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Ross' Horsemanship Tips

How To Tie a Rope Halter

Over and over again we see incorrectly tied rope halters. Most people buy rope halters, but are never taught the correct way of fitting them and tying them. It is important that you buy a halter that fits your horse correctly and that you know how to tie correctly. When you first buy a halter most of them are adjustable by fiddling with the knots at the side of the nose piece and under the chin, but it usually takes experience to know how to do this to fit correctly and most people just buy a halter based on the size of their horse's head and leave it at that. There are lots of web sites describing how to make and adjust rope halters, so if you want to understand how to do this just do a google search.

But learning how to tie a rope halter on your horse's head takes no special skill. But few people ever know the difference between what is correct and what is incorrect. These photos should help clear that up.

I've shown three pictures here of a well made rope halter. Our model for this evenings display is the very glamorous Chops showing the elegance of a little number made by Ralph Wilson from Washington State, USA. In my opinion, Ralph makes about the best rope halters I have ever used and Chops is clearly wearing it with poise and style.

A. Shows the rope halter correctly fitted

B. Shows an incorrectly tied halter. Notice the knot is tied above the loop of the cheek piece. When a horse pulls, the loop has the effect of opening the knot. At the very least it will cause the halter to loosen and at worse the knot can come undone and the halter fall off.

C. Here you can see the knot is below the loop of the cheek piece. This means that as the lead rope is pulled the loop pulls down onto the knot and will tighten the knot rather than loosen it as would happen in B.

Rope halters are a very useful piece of equipment, but like most gear, in order to make the most it you need to fit it correctly and use it correctly. It is worth taking the time to learn to tie one properly and making it a habit.

What is a Sidepull?

At the clinic last week a few people asked me about the sidepull that we use. A sidepull is a bridle that has no bit. But it is not one those bitless bridles (aka Dr Cook Bitless Bridle and NoBit Bridle) that have become popular and have the cross-over chin straps for pressure under the chin and over the poll. I don't like the cross-over types of gadgets because the pressure on the horse is non-directional, they do not release properly when the reins are released and the poll pressure encourages a horse to twist at the poll when he tries to flex in a turn - they are probably ok for a trail ride, but I don't recommend them for training and serious riding.

However, a sidepull is a very different beast. It acts just like a snaffle bit except that the rein acts on a noseband instead of a bit. They are like riding in a web halter when you attach the reins to the side rings of the noseband.

These are photos that I took the other day of one of our sidepulls on Chops. You can see the reins are attached to leather slobber straps which in turn are attached to a ring on the side of the noseband. The noseband is held in place by a loosely fitted chin strap.

You can also see that the noseband is made of thick leather. Some sidepulls have stiffened lariat rope for the noseband - I don't like them because they can be abrasive on the nose and cause the horse pain if you need to be firm with the reins. The leather noseband has the advantage of never causing pain no matter how much pressure you have on the reins. The other advantage of a sidepull over say a rope halter is that because the reins are attached at the side of the noseband they give much more directional aid in the turns compared to a rope halter where the reins are attached under the chin. In this way the sidepull acts similarly to a snaffle and helps give a meaning to the reins which is easily translated if and when you use a snaffle bit.

A Method For Helping Horses That Pull Back

Hi Ross,

My QH gelding has been home from the breakers nearly 2 months and has started to pull back when I tie him up. He seems panicked when he does it. He will stand for a few minutes and hits the end of the rope. When he feels the rope tighten he really pulls hard. He had broken our tie up rail once and a lead rope clip. He seems to be getting worse. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

Fiona, W.A.

The first thing I would do is contact the breaker and seek his advice. Ask if he taught the horse to tie up and what his experience with your horse had been. Since he knows you and your horse first hand he may have some insight into the cause of the problem.

Barring that, it sounds like your horse does not give well enough to the feel of the lead rope. When he feels the pressure on the halter he pulls harder. This suggests he has learned to fight against the pressure rather than give to it. I would be very vigilant about teaching him to lead well and give to the slightest feel of the lead rope. This needs to get really good before tying him up again. We never train our own horses to tie up. We just teach them to lead very well and the tying is taken care of in the process.

The other factor is that your horse should learn not to panic about being confined. He may be pulling harder because he knows he is trapped by the lead rope and wouldn't be able to get away if he needed. Some horses are like this. They are not so worried about being tied up, but more worried about not being able to flee if they need to.

Many trainers would recommend using a rope collar, a strong rope and a sturdy post. They would suggest tying him using the collar to a post and letting him pull until he gives up. Some will even fit hobbles to a horse in this situation and some will sack a horse out in an attempt to force them to struggle to learn they can't escape. I advise you to stay away from these methods. Even though some horses do eventually learn to stop pulling, these methods are dangerous and horses do get hurt and some have been killed. Not only are these practices potentially dangerous they are not necessary.

Get a long rope, between 7 and 10 metres, and clip it to your halter. Wrap your rope around your tie up post 2 or 3 times or 4 times. The number of wraps will depend on how much resistance there is for the rope to slide around the post. You want enough resistance that if your horse gave a half-hearted attempt at pulling away the rope would not slide around the post. But if he panicked and pulled with almost everything he had you want the rope to slide around the post, albeit with some resistance. Once you have wrapped the rope around the post, take the tail end of the rope and go and sit in a chair with the end in your hand or where you can grab it quickly. Wait for your horse to pull away.

When he pulls away hard allow the rope to slide. The horse will pull for a short distance and then stop. He will discover that pulling away does allow his feet to move, but the pressure of the rope stays with him. I have never had a horse pull away more than 7 metres before stopping. When he stops and comes forward a fraction off the feel of the rope, go up to him and rub him gently. Lead him back to the post, shorten up the rope and start again. Sit in your chair and listen to the radio or read a book while you wait for him to pull again.

When he can stand there for whatever time you think is a good improvement, put him away for the day. The next day repeat the process. Each day choose a different location to tie him and different things to tie him up to such as a tree or float; if that's possible - make sure you alter the number of wraps to ensure the rope slides just enough when he pulls hard. It won't take long before he gets very comfortable about being hitched to a post or tree or float.

The reason I believe horses respond so well to this approach is that they don't feel trapped because it allows them to move - this inhibits the horse from escalating his panic (which is what gets them hurt in the method of tying them firm and letting them pull). But at the same time pulling takes considerable effort with little reward for the horse. It is the sliding of the rope that makes the change from a feeling of panic to feeling okay and also keeps the horse safe (as long as you are smart enough to make sure they are not pulling back into an electric fence or over a cliff!).

It takes effort on your part to be consistent and put in the time, but we have had great success with confirmed pullers using this idea and best of all it is really really safe.

So the question is... why use a sidepull on a horse instead of a bridle with a bit?

There are a few good reasons for why we use a bitless bridle such as a sidepull or lunging cavesson or web halter.

Firstly, we mouth all our horses using a sidepull because we can teach the horse the meaning of the reins without ever risking causing him pain. So he never learns to be afraid of the bit during the breaking in. Each horse gets his first few rides in a sidepull before graduating to a snaffle.

We also use the sidepull on "hard mouthed" horses during their re-mouthing so again we don't cause them pain - this includes horses that come to us for a bolting problem. Often you find a "hard mouthed" horse goes instantly better with a sidepull because they have had so much hardware put in their mouth in an attempt to control them that a sidepull offers them such a different feel that they don't know how to respond against it.

We will use a sidepull on horses that have anxiety issues about a bridle. They may be hard to bridle or they put their tongue over the bit or they roll their tongue out of their mouth or they head toss in response to the reins. Again, the sidepull offers them a different feel so their response is often different to the reins. It gives us a window in which we can start to break a habit that is often fairly ingrained.

Once a horse is going well in a sidepull they are then worked in a snaffle bit. Every horse is worked in a snaffle bit eventually - even if the owner tells us they will never ride with a bit.

As a horse's training advances I will always prefer to ride a horse in a snaffle. The first reason is that there is a high probability that somebody is going to want to ride that horse in a bit some day. And the second reason is that a bit allows me to add refinement to the meaning of the reins - I can do less with the reins to get more - with a sidepull this is more limiting. But there is nothing wrong with riding your entire life in a sidepull if that's what lights your candle.

I should add as an afterthought, that the sidepull shown in the photos is made in the USA by Champion Turf Company and we buy them from California when go there each year for clinics - we have no association with them other than we like their product. To my knowledge they are not available in Australia.

Mounting

When I was a kid I was taught to mount a horse facing towards the rear of the horse and then to swing around as I raised myself up and throw a leg across the saddle. From what I see when I observe others mounting a horse it would seem that the practice is still alive and well.

But this is certainly not the safest way to mount a horse from the ground.

(i) If the horse jumps forward the rider will be swung around and knocked over and may not be able to remove the foot from the stirrup.

(ii) In the process of swinging around to get the leg over the back of the horse, the toe of the rider's left foot can sometimes poke the horse in the girth or elbow and cause him to jump away.

(iii) As the rider raises up and swings their body to face forward, the rider has to move more weight away from the horse which causes more of a pull of the saddle on the withers. This can unbalance a horse and even frighten a green horse. It can also eventually lead to sore withers from the saddle.

Rather than mount from the ground facing the rear of the horse I prefer to mount facing forward.

Doing it this way reduces the risks that I have pointed out when you get on a horse facing the rear.

(i) If the horse gets a fright and scoots, the rider is less likely to get a foot caught in the stirrup and they won't be spun around and knocked over as the horse leaves.

(ii) The toe of the rider is less likely to jab the horse because the toe is always facing forward parallel to the horse.

(iii) When a rider mounts facing forward, instead of pushing themselves towards the horse's body the rider simply steps forward, as if they were stepping onto a bus. There is a lot less sideways pull against the horse so there is minimal exertion of the saddle on the wither.

Mounting from the ground is almost the first thing a person is taught when they start learning to ride. I hope that teachers put more thought into how they teach it so that the old method is gone forever. I would really like to see more safety conscious practices such as this become common place.

I'd like to than Alex Rooney for demonstrating the mounting procedures, and Jenny Ashley for allowing us to borrow her New Forest pony (which Michele started), Springtime.

HORSE BREAKING: FAQ

These are just some of the questions that I (and I am sure other trainers) get asked when people enquire about breaking in a horse.

How much does it cost?

This is probably the most common question and often the first one that people ask. The answer is of course "it depends". The length of time is a big factor. Some trainers quote a flat fee to start a horse. If your breaker does this you want to make sure that he/she will take the time it takes to do the job well. I think it is not possible to say from the outset how long any horse will take to be started properly - each horse will vary and each owner's needs and expectations will be different. So while a flat fee is great in giving an owner an accurate idea of their costs, a flat fee should not commit the breaker to doing the job within a pre-determined set time. That's why most breakers charge on a weekly or daily basis.

Secondly, I don't believe price is a good indication of quality. Some trainers charge at the high end of the scale because they have huge overheads and need to cover the cost of maintaining their property and pay staff. Others charge more than others because they only train a few horses at a time and need to make a living on the earnings that fewer horses bring in compared to other trainers. Some trainers are cheaper because they are part-time trainers. Trainers that break in a horse in a few days are often cheaper than those that take a few weeks to train a horse for saddle work. Trainers in country areas are sometimes cheaper than those that live on the urban fringe because their costs are lower and because the market (their clients) won't pay the higher prices. And some trainers can charge less because they accept lots of horses into work at any one time. However, this also means they probably spend less time with each horse than a trainer who accepts only a few horses for work.

From my observation, I think most professional trainers range in their charges from $250 to $450 per week. I understand that most everybody is on a budget when it comes to sending a horse to a trainer, but I also believe it is false economy to base the decision of which trainer to use solely on the cost of training.

How long does it take to break in a horse?

This is the next most commonly asked question. Again, the answer is "it depends".

When I was younger and began breaking in horses I used to take about 14 days. By the time I was in my late teens I was getting the job done in 10 days. If I managed to finish breaking in a horse in 8 or 9 days I figured I was getting really good. As I got older and learned a lot more I began taking longer. My understanding of what it is to really make a change in a horse has changed over the years and I have learned to look for things in a horse that I didn't even know existed when I was younger. The better the horseman I have become the more time I spend taking care of the little things that I didn't even know about a few years ago. These days Michele and I average about 6 weeks to finish a breaker. The easier horses might get done in 4 weeks and the very difficult horses may take 8 or more weeks. It depends.

I have seen a lot of other trainers break in a horse. Monty Roberts demonstrates getting on a horse within 30 minutes and I know a trainer who teaches his students to take a year to break in a horse. If you have seen "colt starting" clinics by Ray Hunt or Buck Brannaman you'll see horses started in 3 days. I have seen Curt Pate, John Lyons, Bryan Nueburt, Tink Elordi and others riding horses in within 2 hours. But at all these clinics and demonstrations I have never seen any horse far enough along to go home with its owner and be ready to go to work. In fact, at least two horses I saw after they were started by a famous trainer at a "colt starting" clinic were pretty messed up by their experience.

So if some trainer tells you he will start your horse in 1 week and another estimates 12 weeks, you still have no idea how good a job either of them is going to do. It should take what it takes and a trainer who believes breaking a horse in should only take a set amount of time is a trainer who also thinks horses are vehicles absent of emotions, psychological needs and spirit.

Do you break in horses for dressage or western?

A lot of people are looking for a breaker to start their next top level performance horse. There is a view that if you want a dressage horse, then you to have your horse trained by somebody who is a good dressage rider. The same is said for western enthusiasts and western trainers. I don't believe this view is true. My background is in dressage and jumping, but many think I am a western trainer because I ride in a western style saddle. Before I had the money to buy my first western saddle I broke all horses in a Keiffer jumping saddle. It made no difference to the outcome.

Starting a horse is about establishing the basics. The basics are the same basics for every discipline. There is nothing special about any discipline that requires the basics to be different from any other discipline. It doesn't matter if you want your horse for dressage, cutting, endurance, polo or harness. The basics are all the same.

Once a horse is broken in and the basics are established to a high degree he is ready to be moulded into whatever area of interest you may want to pursue. But until those basics are established by the breaker (and followed up at home) there is no event that he is ready to pursue. It is like saying that you want your child to ride at the Olympics one day, so you send her for her first riding lessons to an Olympic coach. The basics of riding that your child needs to learn would be better taught by a good teacher who specializes in helping novice riders. There is no advantage to choosing an Olympic coach until your child is ready to ride at Olympic level.

Should I do all the ground work and just send my horse away to be backed?

I think a lot of trainers are like me and cringe when we get a phone call from somebody asking to send us a horse to be backed. They tell you how wonderful their horse is to handle and they have lunged him and mouthed him and saddled him etc. I can tell you all now that as I professional trainer I dread those calls.

I have never, ever, never, ever (am I being clear enough?) had a horse come to us who is going well enough by our standards to be backed. In fact, we have never had a horse who leads well enough by our standards. The one basic thing that I like in a horse is that they are easily caught - that's the one thing that makes life a lot easier. So when somebody tells me their horse is great and they just want us to ride him I tell them good luck finding somebody. If you do send us a horse that you think is ready to be backed, we will still go over everything we want them to know first. If your handling has been good, then we will be able to breeze through that part of the training smoothly. But we will spend time tweaking the things that need improving and passing over the things that are pretty good. When he is at a level that we are happy about we will start riding, but not until then. This is for the benefit of both us and your horse. Which leads me to the next question…

Should I break in my horse myself or send him to a trainer?

Most people think that breaking in a horse is simply a matter of getting on them with no buck, teaching them to go, stop and turn. If that's all you want from your horse then most anybody who can half-way sit on a horse can get that achieved. But what if you want a horse that is not simply a robot? What if you want a horse that feels good inside and wants to get along with you? What if you want a horse that tries to stay focused? What if you want a horse that still tries to keep it together in the face of trouble? What if you want a horse that hasn't lost his personality by the demand for obedience of a trainer? What if you want a horse that enjoys his work instead of just tolerating it? What if you want softness through the whole horse - mind and body? I didn't know about these things when I started and it has taken a lifetime for me to get the understanding I have today. Maybe I am just a slow learner, but I think most people don't know these things exist let alone how important they are to the final outcome of your relationship with your horse. And if you don't know they exist or don't truly understand what they mean, how are you going to build them into your horse? When I was breaking in horses in 10 days I didn't understand these things - I thought I did, but I didn't really understand them. I may not understand them well enough now, but it has more meaning to me than before and it has a lot of more meaning to the results Michele and I get with horses now.

I believe that we owe it to our horses to provide them with the best start possible. For most people that means getting professional help and not using their horse as a guinea pig in their quest to learn how to break in a horse. If you want to learn how to go about starting horses, spend a lot of time hanging around a good trainer and suck all the information you can from them. Send your horse to them and spend as much time as you can finding out the 'whys' and 'hows' of what they do.

Should I buy an unbroken horse and avoid getting a horse with problems already?

A lot of people have asked themselves if they should get a horse with a clean slate that has not been messed up by poor training. They want to avoid the pitfalls of inheriting problems from previous owners. I think it is a false premise to assume that training a horse you bred or buying an untrained horse will ensure you get a well behaved horse. I say this because I believe that if you do not have the skills to fix problems in a horse, then you don't have the skills to ensure you don't put problems in a horse. You need to be just as good a horse person to solve issues with horses as you do to make sure you don't screw them up. The one advantage of buying a horse already messed up is that you can blame somebody else for it!

Final words of advice when shopping for a trainer.

If you are not familiar with a trainer yourself make sure you visit and watch them working a horse before committing to sending your horse. A recommendation is a great starting point for narrowing the list of prospective trainers. But you need to make sure that you are comfortable with the trainer. Every trainer has people who bad mouth them and people who tell you they can do no wrong. You will hear good and bad about every trainer. You have to decide these things for yourself. Your needs and ideas of what you want from a trainer may be very different from your friends.

When your horse is with the trainer make sure you visit regularly (make appointments) to watch your horse being worked. When you visit ask every question you can think of. As your horse progresses get some hands-on experience under the guidance of the breaker. Make sure you have ridden your horse several times before taking him home. Make sure you are comfortable with how your horse is going before taking him home. Get some guidance on things to do when working your horse at home. Be prepared to learn from the breaker and change several things about your riding and handling skills. See it as a learning opportunity for you as much as it is for your horse.

For a short time it is quite normal for horses to not go as well at home as they did at the breakers. Owners often lack the confidence at home that they had when the breaker was coaching on them. Most of you are not professionals at training and riding young, green horse and your style and skill won't match that of the breaker's. This leaves the horse a little more confused and unsure. Nevertheless, if problems arise when you take baby home, don't hesitate to contact your trainer and ask for advice or arrange a lesson or two at home. If things are not going well at home, always consult your breaker and get more help if needed. A breaker's business relies on customer satisfaction and most are more than happy to help you work through problems you might have with your horse at home.

Blocker Tie Kits

These are a truly good invention. Click here to see them. They are designed to be used to tie a horse up, but allow the lead rope to slip a little if the horse pulls back hard. This helps reduce the often reflex panic that some horses experience when they find they are tied solid to something that won't give.

Here Chops is tied using the tie up ring

This is a Blocker Tie Ring fixed into a post on the outside of our round yard

But in Australia they sell for around $40, so I decided to make my own version. Here is what you need.

A - 50mm screw and eyelet

B - 110mm x 9.3mm ring bolt

Total cost was $9.98 at Bunnings

Use a hack saw to saw off the screw thread on the ring bolt. Screw the screw and eyelet into your post. Join the screw and the ring bolt using the D shackle (sometimes called U bolt)

This is what it looks like when you are finished.

This is how you secure your lead rope to the tie up ring

This is what it should look like.

I have found these to be very secure and they only allow the rope to slip a little when the horse puts real effort into pulling back. If you have a bad puller you can use 20ft lead rope to tie them up. The horse will never keep pulling and pulling until he pulls all 20 ft through the ring. It also means that you won't break any equipment or posts because the rope gives long before you get to that much force. I have found the 9.3mm ring bolt good for 12mm or 14mm diameter rope. If you use thicker or thinner lead ropes you may want to use different diameter rings. I also only recommend you use double braided marine style ropes for this set up.