Knowing that the horse wants release, we can teach him to find that release safely before a dangerous situation emerges. Doing effective round pen work and groundwork are a couple of ways to accomplish this. By doing groundwork you are teaching the horse to find release and you are also teaching him not to panic.

Before I tie a horse I want him to be:

• Easy to catch,

• Competent at ground work,

• Able to put his head down from feel, and

• Able to give to the rope without pulling or panicking.

When I tie a horse there are three things that are important:

• I want the halter not to break,

• I want the lead rope not to break, and

• Whatever I tie to cannot break or be moved.

A lot of people are under the impression that it is a good thing to tie the horse with a safety release, or with a weak link, because if the horse pulls-back in these circumstances he will be able to break free. The problem with that is it teaches the horse to pull-back because he has successfully been able to break free. Now you have a situation wherein you have taught the animal to pull-back to seek release. That is not safe.

Our horses, and mules, need to know how to stand tied comfortably. When I've brought this up to people, I have sometimes heard the response, "I would never tie my horse because he won't ever be in a place where he wouldn't be trusted." Well, that is not true because we simply cannot anticipate every situation in which we might find ourselves with our animals. Imagine an unanticipated evacuation such as during a raging fire or during an emergency veterinarian visit. Things happen and we, and our horses, need to have the skills to manage those situations.

On another note, don't tie your horse and then spook him. I have seen people tie their horses to a hitching rail and then try to create a pull-back reaction with the idea that doing that will teach the horse not to pull-back. The horse, however, doesn't see things that way. The horse doesn't reason that he is being taught not to pull-back because pressure has been put on him and he has been made to feel afraid. For the horse, when fear kicks in, self-preservation kicks in and he's not going to remember that he can give to the rope and not fight it. So keep them safe at all times, don't tie them up and scare them.

Last month we discussed the cinchy horse and how that behavior, which is related to pull-back behavior, might be prevented. Remember that we would help a horse feel comfortable with getting cinched up by putting him in a safe place, maybe a round pen or an arena, and then let him move around for a while with the saddle on. Similarly, we would teach our horse to be tied. Just as we let our horse get used to the cinch, we would want our horse to become accustomed to being tied. First, we would work the horse and exercise him and then, tie him last.

So preparation is the most important thing. We make a mistake if we tie a horse that doesn't understand what to do if he hits the halter rope. If he's unprepared he might panic. This reaction might happen in a situation other than being tied. For instance, a horse drops a bridle ring, steps on it, panics, and throws his head. But, if we have taught the animal to give to the feel, he won't react this way.

To help prevent pulling back, or to fix a problem that has begun, we would work with our horse first.

Do groundwork to get them used to the feel of the rope and, to get the horse giving consistently and softly.

Eliminate brace and get the animal to flex and to give. The student in the picture to the left is teaching her horse to give to the feel of the rope. This is a critical step in avoiding pull-back behavior.

Let them know what to do and then they will come off the rope better. Help your animal give you the right answer. Notice it when they give that right answer. Notice it too when they give you indications that they might have a little bit of problem in this area. Maybe your horse pulls back a little bit when their buddy leaves them. So notice those things and set them up to succeed.