cross ties?

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Jens

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Hi everyone! This is a very basic question, but what do you use for cross ties and where do you get them? Also, for mini's, how many feet off the ground do you put them? At the barns I use to board at with big horses, they already had the cross ties there. Now that I have my own barn in the back yars, I can't seem to find any. I've been to Tractor Supply, and a few local tack shops, even some feed stores and to my surprise, no one seems to have them. Thanks for your help!
 
I just use plain cotton rope, always did even for the big horses. My big horse ones had panic snaps in th but our mini ones just have ordinary light snaps. For the minis I fasten them about ear height when the horse has his head up in a normal position (not head lowered) - ear height or a bit higher.
 
I usually just use lead ropes, but I also seem to be using some leg straps from blankets. I want the cross ties to be level with the horse's head. I can't put them up quite as high as I might like, but they still work. ETA: My barn is NOT a normal barn at all, so the width of the area with the cross ties is barely wider than me and the mini!

I also have some single horse cross ties that I have placed so that I can quickly tie a horse and those do have quick release snaps. Plus the minis don't chew on those like they do a lead rope! They play with them but don't seem to destroy them.

On the trailer, I use trailer ties that I get from Star Lake, which come in different sizes and either have snaps on each end (regular ones, not panic snaps) or else a ring that you can loop the rest of the rope through. On the trailer I make sure the horse can lower his head comfortably but not have the rope so long that he/she can rear.
 
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I had to look at several different tractor supplies before I found my pair of cross ties. You may be better of just buying them online. The barn where I work has velcro quick-release cross ties that work very well--they are just strong enough to keep a fidgety horse in place but will break easily for a seriously panicky one, even the little Shetland at the barn.

Mine are not quick release, but I make sure to always tie them to the wall with baling twine in case of emergency. I have had my horses break the baling twine several times but I do not like it as much as the velcro cross ties because when the twine breaks the horses still have the entire cross tie attached to them that they inevitably swing around in a panic. Also there is a chance of them running away and stepping on the cross ties, though I've never had that happen. The velcro ties release much closer to the horse's head, so are safer, IMO.

As far as what height, I have always been told that they should be at or above ear level, and long enough to allow the horse to drop its head in a relaxed manner, but not too low as to have a chance for a hoof to come over top of the ties if the horse were to paw with its head down.
 
We also used lead ropes, with a piece of twine tying them the the rings on the wall so the twine would break if they spooked. We tried to use climbing rope with snaps added on since they are less bulky but the horses chewed on them while in the crossties so they eventually chewed through them over a year or so.
 
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Many of you seem to use lead ropes...I've seen the twine method before and think that's a smart idea. Especially since my 2 are young rescue horses and have never been tied before, only in the trailer a couple of times The only problem is that since my isle is only 5 feet wide, I was going to put the cross ties in the stalls, so I want to be able to easily remove them while they are not in use, so maybe the twine won't work for this application unless I can figure out a different way of doing it. Maybe I'll have to order some of those velcro ties online. I think that will be my project for tomorrow!
 
Light chains with double ended snaps on the wall and on the horse. You can adjust to fit a horse or a mini. Ours are at horse height. The double ended snaps will give if a horse ends up getting into trouble.
 
I bought big horse hitches at the feed supply they screw into wood with a screw driver and have a large ring. I put them on telehone poles that are four feet high. I use lead ropes. I have three of them one in the mane barn one outside and one in the indoor. The poles are cut into six feet high sections, two feet are buried in the ground, they won't move, then the tie rings are put about head high, the lead lines are tied with a quick release knot.
 

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