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Member
Posts: 46
| I have mare that will pull back occasionally. Has anyone had good luck with a pulling halter? or any suggestions. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 972
 
Location: Texas! | My gelding has a bad habit of setting back. I use a Blocker tie ring and tie him longer so he can look around. He seems better when I do these. |
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 Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| I have not had much luck breaking a horse of pulling. I have had many people try the "be nice halter" and other things and a lot of them have neck damage now. I personally started buying "the clip" and it is perfect imo. It holds some pressure but it will release if they pull hard enough. No injuries and doesn't break things. |
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 A Barrel Of Monkeys
Posts: 12972
Location: Texas | Studies have shown that setting back can be an inherited behavior. So, I never try to break a horse of it. I use a Blocker tie ring with all my horses. Setting back can really injure a horse and at the least, it's expensive going to the chiropractor to have their poll/spine put back in place. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Just out of curiosity did you check for ulcers? I had one that would pull back and as soon as I treated for ulcers it stopped. Just a suggestion :) |
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia |
I have a filly that will set back if something startles her. She broke her halter as a 2 year old and flipped herself over. It definitely scared me and her. So I decided to use a tie ring. I've had good luck with it. She is not nearly as reactive because she knows she has some slack. I do have a question though, without stealing the thread. For those of you who use the tie rings at shows, are you ever afraid your horse will get loose? How do you prevent that from happening?
Edited by Runninbay 2017-03-13 1:24 PM
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | A horse that sets back is one you cant really break it of setting back, I had one, I just learned to loop the rope, so if she set back she would not scare herself and fight it, when she felt the rope give she would just stand there and relax, but when she was tied off she would panic and fight till she broke what ever she was tied with. So when we went places I would either find a pen to put her in and just loop the lead rope or she would be placed back into the trailer untill I needed her, was a pain but was the only way to deal with her. |
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Veteran
Posts: 111
| Runninbay - 2017-03-13 12:22 PM
I have a filly that will set back if something startles her. She broke her halter as a 2 year old and flipped herself over. It definitely scared me and her. So I decided to use a tie ring. I've had good luck with it. She is not nearly as reactive because she knows she has some slack. I do have a question though, without stealing the thread. For those of you who use the tie rings at shows, are you ever afraid your horse will get loose? How do you prevent that from happening?
If I'm not at the trailer with mine, she got loaded up in the trailer. Honestly, lots of days it's cooler in there (as long as its ventilated) and she could munch on hay and look around out the windows. |
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Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| Runninbay - 2017-03-13 1:22 PM
I have a filly that will set back if something startles her. She broke her halter as a 2 year old and flipped herself over. It definitely scared me and her. So I decided to use a tie ring. I've had good luck with it. She is not nearly as reactive because she knows she has some slack. I do have a question though, without stealing the thread. For those of you who use the tie rings at shows, are you ever afraid your horse will get loose? How do you prevent that from happening?
I do worry about them getting loose but my thing is if they pull, they're gonna get loose no matter what as they usually break whatever they are tied to or tied with anyway and least this way they wont rip their head off in the process. |
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Expert
Posts: 1446
Location: California | I had a mare that pulled back hard and was also super cinchy. I taught her I would tie her with a special knot she could get undone. I would tie her, she would pull on it to see if it loosened, and when it gave, she would stop and just stand still. I was able to tie her for a long time like that. But I would take precautions at shows with her and just had her stand in the trailer when I wasn't by the trailer or running her for the "just in case" because she COULD fully undo it if she wanted to. I used her for several years with that system and never had any problems and it worked best for her.
Once she learned she wasn't "hard tied", she never pulled back again. |
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Expert
Posts: 1446
Location: California | Something about them knowing they have slack really helps the reactive side of the mind, as another poster said.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 710
| I've heard of people putting two strong halters on and letting them set back until they stop. I feel like that would mess with the horses brain. My old trainer would 'tie' her horse that set back at the end (so they wouldn't feel trapped and claustrophobic) of a horse trailer or hitching post ect, and use a rubber band to loop the lead rope through. Weird, but it worked since the horse would pull back sporadically. If I had a horse that pulled back I would probably invest in that tie ring as that seems like the best option. |
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| i reckon i'll be the odd one out..... i have a gelding that SETS BACK. not just pulls back, like he really puts his weight into it, like sitting on his ass set backs. like one time set back so hard with a mule tape rope halter i literally had to pull the halter out of his head, it cut into his head about an inch deep.... dummy
i bought one of those rope halters with all the knots, left him tied and he pulled back MAYBE two good times. Hadnt done it sense, untill 4 days ago i had just an ole crppy halter on him, he broke it. SO i pulled the ole knotted rope halter out, tied him up and did what i was doing to make him set back (srpaying his mane) and he set back, realized it freakin hurt and stopped. I normally always have a rope halter on him anyways, but he doesnt do it like he used too.
I cant make him pull back anymore, he knows it hurts.
gonna be dumb gotta be tough! |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
Location: NE TX | Clinton Anderson or the off brand rope halters with the extra knots and thinner rope with a LONG lead rope and tie ring. You can watch his videos on YouTube.
Helped one of my horses and a friends mare from doing it. Like someone else said. If they have the thinner one on they know it and don't set back, put a nylon halter on and they'll break it. |
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Not Afraid to Work
Posts: 4717
| We used to let them pull and would use all the tough halters, double halters, multiple lead ropes, etc... but after seeing the damage it does to their neck... I wont go that route anymore. I think horses that set back and truly are just pullers, always will pull. And even in strong halters, they then break my trailer hooks. I just don't think its worth it. Now my young ones, get tied and learn patience, I have had them pull cuz they get spooked and I think that's normal. But those panic pullers... I don't think the injury is worth it. Ive known a few horses that just don't tie and you have to accommodate for that. |
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Member
Posts: 46
| thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I am using the rope halter which wasnt due to her pulling its just the halter we chose for her, so that is a step in the right direction. I will look into the blocker ring and also try tying her a little longer. She is a sporadic puller and usually just pulls one time and she is done but hard to determine what sets her off. All of our previous horses and current ones are so quiet that I am not used to one that pulls back. My biggest thing is I just dont want her to hurt herself. |
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Member
Posts: 46
| No I havent but will consider having her checked. Thanks. |
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Member
Posts: 46
| Are the blocker rings sold anywhere? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 690
Location: Georgia | My horse is a little weird about his head. Depending on his mood, sometimes if I come towards his face too fast or with my arms up he will think about going backwards and sticks his head straight up, then if he hits the end of his rope he panics and sets back. He hasnt done that in a while but it might be because I have conditioned myself to avoid making him feel like doing it. I did used to tie him to a hay string loop when tied to the trailer. That way if he sat back he 1. wouldnt break my trailer tie and 2. the hay string loop would eventually snap and he would calm down without hurting himself. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2135
Location: Somewhere else | I had one that would set back only when tied to the trailer. Not only would he set back, he would the lunge forward cracking his head open. Trust me I tried everything. A pickup man made me a gut rope ant that horse tried it twice and never tried it again. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 490
| I have one that is 16. Every now and then she sets back. Always has, always will. I have no idea why she does it or when it will start so with her, I just loop her rope around or through whatever she's tied to and she stands.
I have had GREAT luck with the clinton anderson halter with the knots when teaching one patience or how to tie. In fact I have one that is coming home today. I sold her and they picked her up monday night. I get a call early Tuesday morning that she had set back when the little girl tried to saddle her and she was scared of her now. I fully believe theres more to the story because in the time Ive had the mare, she has NEVER set back. But I will never know the whole story, I will however use the clinton anderson halter on her a few days just to be safe. |
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 Hummer's Hero
Posts: 3071
Location: Smack Dab in the Middle | I had a mare that would set back as soon as you could get her tied. I finally put a belly rope on her and tied her up for several hours one weekend. She galled herself a little, but it mostly broke her of it. I did make what I termed an "idiot rope" for her to tie her at the trailer for the rare occasions she would do it. 2 heavy bull snaps and 15ft or so of parachute rope... I tied one end off with one of the snaps, then a few feet down I doubled the rope and slid it through the eye of the loose bull snap. Pulled the loop up and over the bull snap and snugged it back down. Tied a knot at the far end of the rope. I would snap the tied off snap to her halter, and the other to the tie loop of my trailer. If she pulled back, it would slid through the eye of the snap and relieve her panic, but the knot at the end kept her from getting loose. The mare is gone, but I still use my idiot rope. |
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| My boy won't tie, never has, never will. Long story short, when I picked him out the "Cowboys" roped him around the neck and tied him to a post where they sat on the fence and yelled and waved their arms until he choked himself to the ground. They put the halter on while he was down and handed me the lead rope.
I was 14 and with my non-horsey mom, we couldn't do anything about it. Anyways, 13 years later he's overcome his fear of men, gloves and rope but not tying. The blocker tie ring is a life saver for when I have to tie him but he ground ties like a champ. |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| Blocker tie ring. It's been so long since I've had a horse that didn't pull back, I wouldn't know how to act! |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 878
Location: "...way down south in the Everglades..." | stayceem - 2017-03-13 3:20 PM Runninbay - 2017-03-13 1:22 PM
I have a filly that will set back if something startles her. She broke her halter as a 2 year old and flipped herself over. It definitely scared me and her. So I decided to use a tie ring. I've had good luck with it. She is not nearly as reactive because she knows she has some slack. I do have a question though, without stealing the thread. For those of you who use the tie rings at shows, are you ever afraid your horse will get loose? How do you prevent that from happening? I do worry about them getting loose but my thing is if they pull, they're gonna get loose no matter what as they usually break whatever they are tied to or tied with anyway and least this way they wont rip their head off in the process.
ditto. my old trailer was missing all but one D ring thanks to one particular horse back in the day. I bought the tie ring and yes, he was still running around loose but at least he wasn't cut up or my trailer destroyed.
I truly believe that the really bad ones are near impossible to stop.
But my mare that is flighty and reactive, I use it with her and she's never gotten loose at a show because the slack is enough for her to relax. But at home if I tie her on cross ties and she still rips them apart and gets lose. So I just ground tie her at home or use the tie ring.
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | If you can't beat it, join it. Buy some panels to haul with, teach the horse to ground tie, and warn people to not tie her if you ever sell.
My old mare ripped my hand completely in half because she sat back.
We eventually tied her to a metal post that had about 4 foot of concrete in the ground. Tied the flat cotton rope to the post, looped it through her halter and tied it around her withers/girth area. She sat back once, cut her airway off and then stepped forward and the pressure was released. She never sat back again. That doesn't work with all horses and looking back now my dad had good intentions of this set up but it wasn't exactly the safest most humane way of breaking one of the habit. She formed hers on the track and was used to panic snaps that would break free when she sat back. Some horses like stated above have it inherited. Some can't be broken of the habit. Rather be safe than sorry and just learn to deal with it rather than fight it.
Good luck with yours and with the ideas given. I wouldn't recommend the rope trick we did way back when but it was all my dad could think of. We didin't have fancy things like the rings and halters where we lived at. Wear good fitted leather gloves to protect your hands any time you are around this horse. I wish I would have, so does my hand. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 618
| My gelding sits back VIOLENTLY. I've tried the tie ring but he knows he can get away from it so he yanks his head til he's completely loose. Done the gut rope, he darn near killed himself SO I just loop his rope through tie ring next to his brother who he actually likes and he generally stands pretty quiet. If I'm at trailer and he moves enough that rope hits ground or walks off to eat grass. I calmly walk over and pick up rope smack his bottom and put him right back on trailer. I'm getting panels to put him in for shows or he'll go in trailer. He has deep seeded emotional issues left from track and while I've made huge stridesi n helping him over come most, this is a battlei haven't won. |
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pulling back