# DIY patience pole



## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

May I ask, what is it for? Not trying to be smart, honest question. I thought a 'patience pole' was simply what Americans called a strong pole in the ground, that you tie horses to by something unbreakable, to let them fight it out & 'learn to stand tied' for long periods. So I don't understand why the contraption on top with chains?

Also is the metal thing just screwed onto the top of the post? If so, I wouldn't be tying a horse to it as that won't be strong enough if a horse puts much pressure on it.


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

Is made to where they cannot chew through the chain, and it is not to tie them up fast! it's so they can move around however much they want until they learn to stand still patiently.


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

I have eight 3-in screws into the top of the telephone pole!! and if I have a horse that pulls back I use the Clinton Anderson Aussie tie ring! For the most part you will not find a horse pulling back on a patience pole! because they can move and so they don't feel tied up!


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

Is that an Allis-Chalmers hub or an International? I'd say Allis right off.


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## BethR (Feb 17, 2021)

I don’t know what a patience pole is, but I’d say you’re very innovative


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

Never known a horse to chew thru good ropes - I use chain for my dogs for that reason tho. Yeah, if you're going to attach it only with screws, I'd definitely ensure I only used a 'Blocker Tie Ring'(It's not CA's & it's not Australian btw, despite his claiming it) because all horses can pull back if frightened & it wouldn't take much at all to pull out some wood screws. But in all honesty, I'd get rid of the screws - just not safe. Instead, bolt the thing firmly to the post. Also noticed the snap hook connecting the chains - that will be a weak point too - it will easily break, and the chain will come away too - have the contraption unbreakable & break points, tie rings, etc, attached at the other end of the chain, between horse's rope & contraption.

I'm not understanding why a horse supposedly wouldn't 'feel tied up' just because they can walk in a tight circle. If I want my horses to have some freedom while tied - say I'm camping & they will be tied the whole night - I use a 'highline' - that is, long thick rope between trees tied up high, with a ring that slide along it, and tie the (shortish) leadrope to that, so they can walk the entire distance between the trees, to graze etc. But they still know they're tied.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

loosie said:


> May I ask, what is it for? Not trying to be smart, honest question. I thought a 'patience pole' was simply what Americans called a strong pole in the ground, that you tie horses to by something unbreakable, to let them fight it out & 'learn to stand tied' for long periods. So I don't understand why the contraption on top with chains?


Clinton Anderson is the one who coined it as a "patience pole" and marketed them as such. 
They have been around way before Clinton started selling them. The training barns I worked at just called them tie poles. 
It was handy to tie fresh horses next to the arena after saddling them so the trainer could just grab them if I was off doing something else. They can play around on them but not get the lead wrapped around the pole and less claustrophobic than a tie rail. They'd be spaced out enough that you didn't have to worry about tying horses too close to each other they can fight.

The chain hooks to the top, whatever design used, the top spins so the lead doesn't wrap around the pole when the horse moves around it. Chain works best to tie to, rope rots and can break at unconvenient times. ( I've had it happen, a stud tried raping another stud when he got loose)


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

Not sure if it's Alice Chalmers or international LOL just something that was laying around the farm 🙂 all I know is it spins like a top 🙂


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

I agree I should have used something bigger than the screws! That will be a upgrade 🙂


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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

loosie said:


> I'm not understanding why a horse supposedly wouldn't 'feel tied up' just because they can walk in a tight circle. If I want my horses to have some freedom while tied - say I'm camping & they will be tied the whole night - I use a 'highline' - that is, long thick rope between trees tied up high, with a ring that slide along it, and tie the (shortish) leadrope to that, so they can walk the entire distance between the trees, to graze etc. But they still know they're tied.


The reasoning behind why it works is because when they are just tied to a fence they can't move their feet and get stuck because they can't move any further, and that's when habits like pawing come to be.

A horse standing parallel to the fence paws, move that horses feet around and then let him stand so that he's facing the fence and you can break the habit. A friend had a horse that would just body slam himself into the fence while tied and all the friend did was move the horses feet.

I hung one in the alley way of my barn. Lolas previous owner tied her extensively and she paws pretty bad. A few circles around the rope, and she stood quiet.









My other 3yos first tying experience was on this rope too. She stood like an old pro.


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

QHriderKE said:


> The reasoning behind why it works is because when they are just tied to a fence they can't move their feet and get stuck because they can't move any further, and that's when habits like pawing come to be.


Oh right. I just wouldn't tie a green horse hard, or short enough that they can't move their feet, so never had that issue. I can see though, that if they haven't been trained to stand calmly tied, that it would indeed be 'easier' on them than being hard tied short to a rail. 

Guess it depends on your situation, could be really handy for some I guess, but for me personally, couldn't see the point, as for one, I ride out & about, so not being portable, would still need to teach them to tie confidently for everywhere else. Secondly, I have 5 horses(ATM) so that would be significant space, time & effort & materials, to build enough of them to tie all horses up at once. And there are 2 places on our property that we commonly tie horses up, which are well removed from eachother, so we'd actually need 10 poles.


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## newtrailriders (Apr 2, 2017)

They have similar setups at some horse campgrounds that don't have paddocks, to tie the horses overnight. In competitive trail riding, at some of the rides, I guess you're required to tie your horse all night and not allowed to use a portable paddock. I haven't got started in CTR yet so haven't had a chance to ask anyone why. We tried camping with the horses tied to them one night. They worked well. The lines didn't get wrapped around the poles.


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I don't think it's use is so much inn teaching a horse not to set back when tied, but rather that it's best for him/her to just stand peacefully when tied, since pacing around gets them nowhere. They are allowed to pace, and pace, and step but it does not help them any. 

I supposed it also helps a horse that may feel panicked when it backs up and hits the end of the rope when hard tied. But, tying to fence post or hitching rail, (that is very securely cemented into the ground) , can achieve the same thing becuase the hrose can move to the right, then to the left, over and over again. In fact, one kind of training for horses that set back when tied involves tying to a rail or fence post and having one person flag the horse from off the hind/side of hrose so that the horse moves over sidways until the fence stops it's movement. Then a helper on that side flags the hrose a bit until it shifts and swings back over to the opposite side ( like a pendulum swinging in a half-circle , the fence forming the flat top of the circle. )

This teaches the horse to feel that he is NOT trapped, but can move some, and when he hits the end of the rope ,he can swing over to the other way, hit the end of the rope, move again. The moving each way, back and forth teaches him to release himself with movement, and once knowing that, he is less likely to panic if he ever hits the end of the rope again when tied.


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

Yeah I like it a lot better than tying them up to the post or cross ties!!!! Most of my horses tied fine, but I had a young colt that would always move back and forth 🙄 so I finally built one. The hub I used had a 1 foot shaft on it, with a hole in it, so I found a square tube and drilled a hole in it, and just stuck a bolt through it.


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## trailscout (Nov 23, 2020)

I see welding on the parts. If you wanted to mega upgrade for strength, you could weld a strap running down from each of the four crosses and put a 1/4x3 lag bolt into each leg. Be there until the base rotted out that way. Little preservative on top of the pole would be good.

Never heard of a patience pole. Sounds like they work pretty good. I've seen a set up on trailers with an arm that reaches out farther than the horse that seems to work in a similar way. I'm in the middle of renovating a horse trailer so may think about how to add a collapsable patience pole on it. Sure would be handy sometimes.


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## Qadan (Dec 8, 2020)

Hey thanks for saying that! that is a awesome idea! that would be a great upgrade!!


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## ksbowman (Oct 30, 2018)

A thru bolt system or a steel post would work great too


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## trailscout (Nov 23, 2020)

I can do this! For pennies. Well, maybe a few dollars. Patience pole for trailers.






Pivot Tie | All Things Endurance







allthingsendurance.com


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## Giddyup1 (11 mo ago)

Qadan said:


> I thought somebody might like to see my DIY patience pole. I used a hub off a Old wagon, and made a bracket for it and fastened it on top of a telephone pole, i put some rubber mats down so they can't paw🙂 so far it works great!!!
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Hello I’m going to try this is there a shaft down the pole or is just the hub ? Thanks


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