# Cross ties?



## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

I am thinking about moving some things around and putting cross ties up in my barn. The barn floors are concrete and I worry about the horses pulling back and hurting themselves. If I was to put cross ties up should I use rubber mats for the horses to stand on, or just leave the floors bare?


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

If your horses are not trained to stand quietly then work on that first. They should not be pulling or setting back when tied. No matter how you are tying ( to a pole, in crossties....). The concrete should not be slick. If it is then yes, mats. If textured so there is traction then you are fine.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

If you have stalls you can put crossties in your stalls too.
Screw eye in the wall and attach your length of rope,chain, nylon strap...whatever it is you use for ties..
Then your horse can not sit back as they are already contained in a stall and footing is whatever you use for bedding.
Only part some not like is picking out hooves in a stall but to me what difference does it make when they poop and pee in the stall to add the small amount scooped out of a hoof...

Concrete in a barn should not be smooth finished for safety reasons, but textured.
If you can easily slide your booted foot on the floor surface, then mat.
A good way of figuring if it is textured enough is try sweeping it...if you need to work at sweeping away debris, then it is not slick and slippery.  
🐴...


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

Putting the crossties in the stall is a good idea!!! I definitely will try that out


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

I personally do not like to put horses on concrete. There is nothing they can do on concrete safely except stand -- for a little while -- and walk carefully. One spook and down they could come. Ugh. 

When I moved here the barn aisle and tack room and one stall out of the three was poured concrete, some broomed (textured) some not. I matted everything corner to corner and have never regretted it.


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

My floors are textured but I wish they were class I sand instead, I got what I got haha


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## walkinthewalk (Jul 23, 2008)

I’m with @Avna Respectfully, I don’t care how textured cement is, put grid mats down. It on,y takes one split second for a horse to twist out from u der itself and do permanent damage to the hip and other body parts.

A $100 worth of 1/2 thick grid mats, that you can lift yourself with one hand, from TSC are a lot cheaper than a vet bill and the heartache of possibly ending up with a permanently injured horse.

I don’t even have cross ties because I don’t like them. I taught all my horses to stand in cross ties when they were young because I had to board for a few years. Even then, I would not tie them when nobody was around - they just knew to stand in position because that’s what I asked.


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

I agree, just wanted to hear other people's opinions!


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## ClearDonkey (Nov 27, 2016)

I am also not a huge fan of concrete, especially if it has any chance of getting wet. I agree that rubber mats would be a worthwhile investment.

The barn I board at has concrete aisles and a wash rack. The aisles are texted, the kind of concrete that has pebbles throughout, but the wash rack is like a driveway. After spraying down my horse and just turning him around, he's slipped on the wash rack and aisle. Luckily both of my horses tie very well, but I've had and seen horses in the past spook and fight against the cross ties, all while scrambling with their legs to stay standing. IMO, it's one of the worst sounds in the world.

When I eventually (hopefully soon!) have a barn of my own, I plan on having crossties still, but with tie blocker rings on the walls. So instead of crossties that you buy, I'd use lead ropes. It'd actually be pretty handy, because the length would be easily adjustable and if a horse were to panic, they would slowly be loosened and released.









I don't think I've seen anyone mentioned it yet in this thread, but absolutely do not use elastic cross ties. I never can remember which pro eventer I've seen with-in the past two years post, but he used the elastic cross ties and had a horse panic. Well, one came off the wall, buckle and all, and took out his horse's eye. They are just NOT safe no matter where they are used (same with elastic trailer ties, you or your horse could get seriously injured!).


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

I agree elastic cross ties are no good, I will probably end up putting spare rubber mats down and using lead ropes!


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

Better off having a place to just tie. Hate cross ties seen horses get spooked and get hung by ties,when they fell. 

Won't use cross ties won't have them in my barn. Concrete floors get matted concrete is dangerous.


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

I would never leave a horse unattened on cross ties, if I do get them I will 100% have ones that snap when too much pressure is applied! ( mats will definitely be used )


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## L. Mitton (Apr 22, 2021)

ClearDonkey said:


> I am also not a huge fan of concrete, especially if it has any chance of getting wet. I agree that rubber mats would be a worthwhile investment.
> 
> The barn I board at has concrete aisles and a wash rack. The aisles are texted, the kind of concrete that has pebbles throughout, but the wash rack is like a driveway. After spraying down my horse and just turning him around, he's slipped on the wash rack and aisle. Luckily both of my horses tie very well, but I've had and seen horses in the past spook and fight against the cross ties, all while scrambling with their legs to stay standing. IMO, it's one of the worst sounds in the world.
> 
> ...


I absolutely agree, never use elastic cross ties. They are super dangerous. Try the Tie-Safe cross ties, They save halters if a horse pulls back. They will separate at tensions that you can adjust and can be put back together. If separated there is a tether left on the halter and you can easily take hold to reattach. They can be used on different horses based on size and nervousness. They can be used over and over again.


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

L. Mitton said:


> I absolutely agree, never use elastic cross ties. They are super dangerous. Try the Tie-Safe cross ties, They save halters if a horse pulls back. They will separate at tensions that you can adjust and can be put back together. If separated there is a tether left on the halter and you can easily take hold to reattach. They can be used on different horses based on size and nervousness. They can be used over and over again.


Hmm, I will definitely check these out!


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## L. Mitton (Apr 22, 2021)

Annie Roution said:


> Hmm, I will definitely check these out!











This Cross Tie Can Save Your Horse's Life


By Ellie Riley One of the scariest things a horse owner can experience is a panicked horse while it is tied in cross ties. Visions of a horse flipping over backwards, falling down, or pulling away and bolting, is enough to make any responsible horseman take the necessary steps to provide a safe...




horsetackco.com


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

I'm surprised how many people don't use concrete floors. I get why, but I don't think I've ever been to a barn that didn't have concrete in the aisles. No-- actually I've seen one. A friend's barn had those foamy outdoor tiles. Don't know how to better describe them. But that was for a very small barn, only 4 stalls. It's not realistic for larger barns (think 12'x200' isles, sometimes multiple), plus the labour involved cleaning under and between them that inevitably happens.

To be on topic... If you end up going with cross ties, you have to teach your horses how to stand in them. Don't just stick them in there and let them figure it out. They will try to turn their head or move, hit the end of the rope, and depending on the horse you may end up with a panic situation. I start by ground tying the in the tie area, then attach one side, but keep them standing in the middle where they will be. They will get to feel the restriction on one side and learn to deal with that. Then when they are ready for the second side, I will take a lead rope or lunge line and run the end through the ring and hold it. That way I can control the tension, mimic the cross tie, but if they panic I can give them more line and they won't be stuck pulling.

I'm not a fan of cross ties in the aisle. I prefer grooming stalls with cross ties. It's a pain to bring horses in and out when you need navigate around a bunch of horses cross tied.


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## premonitiontafame (Apr 19, 2021)

ApuetsoT said:


> I'm not a fan of cross ties in the aisle. I prefer grooming stalls with cross ties. It's a pain to bring horses in and out when you need navigate around a bunch of horses cross tied.



I plan on putting them in an area that is similar to a grooming stall!


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