# Tell me all you know about hobbles...



## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

As usual, this thread could have gone in a number of places, but I thought the trail riders here might have ideas. A while ago, I asked about best ways to tie your horse on a trail and hobbles were brought up. I thought I'd ask a little more about them before purchasing a set (trails are still too soft to use here, but we're getting close). I'd like to be able to stop for maybe up to an hour with my horse Rusty and let him graze. Locations are varied, back-country areas without any convenient places to tie. Even when there are trees nearby, it's not always convenient, and he will get himself tangled in short order. I have tried leaving him loose with a long line so I still have some control, and he steps on it and surprises himself every time. So I am going back to the hobbles idea. 

Hobbles are completely new to me so please specify type, material, etc. How far apart should his front feet be set? I know you have to train them - I can do this in my small paddock. He is really not a panicky horse, and will likely give in the moment he realizes he can't really go far. He is a bit clumsy though. But he LOVES to eat, in fact, I sometimes wonder if I couldn't just let him graze loose, but I worry something would spook him and he'd take off running. What are the pros and cons of using hobbles? Are there dangers I need to be aware of? Do horses ever tangle themselves up in the hobbles? Because if it's possible, Rusty will find a way. Dish it all out please... oh, and if you have recommendations on brands, etc., or hate hobbles for some reason, bring it on. 

One of the locations where I'd like to be able to do this:


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

My friends hobble their horses when they camp, but a ear is always alert for feet moving.
Many think if you hobble the horse can't run...._wrong_.
I've seen hobbled run...and fast! It was on a video, but still....hobbles worn and gone they was!
I know my friend taught her horse to hobble in her yard first before ever camping with him...
She was very close at first so panic not set in when the animal suddenly not be able to move their front feet easily...she taught to stand still and relax, then take baby-steps...
Remember I said run can be done...yea, her horse led 5 others through the campground at a dead run collecting other hobbled...
They now pickline again so they know where in the morning she will find him...brat he is.  
_The grass is always greenest 1/2 mile away..._
🐴...


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks @horselovinguy - I'd only use the hobbles for about an hour and I would be right beside him. He barely runs without hobbles, lol, I can't imagine he'd get far with them! But I appreciate your precautionary tale.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I use hobbles. I have nylon ones with leather lining.









As you can see, tying isn't always an option in my world, either.

I do get my horses' feet as close together as possible. I buckle the hobbles above the fetlock and they invariably drop below without causing an issue.I've never had to train one to hobbles, just gave them the chance to get used to them. 

An added benefit to having a horse used to hobbles is if they ever get their feet or legs tangled in wire or their reins, they dont panic. They stop. Every horse I work with gets experience wearing hobbles regardless of it's intended activities. Jumpers, polo, gymkhana, trail. If you don't have a place on the saddle to hang them, they can be buckled around the horse's neck.

Yes, they can still run. It's rare, and I've not seen one go far. It's awkward.


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## SteadyOn (Mar 5, 2017)

I misread this as "hobbies" and I was like, ooh ooh, I have lots of those!!


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I would want to know first if Rusty is hobble broke. We hobble break the horses we start, but if we purchase a horse who’s already had someone on their back, we don’t hobble break them. The thing is, it is a fairly dangerous thing to teach, and taking that risk on a horse who is started already means you are out a lot if you hurt him.

Yes, at times it goes smooth, and you practice lead by a leg and all of that and nothing is wrong. I’ve seen a horse break rib after rib the day he was hobble broke too. He would flip his tail end over his head and land hard on his back just popping ribs. He panicked. That is the reason we don’t take the risk with a horse we have a lot invested into.

I do think it’s a good thing and a worthwhile thing to teach to a young horse. Like @bsms said, it lessons chances of accidents when they get tangled in something, and it is just a handy tool to have when you are out working.

Zeus and Queen were a bit smart for the hobbles, and they would run from the get go. I tied a rope on them to pull them down to make them stop. Zeus was impossible to pull down. He is way to smart for that. He would feel pressure and then stop. Queen fell once, but then was as smart as Zeus. So, I tie a hind leg in with the leadrope on both of them. I saw that trick by an old friend. They can move around a little, but not take the leap to run.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

SteadyOn said:


> I misread this as "hobbies" and I was like, ooh ooh, I have lots of those!!


Yeah, if I take up another hobby I may have to quit my job 😬


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Knave said:


> I would want to know first if Rusty is hobble broke. We hobble break the horses we start, but if we purchase a horse who’s already had someone on their back, we don’t hobble break them. The thing is, it is a fairly dangerous thing to teach, and taking that risk on a horse who is started already means you are out a lot if you hurt him.
> 
> Yes, at times it goes smooth, and you practice lead by a leg and all of that and nothing is wrong. I’ve seen a horse break rib after rib the day he was hobble broke too. He would flip his tail end over his head and land hard on his back just popping ribs. He panicked. That is the reason we don’t take the risk with a horse we have a lot invested into.
> 
> ...


Not sure I can picture all those ropes, but Rusty is a quiet horse generally. He's a lot more whoa than go, and believes in working smarter, not harder  He would not have been trained to hobbles since he only had about 10 rides on him when I got him about 3.5 years ago and no training to speak of. His first owner is a friend so I have his whole history. That said, it would kill me for anything to ever happen to him so I would definitely try them out, first in our double stall, then in our paddock, then out in the open, but close to home in case he decides he's outta here. So we're still talking about just hobbling the front two right? Like not front to back? 

Total newb here - and before you suggest it, I don't know anyone here who uses hobbles, have never seen them, not even with my endurance rider friends, so getting someone to help me train Rusty is unlikely. Either I have to figure this out like I do most things, or - if you all think it's too risky - I won't hobble at all. Would rather not hobble than get into a wreck.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

To be completely honest, I probably wouldn’t do it. In a stall you may be asking for a bigger wreck. If you really think he would do fine, and likely he would, and you want to- I would start by leading with a leg. Teach him to give to pressure on his leg by wrapping your leadrope around it and working that way.

Then do the hobbles. If he runs (and the first time anyways) you can tie a leadrope around the middle of the hobbles and stand behind him holding it. If he tries to run you can pull his front legs down and trip him. If he won’t quit running with them you can tie a hind leg with that leadrope to the hobbles. I do that with Queen and Zeus, but both are very much thinker types and not out to get hurt. They were also young and less likely to panic when I taught them to be hobbled.

Most horses don’t need anything but the hobbles to stand there, but you get them like those two.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

It's always interesting to read the experience of others. 

While @Knave has had terrible experiences using hobbles. I have not. I introduce older horses, 8 and up, to them. Even OTTBs and blm horses. 

With few exceptions I do first put them on in a corral. 

There was one horse, there's always one, a slight built grey named "Ghost." He was tough to catch anyway and his owner wanted to be able to hobble him so he could graze on all day recreational rides. He accepted the hobbles easily enough, but as the woman approached he would leap away, just beyond reach. Owner wasn't a runner, having arthritis in a knee.

I did put a 45' catch rope on the hobbles between his front legs. A friend and I did flip him when he went to leap away from his owner. She did always put an 8' lead rope on between his front legs after that, and he never questioned whether she could toss him or not. 

All that said, if you have any doubts about the safety or effectiveness of having a horse wear hobbles, don't do it. 

You and your horses can still have fine lives without this tool.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

boots said:


> It's always interesting to read the experience of others.
> 
> While @Knave has had terrible experiences using hobbles. I have not. I introduce older horses, 8 and up, to them. Even OTTBs and blm horses.
> 
> ...


Hmm... yeah, that doesn't sound great. So what then? How would I keep him near me without having to hold onto the rope the whole time? Nothing to tie him to in a big field, and even if there is, it's no safer if he steps on the rope and pulls back in a panick.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

Acadianartist said:


> Hmm... yeah, that doesn't sound great. So what then? How would I keep him near me without having to hold onto the rope the whole time? Nothing to tie him to in a big field, and even if there is, it's no safer if he steps on the rope and pulls back in a panick.


Ghost was 1 out of a couple hundred. I've never needed to leave a rope on any. And even his owner never had to pick up the lead rope. It was enough for him to know it was there. 

I haven't had a problem with any other. If they are grazing or dozing I just announce myself, they acknowledge that I'm coming, and I walk up to them. I never want to startle any horse regardless of what we're doing. 

I do have a friend who merely rides with a bosalito (very thin rawhide bosal on a simple leather hanger) and "get down rope." Her's is a thin horsehair mecate. When we're stopped, fixing fence or even eating, she pulls the bridle and leaves the bosalito dragging. Her horses graze with their heads slightly turned. Occasionally they step on the mecate but they never even pull it tight they just move their feet. 

But, she teaches her horses to ground tie first. It's almost like "sit, stay" with her horses. I have never been able to teach a horse that.


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

I like to hobble all of mine and I teach it early even before they are saddle broke. Actually Peanut will get her first lesson soon as she ties, follows pressure and is good about me handling her feet. 
One thing that I do too with mine is allow them to drag a lead rope around the yard while they munch on grass. They do step on it and the first few days of doing it they fling their head up as a reaction but then they learn to feel they stepped on their rope and will keep their head down away from the pressure as they move their feet to get off of it. 
Peanut is on day two of this and learning it fast. She even managed to get it up over poll today but isn't panicked when she steps on it.









I know a lot of people use the leading by a leg method that @Knave describes but I javent felt the need to do it. 
I hobble their first few times with hobbles made from a burlap sack as they are soft and won't burn if they go to fight it. I try to do it on soft ground too of they go down. Honestly my colts that I've hobble trained over the last few years never threw a fit.










Here's Hooey as a two year the first time I hobbled him with the burlap hobbles and Rey Banz last summer as a two year old. 



















When they are solid hobblers in the burlap I graduate them to a set of single ring leather hobbles. These are my favorite because I can get their feet closer together if need be and they hang easily on my saddle.









Another option for a horse your worried about learning to run in hobbles is a three way hobble. (You can Google them) It doesn't completely solve the problem but it does slow them down. Stilts is very proficient in running in hobbles as he was a three legged for 6 months after a mountain lion had ran him through several barbed wire fences severing the muscle needed for him to pick up his leg to make a step. 


















If you decide to try it I say prepare your horse the best you can(try leading by a foot), use a pair of soft hobbles like my burlap ones,, find a soft spot and keep your sessions short and simple. The first time I do it I may only work on it for five minutes. I get the hobbles on, pet them and either they try to take step or I'll ask them to(seems a bit unfair but necessary to teach them) if they pick up a foot realize they are caught I praise them and call it quits. If they fiddle around trying to get out of them or leap up in the front, wait until they stay still, praise and take them off. Call it a day. 
Remember always stay to the side so you don't get struck with flailing feet and some horses may try to come to you for help so just stay at the shoulder and let them make a bit of a circle around you. Same when putting them on, stay off to the side. Getting bopped in the face with a horse knee as you're trying to put them on is not fun. 

Good luck!


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

Thanks @COWCHICK77 ! Funny, as you were writing this, I was out with Rusty practicing what to do when you step on a rope. He did very well. I like your idea of the burlap hobbles! I may just try that. If I do it in the sand paddock, he will likely just stand there. I could graduate to using them in a familiar, grassy area outside the paddock and if he does well, maybe use them on trails. 

I did just let him graze at the end of a very long and heavy rope today, after we practiced in the paddock, and he seems to have understood that if he steps on it, he just has to back up. Sometimes he will kind of get it wrapped around his hoof, and paw a bit until it's loose, but that was the extent of his reaction. He didn't even jerk his head up like he was doing when I tried with a lunge line. I think using a thick, heavy rope means he can feel it under his hoof and make the connection, plus the weight of it tends to remind him it's there. 

Thanks for all the photos and suggestions! I may try these after all since it well so well today with the rope. At one point, he kind of spooked at something in the woods, but just ran back a few steps and stopped. I was holding the very end of the 25' rope just to be safe, but he didn't even get that far.


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## The Equestrian vagabond (Mar 14, 2014)

I ditto what the others have said... horses can gallop just fine with hobbles on. I watched all 3 of my hobbled pack string gallop off down the trail after innocently grazing for a while.
It is a good thing to teach horses though, if only so they might not panic getting their legs hung up in rope or wire.


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## Acadianartist (Apr 21, 2015)

So we did a bit more work with the thick, long rope yesterday, and eventually, he stepped on it, jerked up and broke the darn clip. Picked up a replacement and we'll do a bit more work on it. He wasn't panicked or anything, but this was an old rope and the clip must have been weakened with age. I'd rather it breaks than see him get hurt, and he wasn't at all panicked, in fact, he stood there and looked down at the rope, then sniffed it. Like "Hey, why isn't this thing attached to me anymore?" so hopefully I didn't set us back much. I'll do a bit more before we head out on the property again. Not sure about the hobbles now, since it seems like they work great for some people, but other horses just learn to move with them on.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

If you really aren’t worried about him panicking, and get him hobble broke, it’s nothing at all to tie a hind leg in. I do it all the time with Queen and Zeus, and it’s just no big deal.


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## stevenson (Sep 12, 2011)

You can cause tendon damage if you do not know how to use them properly. I had a 'trainer' hobble my big draft mix. He has scars on his legs to this day. Horse was there a month only. I got him out as soon as I could . When I rode in the mtns and we stopped I just had a halter and long thick cotton lead rope that I sat on the end. Horse stayed close and was happy to rest and graze.


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## its lbs not miles (Sep 1, 2011)

Acadianartist said:


> As usual, this thread could have gone in a number of places, but I thought the trail riders here might have ideas. A while ago, I asked about best ways to tie your horse on a trail and hobbles were brought up. I thought I'd ask a little more about them before purchasing a set (trails are still too soft to use here, but we're getting close). I'd like to be able to stop for maybe up to an hour with my horse Rusty and let him graze. Locations are varied, back-country areas without any convenient places to tie. Even when there are trees nearby, it's not always convenient, and he will get himself tangled in short order. I have tried leaving him loose with a long line so I still have some control, and he steps on it and surprises himself every time. So I am going back to the hobbles idea.
> 
> Hobbles are completely new to me so please specify type, material, etc. How far apart should his front feet be set? I know you have to train them - I can do this in my small paddock. He is really not a panicky horse, and will likely give in the moment he realizes he can't really go far. He is a bit clumsy though. But he LOVES to eat, in fact, I sometimes wonder if I couldn't just let him graze loose, but I worry something would spook him and he'd take off running. What are the pros and cons of using hobbles? Are there dangers I need to be aware of? Do horses ever tangle themselves up in the hobbles? Because if it's possible, Rusty will find a way. Dish it all out please... oh, and if you have recommendations on brands, etc., or hate hobbles for some reason, bring it on.
> 
> ...


Training a horse to accept a hobble is usually pretty simple. I've never had one take more than the one day to learn to be hobbled and accept it. A soft rope with about 15 inches between the feet (which is more than they get with their hobble, but it works for training). I watch them closely for the first hour. I use an easy, quick release knot on both feet in case of a panic situation. Once they accept the restricted leg movement and realized that they can still move around they become accepting of it. I do the training in pasture where they can graze (gives them something to take their focus off the hobble).

They can learn to move pretty well while being hobbled. I've found that they seem to move with more speed when hobbled on the front feet and less when hobbled on the rear feet. I hobble and have it attached to a picket pin when I need them to remain in a certain area for longer time period (i.e. over night when I go camping of if I want to set them out to graze in a large area where I won't be watching them to limit how far they can wonder off.


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

I hobble every day. Sometimes just the front , sometimes just the back and sometimes all 4
I also tether with a 30 foot rope


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

I hobble every day. Sometimes just the front , sometimes just the back and sometimes all 4
I also tether with a 30 foot rope


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