Horses That Pull When Tied

instincts have become he can often deal with it in a deliberate manner. If the horse feels trapped or unable to move enough to give his mind time to override his instincts the panic that leads to an extreme flight reaction can be triggered and in this situation that reaction could be pulling back. We must always be aware of the amount of stress that our horse may feel in any given situation. It is not rocket science he will tell us if we listen to him. Remember green amber or red alert. Understanding the amount and kind of stress you are putting your horse under should give you a reasonable idea about whether or not the horse will be successful in dealing with it. It is all very predictable if you pay attention to the signs.
If you teach your horse to deal with increasing amounts of stress during the training process and give him viable options to deal with the stress imposed the horses threshold will increase. For example when I start a horse I usually do my initial teaching with the horse moving unrestrained in a training pen. By allowing freedom of movement I am always giving the horse the option of movement as a coping mechanism for the amount of stress I impose. When I add equipment such as a halter or bridle I effectively limit the horses ability to move therefore increasing his stress level. If I limit the amount of movement to the point where the horse feels trapped I have created a situation that has become a red alert.
When I tie up a horse I have effectively taken away his major coping mechanism which is movement. If I allow movement when I are causing stress I am always allowing the horse an option. The more stress I present or represent the more movement I must accept from the horse in order for him to deal with the situation. The only time I will intentionally stop his movement is after the horse has panicked I will try to stop him so that he can regain his composure and find a more acceptable response. I will also take note of what caused the panic and try to keep the stress factors below the level that caused the extreme reaction.
In any situation if the horse is exhibiting signs that he is mildly stressed green alert I will