# To tie or not to tie in a horse float/trailer........ ??



## BLAZERIVERSONG (Oct 5, 2009)

After 2 months of waiting I have finally have my new float/trailer. Yippee as I have waited 11 years to be able to afford to buy one. 

I had my old boy in the float/trailer on the weekend (not driving around) and all he does it look out the back of the float. I was just wondering what experiences both bad and good people have had with tying up their horses as they travel and what they used to tye them up ie rope or bungy rope snap rope. etc. :lol:


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

I don't tie for short distances, I have a 2 horse straight load, that has a defined straight stall. My trainer has a larger stock trailer, and if he has only one horse in there, he uses the divider to make like a small stall and he doesn't tie either. 
But farther than say half hour-I probably would. Just me being cautious.


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## BLAZERIVERSONG (Oct 5, 2009)

Many thanks franknbean for your reply. It is a straight load float/trailer and it does have a head divider at the front but he still manages to get his head out to look back. I was just a bit nervous that if he is looking back all the time while we are travelling along he might loose his balance more easier. His whole life he always has to be a bit different. :-o


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## mom2pride (May 5, 2009)

I have always had straight 2 horse loads. I have always tied; usually with a panic snap. Now that said, when I moved to CO, I did accidentally forget to tie my mare (had gone to give her her treats, and we drove for 2 hours with her untied...never even knew until I went to unload her for a break...Lol! But as a general rule, especially in a small 2 horse, I prefer to tie, rather than take the risk of the horse trying to turn around, which could end very badly for the horse if they manage to get partically turned and get stuck. I am keeping my eyeballs on a stock trailer owned by a friend who is hauling our hay for us, and I would likely turn it into a 'two stall' type trailer, and use the front for my mare, and the back for my tack and what not. Or maybe I would convert it to a slant, which I like too. Overall though, I DO prefer to tie...but that's just because of the trailers I have had to use, and tying I think, is safest.


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## Amir (Nov 18, 2009)

Baleing twine, baleing twine, baleing twine!
I cannot say that enough :lol: It has helped me out SO MUCH tying in the float, to the float and anywhere else I need to tie.
Just recently my horse decided to "redecorate" the float and thankfully he was tied to baleing twine. He managed to turn himself around so his head was sticking out the tailgate. I don't want to imagine what could have happened if he wasn't tied to twine.
I've had a few float incidents that have turned out a lot better than they could have if I didn't tie to twine.
No matter how breakable your halter, lead rope or what-have-you is meant to be, in my experience, it isn't always that breakable.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

I have little stock trailer. All I can say it depends on horse. I don't tie my qh - she likes to turn her butt forward and occupy the whole trailer by herself. I tried tie and she was clearly mad. Now with my nervous paint I tie her to the side, because it restricts her movement (somewhat) and doesn't let her circle like crazy in trailer. With straight or slant load trailers everyone I know of tie their horses there.


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## Cowgirl140ty (Jan 7, 2010)

I have a 2 horse straight load. And my horses are always tied with nylon trailer ties. But even in other trailers, my horses are tied. Usually with their leadrope. I think if a horse ties well on the ground... you are better off tieing in the trailer.


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## WickedNag (Sep 7, 2010)

I always tie my horses, straight load, slant load, dividers or not.


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## wyominggrandma (Nov 4, 2009)

I have a three horse slant load . I always tie with nylon straps with panic snaps on the end........... They are in individual stalls, but I like to tie them, keeps them from turning their heads around, or getting nosy with who is standing next to them.. I also have drop down windowns with bars, so they seem to enjoy looking out and don't feel so closed in.


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## BLAZERIVERSONG (Oct 5, 2009)

Many thanks for all the replies. Tying sounds like the most favourable way to float. Will try and get my hands on a strap with a panic attachment on the end or if all else fails good old baling twine.


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## Lindo and Venus (May 29, 2013)

my horses are always tied. Just for safety really, as they get along but when the other annoys the other boy they fight. Our trailer - 2 stall forward - doesn't have a divider between the heads, and in enclosed areas such as the trailer, the dommanent horse always picks on the other, so that's why we tie, just incase the two we have in there get annoyed with one another


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

I tie ~ trailer ties with panic snaps on one end.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

I have a 3-horse slant load. They get tied when hauling - always. It is too easy for them to get their head under the divider or over, and I don't want a horse getting themselves stuck. 

My trailer ties have a panic snap on one side which I attach to the trailer (not the horse). I want easy access to the tie through the drop down windows. 

My horses also get hauled with breakaway haters. In case we'd ever get in an accident and the horse falls down, I want their head to be free and not getting "hung" by their trailer tie. 

Safety first: when loading the horses, I close the divider and then tie the horse. In case they'd fly back before I get the divider closed. Now my horses self load, so I just close the divider behind them anyway. When unloading, they get untied before anything is opened. 

In the event I haul in my patents stock trailer, we do not tie the horses. We let them stand how they please, usually backward.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Tie, but always with a leather/breakaway halter! I don't want them to be moving around in the trailer while we are moving, but I also have an unpleasant memory of my non-horsey dad opening the door to the trailer while my horse was still tied. Naturally he decided to back out of the trailer, freaked when his head was attached, and broke the halter. He jumped out of the trailer and was grazing a few seconds later... I almost never find occasion to chew my father out, but that was one of those times!


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## albertaeventer (Feb 5, 2013)

For me, depends on the horse and the trailer. If it's a straight load or slant trailer with the dividers, I will tie. Also if it's a young horse, or green to trailering, I will tie as well. If I have a more seasoned horse in an open stock trailer, I won't tie and let them stand as they please.


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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't tie. My horse knows how to balance himself and falls asleep in the trailer and stays absolutely still. If you tie him on the other hand, he sets back and panics. He doesn't do it any other time than in the trailer, so for safety reasons we leave him loose.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Thrill Ride (Feb 18, 2013)

Last year we had a 14' stock trailer, the horse I mainly used last year I didn't need to tie but I did because I put my tack up front and her right next to it. There wasn't a divider. She was the type of horse where the moment you put her in the trailer she fell asleep, I just didn't want her to nudge my tack and knock it over. 

Now we have a 16'6 stock trailer with a divider, when we haul our thoroughbred we have to haul her or else she will swing in the trailer. Ya a big 16hh thoroughbred swinging you can really feel it, if you tie her she just stands there. My mare will spin in a stock trailer if you don't tie her. 

We always tie our horses backwards, they prefer to face backwards than forwards. We either tie with the lead ropes in a release knot, or with trailer tyes. 

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I will say this, no matter what ALWAYS have good, decent matts in your trailer. I was at practice once and this family had a unbehaved horse and a trailer with a wood floor. The horse paniced, fell in the trailer and they had a smaller trailer. It got kind of stuck and even on the floor of that trailer the horse kicked out 2 windows, cut its leg, and just wouldn't settle down. Finally it settled down and smart people got their lariats and threw them on the horses legs and helped her get them underneath her so she could get up. Matts are a must!

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My friend had a new horse that was fine in a trailer and this horse was her dream horse. She had tied it in the trailer, the horse spooked at something and fell. Sadly, it hung itself.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Thrill Ride said:


> Last year we had a 14' stock trailer, the horse I mainly used last year I didn't need to tie but I did because I put my tack up front and her right next to it. There wasn't a divider. She was the type of horse where the moment you put her in the trailer she fell asleep, I just didn't want her to nudge my tack and knock it over.
> 
> Now we have a 16'6 stock trailer with a divider, when we haul our thoroughbred we have to haul her or else she will swing in the trailer. Ya a big 16hh thoroughbred swinging you can really feel it, if you tie her she just stands there. My mare will spin in a stock trailer if you don't tie her.
> 
> ...


That is absolutely horrible, but it highlights the importance of having a halter that will break easily in such an incident. I've used full leather halters, but I even feel more comfortable using the kinds with the thin leather crown piece. It doesn't take much to break those guys. While I do tie in the trailer, I would NEVER tie in a non-breakaway halter.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I always tie with panic clips and breakaway halters 'just in case' - don't want to be struggling with a panicking horse and accidents can and do happen
I wont travel loose in anything but a really large space where the horse can easily turn around and the tow vehicle can cope with that amount of movement - I've seen horses tip trailers over when they lose balance and start to flap around. I've also seen horses manage to turn their heads and necks around in surprisingly tight space and go into panic mode


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## loosie (Jun 19, 2008)

In a regular horse float I 'tie'. In inverted commas because I will not tie solid in a trailer, but use a 'tie ring'. I would not leave a horse untied in a regular trailer because they can (& do) turn around - not great if it imbalances the trailer, or if they come rushing out as you try to put the ramp down, or if it's not fully enclosed, rear & get their front feet over the tailgate...!! Too many bad potentials. But in a trailer that is safe to do so - I used to have a stock crate affair - I'd leave the horse untied.


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