# Patience Pole problems



## Easyrider64 (Jul 11, 2014)

I recently bought a yearling and did not know if she had ever been tied. He halters so-so but is pushy and has no personal space boundaries. 

So I planted a large post with a swivel chain at the top, designed after several patience poles on the market, and tied him to it.

He went nuts, and unfortunately managed to break the lead. I caught him, tied him immediately to it again with a better lead, and he continued to freak, pulling against it, rearing and fighting it. I waited for a calm period of about 10 minutes, then untied him. Don't know if he learned anything much.

I had him on the pole for a good hour, the first 30 minutes of which I washed him. I was determined to let him dry while tied, since he always rolls when wet. 
Did I leave him tied too long? What can I do better?


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## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

I teach tying with a Blocker tie ring. It has never failed.
Careful hard tying a baby, it could hurt it's neck.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Too bad you didn't ask for advice before trying your patience pole you need to get the tie blocker ring asap as you might have now created a puller.
In the old days before this blocker ring horses were tied to the pole with an innertube so it gave some and they didn't get so scared and keep pulling.


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## BugZapper89 (Jun 30, 2014)

Easyrider64 said:


> I recently bought a yearling and did not know if she had ever been tied. He halters so-so but is pushy and has no personal space boundaries.
> 
> So I planted a large post with a swivel chain at the top, designed after several patience poles on the market, and tied him to it.
> 
> ...


You didn't leave him tied long enough. He needs many hours and 7 days a week of being tied up. I start mine in the stalls with a heavy cable and nylon non breakable halter and 3/8 tow chain about 10 inches long lag bolted into a 6 x6. My weanlings get at least 3 hours usually more a day and by the time they are yearlings they can be tied all day or night no problem.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I like the blocker tie ring, too. Here's another idea. Get a beater halter and old lead that is long enough to drag. Literally tie the lead to the halter with two overhand knots. Turn him out in a small arena and keep an eye on him. I saw this technique many years ago at a place that bred and showed Welsh ponies, and THIS is how they broke in their yearlings. I had to ask bc I saw about 15 yearlings with dragging leads in an arena. They step on it, react, move the foot that is holding them down and figure out that it isn't the end of the world, and they punish themselves without flalling around and hitting YOU.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I prefer a flat, smooth surface to a pole but that is just personal preference. If a horse is tied higher than its withers and there is nothing it can get its feet tangled up in, I just like to leave them tied for however long it takes to teach them to stand quietly. 

I have thought that I would use the Blocker Tie ring for the next really spoiled horse I get hold of. I would only use it as a step towards tying solidly with something unbreakable. I want a horse that I can tie at hunting camp or on over-night trail rides or out on the range and not get left afoot or have a horse out on the busy US Highway that is about 100' from our tack rooms and tying places. 

We just never have any problems with any of our own or any other horses. They just all get used to being tied very quickly. Old long-term spoiled horses that have broken many halters and leads -- well those can be a problem. Up until now, I have just used a 'Be Nice halter' and tied them to a big tree limb that had a little 'give' in it.


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## Blue (Sep 4, 2011)

churumbeque said:


> Too bad you didn't ask for advice before trying your patience pole you need to get the tie blocker ring asap as you might have now created a puller.
> In the old days before this blocker ring horses were tied to the pole with an innertube so it gave some and they didn't get so scared and keep pulling.


In the Arizona heat I've seen those inner tubes snap and hit an already fretful horse in the face. Then you really have a problem.

The only luck I've had with a blocker tie is with horses that already have some respect for the halter. Tried it on a horse that needed to learn to tie and all he did was step back until he found the end of the rope. All the way up to 30'. Just goes to show that no system is "one size fits all".

Sounds like your yearling hasn't been taught much. IMO as long as there's nothing he can hurt himself on and you spent time with him while he was tied and waited until he had time to quiet down and think, you're on the right track. Never leave him unattended. Let him know that being tied isn't a punishment. It's a relaxing safe time.

Try the blocker ring if you feel you should, but remember, if he pulls back and finds the end ..... you just never know. Set yourself up for a sure success, not an iffy one.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

Tie him in the stall while he eats. Be sure he is tied as high as possible over his head, to a sturdy pole. We usually tie babies next to mom in the stall to teach them. I still use the inner tube on a high limb of a tree to teach patience.


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