Hobble VS Teether

[Shadow14]

Hobbles are when you use a short pair of handcuffs usually made of leather and you usually put them around the front legs just above the hooves. This takes a few evenings to teach but suprisingly the horses seem to learn quickly. I take it one step further and teach them also to hobble on the hind. At time I hobble both at the same time.
I find it teaches a horse to stand patiently, no shifting around and makes grooming the head easier.

Teether is when you have a long rope, say 10 plus feet long and either tie it to the halter or one back leg. Teaching a horse to teether by the halter is a long process . They have to learn not to fight the rope when it tangles around one leg and often they step on it with the head down and find themselves with a trapped head and they fight. That said it took me years to teach Strider to teether in this method but I often see ponies teethered this way.
Teaching to teether by a hind leg seems a very simple process and usually within a week a horse is comfortable wearing a hind leg teether. The local saddle shop sells padded cuffs just for this. I bought 3, 2 smaller ones that I joined together to make a hobble and one bigger one for a hind leg teether.
I chose the left hind and consistenly use only the left hind. When the horse feels the pull on the left hind he stops, takes one step back to releave the pull and turns always to his left and continues grazing in that direction.
Teethering to a single hind leg also even for hand grazing is easy since the horse doesn't step on the rope and you usually can just sit down and forget he is there while hand grazing from a halter you are constantly watching the lead line that he doesn't step on or over it.
I also feel a horse taught to hobble and teether if they ever get into wire will stand, they should hold because they are use to restaint.
While all this sounds hard to teach it really is simple and I spend about 10 minutes for 2 or 3 evenings preparing a horse to wear hobbles for the first time.
I have done 3 horses in the last few years and none of them fought the hobbles even the first time.
If I am to meet someone in the bush and they are late I carry a pair of hobbles in my saddle bag and just hobble him and you have a perfectly standing horse.

So to summaries to Hobble means to tie a pair of legs together and the arabs hobbled one back and one front together, I and. most here do front.
To teether means using a long rope, one that drags on the ground, one that has lots of slack in it and either ties to the halter or one hind leg.
The cuffs were $7 each and some amish use them on buggy horses that love to paw while tied.

[Painted Horse]

I carry hobbles on long trail rides and hobble the horse for lunch. I can turn them loose and go enjoy my lunch and know I won't be walking back to the trailer looking for my horse. The flat leather hobble just slip through my back cinch ring and hang, so they are always on the saddle.

During camping trips, I hobble and let the horses graze. Sometimes that's the only feed they are going to get. So I want to make sure they fill up.

My horses can run faster in hobbles ( on front legs) than I can run. But they won't go far as it tires them out pretty fast. A 3 legged hobble ( two front and 1 back foot) would solve this. But my horse run a short distance, but I've never had to go far to collect them.

Horse hobble near camp
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Jackson%20Lake/GirlsTrip483.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/Senior%20Sluff/Eating-grass.jpg
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/Horses-grazing.jpg

Horses hobble at lunch
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p259/Painted-Horse/2008/Granite%20Basin/100_0047.jpg

[goodhors]

I think the term you want is tether, not teether.

I have found that a tethered horse does better with long ropes, rather than shorter ones. I would not use a rope shorter than 30ft, and 40ft is better. Babysitting my horses that were trained to tether to a picket stake, they walked out of loops and coils MUCH easier, when the rope was long. Almost never had a tangled leg with such long ropes, this was tied both by the leg and the head. I sat watching them for a week or so, when they were learning to picket/tether out, so I saw the advantage quickly of the much longer rope. I tossed the 20ft, went on to 30ft, then 40ft as my final length.

Something I did, that you may not have, is let the horse out to pasture dragging a long thick, cotton rope. 15ft, clipped on a snug halter for several hours grazing. Horse had already been lunged or round penned with a dragging lead rope, 8-10ft, to learn about rope not chasing him. When he stopped, rope stopped. Horse learned to lift and move rope over to the side, when walking and trotting, was not afraid of it. Then when horse was turned out to graze pasture, he learned to manage that extra length of rope while he moved around. My pastures were pretty free of brush that would tangle the rope, so he didn't get hung as rope dragged along. I think the rope dragging practice was a big help in moving up to the picket/tether rope practices.

I always tether with a front leg, never a hind. Never knew anyone to tether with the hind.

I never use "store-bought" hobbles. They never fit my horses comfortably, they were too wide between the front legs. Hobbles pulled them in too narrow, it was painful. I use a yard and a half of burlap from the fabric store. Rolled kitty-corner for the most length. I fold the roll in half, put around one front leg, twist ends between legs to reach the other front leg and tie a figure 8 knot on the outside. Burlap has some give, soft and doesn't burn, "custom-sized" for each horse you put it on. Cheap, can be decorator colors, so fabric is easy to locate in the darker barn! I have not had any horses ever get burned or sore with these hobbles.

Mine are very accepting of new things, know the word WHOA, so hobble lessons are easy with NO FIGHTING by the horse. They usually lift a leg to feel the pull, put it down, lift the other, put it down. Checking out what hobbles allow them to do. May try a step, but I am there to correct that, not allowed to walk off after WHOA. They submit to my strange requests, stand patiently waiting, but certainly not broken spirited when we finish! We do NOT ALLOW horses to fail or fight, when learning new things. They learn, no one gets hurt or even hair ruffled up, after a training session.

[Beverley]

I use leather hobbles myself, some use the neoprene w/chains between, and I have a friend who makes hobbles out of baling twine that work well (you start with LOTS of baling twine, at least 18 pieces to get a thickness that won't rub the horse). I only hobble the front legs, but routinely teach my horses to accept that type of restriction on all four legs, it WILL save injury if the horse becomes tangled in wire, for example.

For a tether, 10 feet isn't nearly long enough- that is the length of a typical packing lead shank. My friends who tether in camp prefer more like 30 feet, and attach to a leg rather than to the halter. A length of garden hose around the rope at the tether end keeps the rope from getting wrapped around itself.

I know horses that can go as fast with hobbles as without. And I know horses who, if they want to leave, will just pull the tether stake out of the ground. I have a friend who in lieu of hobbles uses a restraint, I'm not going to think of what it's called, that goes around the outside of both front legs above the knee, thus restricting length of stride. It's a very handy thing and works well for his horses. He also uses it as a first step to teaching horses to wear conventional hobbles.

[Mtn trails]

To cure a horse from running in hobbles you need to tie his head down to either the hobbles themselves or to a body rope. To run in hobbles a horse needs to get his head up and if the horse is prevented from getting his head up, he cannot run. We cured a couple of horses from running in hobbles and no, none of them were hurt by having their heads down, they just continued to graze and not think about taking off.

I use the biothane hobbles that have no buckles but a very simple quick attachment (hard to describe). Can't stand leather hobbles, you go packing, turn horses out at destination with leather hobbles, leather gets wet, swells, can't unbuckle. Love the biothane.

[Shadow14]

Lots of great information here and yes Tether doesn't have 2 e's. I can not spell. I have 3 sets of leather hobbles and also don't use them. Too stiff. My bought ones are heavy felt with a webbing and they are soft.
I also made a set out of an old swade coat and just doubled the soft leather up and sewed it on the wifes machine. Those are soft and I carry them on the saddle.
I thought the french cavalry tethered by the hind leg? I also read a great article about a man and his mules who rode across the US and he claimed tethering by the hind leg was best. I has never taken a horse of mine long to learn the hind leg tether.
For front hobbling I start with a soft rope looped around one front leg and get someone to ask the horse to move forward one step and I prevent that step with the soft rope. In 3 tries it seems the horse gets the idea. I do this on all 4 legs, one leg at a time. After 2 or 3 days of this he is ready to hobble and I never get a reaction , well not a fighting one. Sure they try to walk and find they can not, lift the foot but that is it.
I then practice each day during grooming with front hobbles, some days back hobbles and some days all 4 hobbled and they just seem to accept.
It is a simple jump then to a tether.
I think the hind leg tether is better because less chance of stepping on the trailing rope while with a front tether the hind is always standing on the rope.
If I use a left hind tether then the horse always breaks to the left in a slow circle.

[Auventera Two]

Maybe I'm just dumb but I can't imagine why I'd ever need to hobble or tie my horse's leg to her head. :confused: Maybe because Sweets just doesn't run away. I just drop her rope and she eats. I sit on the ground and eat my sandwhich, drink my soda, mount up and continue on. Maybe I'm just lucky. :lol:

Today I did the ultimate dumb dumb thing. I got off to tighten my girth. We were on a steep/rocky trail so I oooched her up to an embankment to mount up (treeless saddle - can't mount from ground.) I climbed this hill, but somehow misjudged how hard I had to launch myself to get in the saddle. I went right OVER the horse and landed on the ground on the other side! :eek: :lol: :lol: :lol: Never done anything so stupid in my life. My friend and I laughed until we cried. We had cramps in our sides. I laid on the ground on my back laughing until it HURT. Sweets just stood there like - um, whatever. Reins were still up on her neck. Nobody was holding her. That's just how she is. When I finally recovered from the laughing fit enough to be able to get up, I just picked up the reins and tried it again. I couldn't imagine having a horse that tried to bolt and take off everytime you let loose of them.

When we got home, I took her off the trailer and dropped her in the front yard to graze while I unloaded the trailer. She just grazed around in a circle. I went in the barn and out the back, opened the big pasture gate so everybody could go in the other field. Went back to the yard and she was still there grazing.

She used to go between the bottom 2 rails of the fence and get out almost every single night. Every morning I went out to the barn and she was somewhere up near the house. I'd say - come on with me - and she'd come walking over and follow me into the barn and back out into the pasture.

I guess I'm just lucky that she has no desire whatsoever to run off.

[katarine]

A2 take four saddle horses into the mtns and 2-3 pack horses. Unload them all, and decide who to trust loose, and who needs hobbled/tethered/highlined/whatevered. Rotate horses onto mountain meadow based on their alliances, who's buddies, etc.

They get full, they get silly...and if they wish...they'll pal up and leave your ass ;)

That's where you need such tools.

[CatOnLap]

A2 take four saddle horses into the mtns and 2-3 pack horses...
...They get full, they get silly...and if they wish...they'll pal up and leave your ass ;)


IME, the donkey usually follows the horses... :winkgrin:

I am glad someone mentioned the old burlap bag hobbles. That's all we had as kids, the burlap sacks from corn and oats, and we made our hobbles from that as described.

I haven't hobbled in decades, thanks for the "trip" down memory lane. :lol:

[Beverley]

They get full, they get silly...and if they wish...they'll pal up and leave your ass ;)

And some, independent minded, will leave solo. They know perfectly well where the trailers are, and it's a long walk on foot! And there are other considerations, whether cowboys might just suddenly appear pushing a herd of cattle through your camp, whether somebody smells a bear or a lion, etc.

Mine pretty reliably won't go further than the next blade of grass. I still don't trust it to chance. When they have eaten their fill, they go on the highline.

[Shadow14]

This link was given to me over on the horse care section. They sell kits for tethering
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/lzimages/tether.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/detail.htm&usg=__Lx4J3-g7fmANIXxMXnHzZ7rXVME=&h=300&w=400&sz=50&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=D1hXkgjwpDD1CM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhorse%2Bleg%2Btether%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3 Den%26sa%3DG

[Auventera Two]

Obviously if you turn a whole herd of them loose, chances are good, that you'll be the only one left on the mountain. ;) I thought we were talking about an individual riding horse.

But I have to say that when a gelding at an endurance riding came tearing through Sweets' fence and ripped it down then took off through the trees, instead of following him, she came running up to the front of the truck where I was and got in my back pocket. :lol:

[katarine]

You do have to hobble break each of those individual riding horses, right? :winkgrin:

[Beverley]

You do have to hobble break each of those individual riding horses, right? :winkgrin:

Yes, and pack horses too.

[Painted Horse]

Well put Katarine.
I hobble my horses and turn them loose for an hour monring and agin in the evening when I'm packing in the back country. I keep a watch out of the corner of my eye while I fix breakfast or dinner. As long as they keep their nose in the grass, I don't worry. When I see them start to lift their heads and look around, I know they are getting full and it's time to bring them in and put them on the Highline.

With the hobbles they may run a 100 yards, but they tire quickly and are easy to catch. With hobbles, if they got started, I may not find them until I got back to the trailer. And like all horses, There are some that are leaders and some that are followers. The leaders always get hobbled. The followers sometimes get left loose. Because I know they won't leave the rest of the herd.

[tkhawk]

To cure a horse from running in hobbles you need to tie his head down to either the hobbles themselves or to a body rope. To run in hobbles a horse needs to get his head up and if the horse is prevented from getting his head up, he cannot run. We cured a couple of horses from running in hobbles and no, none of them were hurt by having their heads down, they just continued to graze and not think about taking off.

.

Very intersting. In India where I grew up, cows are pretty much like horses. So you halter them, tie etc.-pretty much everything you do with a horse except ride them. Most people lived in the village and would take them-well usually the cows know where the owner's field is, so just untie all of them and tie the lead rope around their horns and they all go to the owner's field everyday. Usually the owner/cowherd is at the back-the cows/oxen know where to go.

Now when the cows have calves-usually the calves are left behind-else they will drink the milk all day and no milk left for the humans. In the first few months, the cows really want to get back to the calves, the moment we get ready to get back. Older, more experienced or less attached cows usually know the drill and don't care much. But for the over eager cows that may want to get back really fast, they tied the head to the leg so the cow can't lift its head up and had to walk all the way back home.

I just thought it interesting they use the same for horses here.

[Icecapade]

Well put Katarine.
.

With the hobbles they may run a 100 yards, but they tire quickly and are easy to catch. With hobbles, if they got started, I may not find them until I got back to the trailer. And like all horses, There are some that are leaders and some that are followers. The leaders always get hobbled. The followers sometimes get left loose. Because I know they won't leave the rest of the herd.

ha haha..

I think we lost half our herd one night. lol the stallion was picketed... and I think one gelding to lazy... took them over an hour to find them...

some are a bit more shall we say bold? than just 100 yards. ;)

probably didn't help that the reclaimed mustang was in there too though. =)

Edit: my stallion hobbles, but I generally use a rope, one and half on the fore, one and a half twist in the middle, one and a half then a nice soft tie...
But I dont' go anywhere where he needs to be hard hobbled. He is at a barn and if someone else's horse gets lose and crashes in to him I don't want him completely restrained. But he hard hobbles as well if need be... although I'm pretty sure at this point I don't even have them.

I DO take his rope halter and hobble with that (halter still on) keeps the head fairly stable and feet restrained too. I find that to be extremly effective for my lifestyle currently. =)

[hitchinmygetalong]

This link was given to me over on the horse care section. They sell kits for tethering
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/lzimages/tether.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/detail.htm&usg=__Lx4J3-g7fmANIXxMXnHzZ7rXVME=&h=300&w=400&sz=50&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=D1hXkgjwpDD1CM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhorse%2Bleg%2Btether%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3 Den%26sa%3DG


I wasn't giving you that link. I was using it to make a point. Thanks for giving me the credit for the link, though! (<<<<sarcasm)

hitchinmygetalong (http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/member.php?u=100330)
Schoolmaster
Join Date: Sep. 24, 2001
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Posts: 6,159


To clarify:

"Teether" (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/images/product/blue_gummy_teether1188403708_224.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/gummy_teether_early_teething_/&usg=__VL-3U07e79QSq24nyAKHynjvE70=&h=500&w=500&sz=47&hl=en&start=4&tbnid=elC3Zt2df_9uVM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dteether%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG)

"Tether" (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/lzimages/tether.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.lazyliz.com/detail.htm&usg=__Lx4J3-g7fmANIXxMXnHzZ7rXVME=&h=300&w=400&sz=50&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=D1hXkgjwpDD1CM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhorse%2Bleg%2Btether%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3 Den%26sa%3DG) (scroll down for pic)

:)

[Mtn trails]

Yes, excellent post Katarine, couldn't have said it better myself. If you're just going to stop and have a sammich, then by all means, tie to a tree, but when you're out for days at a time, you need someway for them to graze. I don't think much of the idea of standing there with them and handgrazing them when it's easier to teach them to hobble and they can graze themselves. Man, I can't wait to pack this year. C'mon snow, melt already!

[lizathenag]

back in the 60s in the Colo mountains moving cattle around we would often stop for lunch and tie a rein to a front leg so they couldn't get their head up but could graze.

except for one mare who would hold her foot up and canter along on three legs. . .

[Mtn trails]

Weren't you worried about breaking your reins? I/We always ride with our halter and leadrope under the bridle so when we stop, we tie with the leadrope, not the bridle reins.

I have had one time in the mountains when we were all set up at camp and I left my 4 yearl old filly loose because her mama was there hobbled as were all the rest, except for one in a three legged hobble. Well, little filly rounded up the whole gang and away they went hopping down the trail, except for poor 3 legged hobbled one who couldn't keep up. I hightailed it after them on foot and DH grabbed and saddled the one who was too inept to run in 3 legged ones and eventually caught up to me about 1 mile down the trail. We come around the turn and there they are heading back up the trail toward camp. :lol: Talk about a surprised group! We trooped them all back and onto the highline they went for the afternoon. It was actually very funny. Now, we don't leave any of them loose thinking they'll stay around.

[katarine]

If you think the following terms have nothing to do with trail riding, you're right...learning how to hobble or tether is irrelevant to your life. That's ok ;)

double diamond...it does more than slip on your finger
dutchman's loop...not only a feature on a roller coaster!
basket hitch...has nothing to do with basket weaving ;)
sawbuck...not something for your woodshop
mantie...not man panties, nope
decker...not only associated with Black ;)

ok fellow backcountry peeps, I got my Ian Tyson on my iPod and I'm three months out from my MT trip. What are some other terms that are foreign to the fore-country riders :cool:

[NC Trail Girl]

Icecapade.. I've thought of doing that with the rope halter,too.. Have you got any pix of it all rigged up and in place?

[Icecapade]

Icecapade.. I've thought of doing that with the rope halter,too.. Have you got any pix of it all rigged up and in place?

lol I just took one last night on my phone cause I tied him up while our barn was waiting for spring shots...they all laughed at me cause my poor horse was tied... little bastard was happier than a pig in shit, eating grass- no one bothering him.
But... I don't know how to get it off of there though.

I almost always have a camara on me and I have to be back down there at some point... sunday I think, my ride day tomorrow is cancelled due to travelling plans.

As soon as I get down there I'll try to take some for you.

although... about half way down, under the yellow block that says Watch my video on Hobble Training there is a gray pair of feet with a turquioise rope... it looks like that. only the other end goes to the head. *-*

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.freewebs.com/horseawareness/hobble%2520ropes.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.freewebs.com/horseawareness/hobbles.htm&usg=___SKFT3-duHWPelwClAm1GG5yIl0=&h=400&w=592&sz=34&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=iSAXPR7sIYWgdM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhalter%2Bhobbles%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%2 6um%3D1

[Mtn trails]

If you think the following terms have nothing to do with trail riding, you're right...learning how to hobble or tether is irrelevant to your life. That's ok ;)

double diamond...it does more than slip on your finger
dutchman's loop...not only a feature on a roller coaster!
basket hitch...has nothing to do with basket weaving ;)
sawbuck...not something for your woodshop
mantie...not man panties, nope
decker...not only associated with Black ;)

ok fellow backcountry peeps, I got my Ian Tyson on my iPod and I'm three months out from my MT trip. What are some other terms that are foreign to the fore-country riders :cool:


Well, let's see...
Punchoen bridges
Heartbeat rule
half breed
H pack
saddle panniers
rawlide boxes

still thinking........:cool:

[Rachel L]

I had to look up puncheon bridge as well.

I'm still new to this packing thing, when someone says "pannier" I still think of the Indian dish palak paneer, instead of the large bags hanging from my pack saddle. Mmmm . . . palak paneer.

[Mtn trails]

Also,
breeching or "britchen"
pigtail

[Icecapade]

Icecapade.. I've thought of doing that with the rope halter,too.. Have you got any pix of it all rigged up and in place?

I WIN!!!! Finally got down there... hopefully these help.... and yeah... he was my model for that day... and the first picture too... feeling totally studly. (thanks C Emmert for that pic)

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww74/icecapade/?action=view&current=044d727d.pbr

hoping this totally works. I clearly had NOTHING better to do today at work. Sue me.

[Sithly]

I WIN!!!! Finally got down there... hopefully these help.... and yeah... he was my model for that day... and the first picture too... feeling totally studly. (thanks C Emmert for that pic)

http://s707.photobucket.com/albums/ww74/icecapade/?action=view&current=044d727d.pbr

hoping this totally works. I clearly had NOTHING better to do today at work. Sue me.

Lol, nice. :lol:

[katarine]

I had to look up puncheon bridge as well.

I'm still new to this packing thing, when someone says "pannier" I still think of the Indian dish palak paneer, instead of the large bags hanging from my pack saddle. Mmmm . . . palak paneer.


A dutchman's loop is a simple, useful knot for creating a block and tackle. Good for creating leverage when tying high lines, bear boxes, etc...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do-It-Yourself/1981-03-01/The-Dutchmans-Knot.aspx

I see I should call it just a Dutchman's Knot, rather than a loop. Worked slick on a dingy that didn't want to stay with our boat, too- aye aye, Dinghy, you're coming with me ;)

[Rachel L]

Wow, thanks for that webpage, the instructions are WAY easier to follow than the highline instructions I found in a pack and stock users manual. I think I might stick to the cargo strap with a ratchet to tighten the highline though!