HMMMM YEAH i have asked b4?

Question

okay, so i WAS against the tie down on an enlgish horse, i was tlkin to my friend and she REALLy likes it and says it works, I dont want to buy one,one so how do i do the same thing with something around the barn.

Answer 1

Tie downs are not the way to go. First off it is a big safety hazard. If the horse were to trip in a tight tie down they cannot use their head and neck to catch them selves. Many horses will feel trapped which could cause them to panic, rear and possibly flip. Second, it will not build muscles in the right places (like some other poster said). He will spend the entire time fighting to get his head up, not working through his back and hind end. It will give him a very false headset that a good judge will not place.

If you spend the time now building up his muscles and teaching him a head set then you will not have to go back in a few years to do it. I don't know of any good trainer that would allow a rider to use a tie down to make a horse have a 'head set'. Especially a junior rider. A tie down is not a training tool its to keep from getting smacked in the face by a thrown head. Chipped teeth and broken noses from a horse head to the face are never fun.

Using show placings for any random show is not a way to show experience. Neither is breaking a horse. Lots of people do that and are not experienced at all.

Answer 2

Just use a martingale... it will lower a horses head and train it to stay in position... i have never heard of a tie down.... i have a martin gale on my  mare because she was a western broke horse, and she is learning english and was fussy about the noseband. With the martingale it is helping her lower head just a little bit, its not to set her neck that can be done just by teaching your hose to tuck in his or her nose....im not sure if that's what your looking for, i'm still learning things myself i hope this helped good luck

Answer 3

the only thing they do is hold a horses head down for you instead of you have to work to get the connection as soon as you take it off the horse would throw its head up!

Answer 4

i have a 6 year old palomino quarter horse. i trained him myself and with quarter horse and palomino associations, tie downs are illegal. they are illegal in any horse show even open and local horse shows. they can only be used in a training class. sorry. i know that sounded really snotty and stuck up. i have never used a tie down with any horse. you sound like a very good rider that has been there and done that. for a tie down though, i would have to say try a piece of hay twine. it is thin enough to tie to your girth without irritation to your horse, and strong enough to do the job you want. but if you don't have hay twine around, tie a piece of string around the girth and use rope tied to the string. good luck.  

Answer 5

im not a HUGE fan of them either. and they are used to keep the horses head from coming up, not staying down.

but use twine from hay bales. just tie it in a circle in a knot thats tight enough to stay, but loose enough for you to tighten it if you need to. as you said you will, be gentle.

just tie to the noseband under the chin, and to the breast collar

hope i help ya

Answer 6

stand him in side reins instead of tying him

Answer 7

Do NOT use a tie down unless your horse needs it. That means he is THROWING his head up. Do NOT use a tie to down break a horse into keeping his head low. I have to agree when people say you are not experienced if you think using a tie down is going to "build" muscle.

Do it the right way and ask your "personal trainer" how to. That means making a horse give into the bit by playing with your fingers and keeping his mouth soft. That was he LEARNS how to do it and is not FORCED to do it.

I have seen the outcome of people misusing equipment and it is never good. The horse is usually "ruined" after such a feat.

If you are an experienced horse person you wouldnt even consider using this method. This method is used by inexpericed and ignorant people.

Answer 8

No disrespect to you but there is no way you should be considering this, as you obviously are seriously inexperienced!.  Training of horses should be left to the pro's, I am fed up with fixing horses with problems caused by people like you. The head should never be TIED DOWN.  The horse needs to be encouraged to work in an outline. Leave well alone and get a good instructor.  Quickly!

Well ask your trainer and if your trainer doesn't know change the trainer!  Outlines are dressage work so get a dressage trainer!  The horses head carriage is something a good trainer will sort almost easily!

Careful tying the head in place, if its a hot pony it will flip itself over!!!  Make sure you only use something that will move, you'd actually be better off in draw reins but these are things that a good instructor would know about!  It is all encouragement not force believe me I know - I train lots of people and usually the biggest issue is the head carriage.  Are you referring to a standing martingale, if this is the case it will not help with head carriage it will stop a horse who carrys his head sky high, but it will not help with outline as it is restrictive.  Draw reins used correctly will allow the horse movement up and down and eventually will settle in the correct outline but used incorrectly will cause severe tension and discomfort, but a much better option for a correct head carriage than a standing martingale.  Just out of curiosity can you drop any other horses head that you ride and I am talking correctly here? Just trying to see if your horse is being awkward or whether he needs the correct mouthing and training?

Edit:  To Galoppa - Quite right!

Edit:  Yeah Kate 17, go for it!

Answer 9

A martingale is what you would use for english.  There are really inexpensive one like around $50.00 or you try to find a used one.  When it comes to trying to make your own you have to be really carefull cause like some else said if the horse trips or stumbles he needs to be able to catch his balance,  equipment made for this specific problem would allow him to do that with out getting tangled.  

Answer 10

There is a simple and free solution, use bailing twine, that is what I do, tie it to the noseband on the bridle, and the breastcollar of the saddle, and it really does work =]

Answer 11

sounds....cruel

Answer 12

My advice is to never use a tie down...it is damaging to the horse and used as a crutch.  You say you are advanced, so you should know how to train your horse properly so that such equipment is not used.  A tie down is not even proper training equipment....the concept of training doesn't include the use of a tie down.  You don't build muscle to set a head with a tie down....in fact it builds muscle in exactly the wrong location for that.  It is up to you to decide whether to put the time in and properly train your horse, or go for the quick fix and let your horse suffer the consequences later on. You asked us for our opinions....this is mine.

Answer 13

Tie downs are kind of a misnomer.  They aren't supposed to be adjusted so tight that the horse's head is forced (or "tied")down.  They are supposed to be used so that a horse can't throw it's head UP .  A lot of people think they are used for teaching headset but they really aren't.  If you are using it correctly and using it for the right purpose, it is a good tool.  However there are many people that use them incorrectly, trying to take a shortcut with gear instead of taking the time to train properly.

No, see, you shouldn't tighten it up really hard EVER.  That's not what it is for.

That's great that you've won a lot of ribbons but showing and training are two totally different things.  I showed too when I was 12 (and won ribbons), but I certainly wasn't capable of training at that age.

If you really want to get the horse to set it's head, ask your trainer to teach you how to do it.  You shouldn't force a horse to do it via tie downs, draw reins, or side reins.  It's not that hard to do but takes practice and patience.

Answer 14

To build the muscle to hold the "headset" lots of lunging using elastic sidereins - talk to your trainer.

If you just try to physically strap the horses head down it's liable to freak out and they can flip over when they do that.

Answer 15

I've really only every used tie downs on rearers.

For headset, standing and running martingales work well.