comfortable spot is when there is slack in the lead rope.

  These exercises are valuable not only for tying a horse, but to prepare one to be ponied or led as a pack animal. Preparing your horse before you go out on the trail will prevent many accidents and miserable days.
I would also recommend you use a good quality halter and lead rope. Your best and strongest halter will be a rope halter. They are strong and hard to break. A rope halter also has knots tied in specific areas to affect the pressure points on a horse’s head. A lead rope made of double braided yacht cord is my favorite to use. It is very strong and won’t burn your hands as easily as the nylon ropes will. They are also easy to break free of snow and ice when used in inclement weather.

  Good equipment, knowing how to prevent a bad situation, along with knowing how to correct a bad situation are all keys to a better relationship with our horses. Communication and understanding go a long way in improving the partnership between horse and human. See you on the horsemanship trail!