[Finzean]

I think a HUGE part of answering what to do for the OP's horse is no different for any other horse...you gotta know why they are pulling back and refusing to be tied. A horse that is just being rude & tacky is VERY different from a horse that enters the transaction of being tied with mounds of baggage and panic. We've got one in the barn right now who LOVES to pull and/or lean on things just to see them break. Never a panicked moment...she busts stuff and then stands there - I swear she's laughing. I've also had horses in the barn (one particular OTTB comes to mind) who completely flipped out over ANY confining situation - TOTAL melt down w/zero sense of self preservation. Would I tie him to something "unbreakable"...not if I wanted to have a horse at the end of the day.

A good horseman will look at each horse & situation as a whole and proceed accordingly.

[Sonesta]

I believe that once a horse learns to pull back when tied then you are extremely unlikely to ever get him to the point where he can be safely tied to something that has no give.

Best to accept that and work around it - ground tie, use tie-block, use "The Leader" or tied to an innertube - forever. Tying a horse that pulls back to something that will not give or break is ASKING for severe injury, death or extreme destruction. NOT WORTH IT.

The absolute best horse I ever owned and with which I competed in lots of different disciplines was a confirmed puller. I bought a couple of "The Leaders" and used them without out worry for almost 20 years with him.

http://safetyfirsthorseties.com.au/horse_leader.php

[sheltona01]

My sister's horse a long time ago was a puller. He did it just for fun, we think. He was never in a panic and never ran off. You could see him calculating how to break something. You could watch him think, take a step forward and a few quick steps back to snap anything. He would just break the halter, lead, or post and just stand there. We could never tie him somewhere that would not break eventually.

The only thing that help was something a friend rigged up for us. It basically was a rope that we tied to the post, ran it though the halter ring, between his legs and wrapped around his belly. So basically if he pulled, it tightened around his belly. The harder he pulled, the more it tightens. It only took him once or twice to not pull with it on. It did not cure the problem, but gave us a solution. This is not for a horse that is afraid. This is for a horse that pulls and breaks things for the fun.

I wish I could remember more details about it, but this was probably 15 plus years ago.

[goneriding24]

Okay, I'm not understanding this. Every horse I've ever owned will tie and stay put. They might try to leave but can't. They will tie. Doesn't matter the breed, how they are built, what their life was before me, who slapped them before me or kicked their buns. My horses have ALL tied and WILL stay put. No pulling. They might try to set back once or twice and that. is. it. They either give up or give up. I've never had a horse hurt either, except for the once tying too long and he didn't hurt himself, just kind of a bit wigged. Fine after that.

My Appy mare tried her best to pull a barn down because her previous owner would panic and run at her to untie. I tied the biddy up to the stout post in the barn and with the barn manager watching, let her try to pull the barn down. We stood there and laughed. She tried again. We laughed and didn't make a move towards her. Then she stood there and looked at us with a big ?? over her head. We weren't panicking and OMG'ingshe'sgoingtokillherself. We stood there. You couldn't GET her to set back after that. She'd stand there and look ?? at YOU because she wasn't going to move. Of course, the first time owners who were in a certain TV trainer's clutches were wigging out. But, their horses would set back all the time, the owners would be hopping about like a mad hen...provoking the horse to set back more. Sheesh.

I'm telling you, these horses are smart enough to play a human and act up to get what they want. If you tie where they can break something, it might break and they go over. I don't use any metal, just rope lead tied to rope halter.

[SmartAlex]

The only thing that help was something a friend rigged up for us. It basically was a rope that we tied to the post, ran it though the halter ring, between his legs and wrapped around his belly. So basically if he pulled, it tightened around his belly. The harder he pulled, the more it tightens. It only took him once or twice to not pull with it on. It did not cure the problem, but gave us a solution.

We had a rig like this. My show horse back in the one day tie to trailer show days was a confirmed puller. His was fear. HE would get claustrophobic and pull back, but also when you took the halter off to bridle him, or the bridle off to halter him, he would be afraid you would hurt his ears or teeth and simply leave. And, as we could not have a 1400# appy galloping around the show grounds several times a day, we had Triple E make us a belly system with the super strong nylon.

The belly rope came up between his front legs, through a neck rope with a bull snap, and was tied to the trailer. He would sit back on that and it would hold him. It didn't tighten, it just held. Then he would think through it and stand. He made the release knots miserable to untie, and once moved the entire rig back 6" but he never got away from it. When we sold him, it went with him.

[HSTFMason]

Those blocker ties really work but you don't have to buy a Clinton anderson one. YOu can go to most tack shops and they have it. Mine is the older version that doesn't have the magnet on the back of it but get the new version. They are about 20-25.00 but well worth it. You can also get one of those halters that have the double strap on the poll. When the horse pulls back the second strap kicks in and releases the endorphines and they learn to give to the lead. You can also work with him on a lungeline. There are many ways to cure this, but it takes time and patience.

[goneriding24]

I guess I should amend my above statement about doesn't matter what breed. To my knowledge, I've never owned a draft or a horse with a whole lot of draft in them. My statement was more the saddle-horse type weight/builds on down to pony. But, my TB's all tied, even the race horses.

[goneriding24]

We had a rig like this. My show horse back in the one day tie to trailer show days was a confirmed puller. His was fear. HE would get claustrophobic and pull back, but also when you took the halter off to bridle him, or the bridle off to halter him, he would be afraid you would hurt his ears or teeth and simply leave. And, as we could not have a 1400# appy galloping around the show grounds several times a day, we had Triple E make us a belly system with the super strong nylon.

The belly rope came up between his front legs, through a neck rope with a bull snap, and was tied to the trailer. He would sit back on that and it would hold him. It didn't tighten, it just held. Then he would think through it and stand. He made the release knots miserable to untie, and once moved the entire rig back 6" but he never got away from it. When we sold him, it went with him.

The appy mare I referenced above had been banned from the local fairgrounds due to her setting back, breaking something and then charging around like mad. That was one of the reasons the owner sold her. I didn't know about this till someone saw a picture of her on my phone and filled me on her deeds. She had quite the rep for doing things.

[Ainsley688]

Since this is a new horse, I would let the horse settle in, and relax before trying to fix too many things. And do NOT tie the horse to something solid! If it's of the panicking variety, it will break its neck before it stops pulling.

My mare was like this when I first got her, and she was rather head shy as well. I couldn't cross tie her for 6 months, and everybody had to be very careful when making movements near her head. If I had tied her to something solid, and let her "fight it out" she would have killed herself. What worked for me was making sure she never felt like she couldn't back up if she pulled, and to never let a lead rope/cross tie get tight enough to scare her. But, she would never take advantage of you letting her go when you pulled. She was genuinely scared, and not trying to get out of work, or break things for the heck of it.

She needed time to settle in and relax, learn the routine, and figure out that being cross tied with other horses and people moving around her wasn't the end of the world. Lots of patience, and learning what her triggers were was key. Once I learned what freaked her out, I could avoid it/stop it before she got scared.

Now, I can tie her to the fence, to a post, and cross tie, and not worry about her freaking out. She is still a little iffy, but she knows that if she's tied and the cross tie pulls tight, she's not going to die. She just has to move, and the pressure will let go.

Patience and a sharp eye are going to help you the most!