# Using picket lines to let horses graze?



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Hi I was wondering if it is safe to tie a horse so it can graze. has anyone tried it? thanks.


----------



## Ashleysmardigrasgirl (Jun 28, 2012)

Yes, I've done something similar to it but we didn't stake anything into the ground we used trees. With anything there are always risks of your horse getting injured but, IMO it is a safe practice. Though you should always work with your horse in getting it accustomed to this type of "tying" not, just assume they'll be okay with being left alone on it.


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

DH and I have retired from CW Reenacting, but the US Cavalry ground tied their horses. They used a 14" (maybe 16") metal "picket pin", pounded into the ground with a swiveled ring on the top, that was attached to a long lead rope, and this was rolled and attached to the saddle when on campaign.
Some people hate to train a horse to use it bc a horse not used to getting a leg caught will get a rope burn. If you train your horse by lifting legs and desensitizing him to fright of getting caught with a rope, you can easily ground tie and graze him. When we did the National Gettysburg (1993), we had about a 12' x 20' area to ground tie our 3 veterans (horses.) They we rather immune to ground tying, so we made it work with 8 ft. ropes. I suggest longer ones.


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks! We have a fair sized paddock for him to spend the night in but not big enough to graze in. we have more grassy land but it isnt fenced in and i really dont know when we will be able to fence it in. so I was thinking of tying him out (with a 30 ft lunge line) to graze in the daytime (checking on him a thousand times a day:wink and letting him spend the night in his paddock. Do you think this would work?
PS
When I was six, our neighbors had a horse tied out and it seemed to work fine although the horse was out there day and night.


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

They need to be trained to the picket pin. When "Corporal," 1982-2009, RIP) was first put on one he thought it was a snake. I would spend several days working with a lunge line and capturing feet so your horse will get rid of his fears.


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Corporal said:


> They need to be trained to the picket pin. When "Corporal," 1982-2009, RIP) was first put on one he thought it was a snake. I would spend several days working with a lunge line and capturing feet so your horse will get rid of his fears.


 Ok thanks, I'll do that. my horse is pretty quiet so i dont think that would be a huge problem. Last year I had to hand graze him because the paddock didnt have enough grass and i want him to get the nutrients from fresh grass. Sometimes id just let the leadrope lie at his feet while I sat on the grass reading a book. He never really payed any attention to it but he might react differently to a longer line. Should I put rope around his feet to get him used to it?


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

Yep. If you have cable and/or satellite, both RFD.tv and HRTV have many reputable trainers who do many, many programs about ground manners and ground training, which include shows that teach hobbling, etc. THIS is the basic training you want to do. Try You Tube, also. =D


----------



## morganandme (Feb 11, 2013)

NOOOOO!!horse will get caught up in rope have seen it done in minuets!!!


----------



## Faceman (Nov 29, 2007)

It's really a lot easier to hobble them...


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Faceman said:


> It's really a lot easier to hobble them...


 And tie the rope to the hobble?


----------



## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

horsecrazygirl13 said:


> And tie the rope to the hobble?


No-- just hobble the front legs, and let them go with out a lead rope, but with halter on.. not a rope halteer-- the horse must be hobble trained first.


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

toto said:


> No-- just hobble the front legs, and let them go with out a lead rope, but with halter on.. not a rope halteer-- the horse must be hobble trained first.


 What about doing both?


----------



## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

Picketing a hobbled horse sounds dangerous-- i do not recomend this at all, if the horse gets too far off when hobbled just picket-- a picketed horse cant eat grass-- if you have the lead line that loose, its too loose for picketing.


----------



## Tarpan (May 6, 2012)

I tie my horse out to graze sometimes, but he was housed 24/7 staked out on a rope before I got him and has the rope burn scars to prove it. I've seen him get a hoof caught, back up, lift the hoof and shake the rope loose all without missing a beat... but I still don't leave him out there unattended.


----------



## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

A horse will need extensive work before even considering doing this. 
You do NOT picket a horse by it's halter. That is asking for a hoof through a halter. You picket by a singular hobble on a front leg. 
It is a wise idea to hobble train a horse prior to picket training, as it will be a good foundation. 

One reason to picket a horse over simply allowing a horse loose while hobbled is that some horses will learn to move very quickly in hobbles. 

It is a matter of preference for the most part, but done correctly with a horse that has a good mind for it, there is nothing wrong with supervised picketing.


----------



## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

I would tie my horse to this picket swivel-- and in a manner that he couldnt step on his rope.


----------



## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Horses get legs caught in rope, and can end up having to be put down if not discovered soon enough.

Why don't you just feed hay? Less worry, and safer.


----------



## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

Would it be possible for you to put up some electric fence? If you get the "portable" kind, you could move it around to different spots with relative ease and thus avoid overgrazing one spot. I don't know the exact costs but I don't think it is outrageously expensive - in all likelihood cheaper than a trip to the vet if the picket route doesn't work out.


----------



## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

Palomine said:


> Horses get legs caught in rope, and can end up having to be put down if not discovered soon enough.
> 
> Why don't you just feed hay? Less worry, and safer.


You aren't supposed to leave them unattended at all. If people are, they are asking for trouble. 

Secondly, horses that are properly trained and conditioned learn not to panic and how to free their legs if they are tangled or have rope wrapped around themselves. 
You will see veteran picket horses lift each leg and kind of shake it to loosen and drop ropes off of themselves. 

To the people that are saying that it is dangerous, so is every other thing you do with a horse if you 1: Don't prepare your horse for the intended task first 2: and then leave it alone to figure it out for itself. 

I personally don't see this as any more dangerous than tying a horse into a couple of shafts and dragging you around in a box behind it (Driving). Or lunging, or tying your horse to anything, really. 

^Not that I am picking on driving (I love it.), but it is an easy reference.


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Would running the rope through a garden hose work?


----------



## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

Garden hose would burn them worse than a cotton rope.. I would rather a soft cotton rope give me a rope burn than a rubber hose that pulls my skin and hair off with it at once..

I agree with the posted above that said a portable fencing system.. for a horse to learn where a rope is, its gotta be burned with it-- why do that to them? why not just tye the horse to a highline picket, with a hay net? 

You ever been around a horse thats been rope burned?.. they become scared of ropes, or anything that resembles a rope-- and there is a lot of re-training involved.. i suggest finding a trainer whos experienced to help you with this.


----------



## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I watched a horse that was picketed by his halter completely hogtie himself with his nose to his legs and knocked himself completely off his feet in seconds, resulting in a nasty rope burn and a strained hip that took months to heal, all because he wasn't watching the rope while he was stuffing his face. And luckily his owner was there - she ended up having to cut the rope loose, he had it pulled so tightly. Not worth the risk, IMO. If you have to be there to watch them while picketed anyway, you might as well just hand graze them and not tie them out.


----------



## Mazza007 (Mar 13, 2012)

I would look into electric fencing....We bought twenty acres with no fences last year and Ive got it all electric fenced now just running off a solar fence unit. The unit cost about two hundred dollars (Australian) and the tape and pickets probably cost about the same. Cheaper than a vet bill!
Plus the horse can go for a run/roll around etc. and you dont have to be supervising all the time.


----------



## FlyGap (Sep 25, 2011)

I third electric. Do a search on portable electric corals used for camping. No stress, no training, no injuries.

I do see several horses around here tied up to graze around trees often, but they're emaciated and couldn't put up a fight if they wanted too.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## grayshell38 (Mar 9, 2009)

^^Yup, that's why you don't picket from a halter.


----------



## horsecrazygirl13 (Jul 16, 2012)

Ok thanks guys, I'll hand graze him when possible and maybe put up an electric fence sometime.


----------



## cpr saves (Dec 5, 2012)

I agree with saving up for an electric fence and am glad you decided to hold off until you can do something like that. 

I made the mistake of tying my horse out w/ a nylon lunge line, intending to leave him for "just a minute" while I ran to the barn to get something. Sure enough, he got a nasty nylon burn across the back of his foot. 

It never completely healed despite putting all kinds of treatments on it and I could tell it was very sore most of the time. Scar tissue does not have elasticity so the area would become dry and cracked, which attracted flies, which then left it raw and scabby. I was so angry with myself to have caused the injury! It's not worth it.


----------

