To tie or not to tie

[Poodlepill]

That is my question for hauling. Do you tie your mini's in the trailer or leave them free. I have a stock trailer and I have been hauling my mini (when bought them) in the front part of the trailer using the divider. I bought 2 mini's from 2 different people and both of them asked me if I wanted them tied or left in the trailer. But if I take both of them together should I still trailer them in the front part or separate or ??

So I am wondering what most folks do for transporting them.

Thanks

 

[Reble]

That is my question for hauling. Do you tie your mini's in the trailer or leave them free. I have a stock trailer and I have been hauling my mini (when bought them) in the front part of the trailer using the divider. I bought 2 mini's from 2 different people and both of them asked me if I wanted them tied or left in the trailer. But if I take both of them together should I still trailer them in the front part or separate or ??

So I am wondering what most folks do for transporting them.

Thanks

First being two different people from different farms, the horses might not get along.

I prefer to tie being it helps them balance. and maybe also use the dividers.

Would hate to see one of them get hurt.

 

[valshingle]

My trailer has dividers with stud dividers (go all the way down), which I use. I do not tie when hauling. I like the horses to be able to put their heads down (aids in respiratory health) and move around if they want.

 

[Mominis]

I always hauled my big horses tied. However, I heard horror stories about minis hanging themselves on the tie ropes since there are not usually tie rings low enough for a mini to be safely tied. So, I hauled Shake all season loose and he did just fine.

 

[disneyhorse]

If the trailer has dividers that the horse can brace itself on, I tie. If the trailer is big and open, I don't tie. In the event of a sudden stop, if a horse falls and it is tied it could be a big problem.

In my opinion it's best to have dividers and tie. In the event of an emergency/accident, having horses loose with a door flying open could be terrible.

Always tie with panic snaps or a quick-release knot.

When stopping for a while to fuel, sometimes I untie so the horses can lower their heads and such if possible. It's important to not tie heads too high so they can clear their airways.

I have a semi-stock trailer, but it has a divider. I wouldn't feel comfortable hauling horses in an open stock trailer because there is too much room for injury. Dividers allow them to brace in event of sudden stops or turns, and also to help support their legs and muscles during a longer trip. To me horses are not "livestock" or "stock" per se, like cattle or pigs, so if you can install some dividers that would be best. There are some pretty cool ones people have devised to convert stock trailers to mini trailers.

Andrea

 

[Allure Ranch]

Based on the circumstances I'd separate them. We don't tie..... and we provide hay bags/nets to keep them occupied.

 

[targetsmom]

And I never use hay bags in a moving trailer after one of ours got her foot caught in one. Luckily she didn't panic and was waiting for us to fix her. We have no idea in a 2 hour ride how long she was caught like that.

We usually use dividers and tie - or remove the dividers and leave one (or mare & foal) free.

 

[Charlotte]

If the trailer has dividers that the horse can brace itself on, I tie. If the trailer is big and open, I don't tie. In the event of a sudden stop, if a horse falls and it is tied it could be a big problem.
In my opinion it's best to have dividers and tie. In the event of an emergency/accident, having horses loose with a door flying open could be terrible.

ditto disneyhorse.

If at all possible I haul horses in a stall sized for that horse...big or little. that gives them something to brace against. A loose mini in a big space is going to be thrown around in a sudden emergency maneuver.

If I should have to haul a mini in a big space I don't tie...they could have a broken neck.

Charlotte

 

[Miniv]

ditto disneyhorse.

If at all possible I haul horses in a stall sized for that horse...big or little. that gives them something to brace against. A loose mini in a big space is going to be thrown around in a sudden emergency maneuver.

If I should have to haul a mini in a big space I don't tie...they could have a broken neck.

Charlotte

I also Ditto all of the above.......

So much depends on the sex of the horse(s) and ages involved, plus the type of dividers. If at all possible, we prefer not to tie on long hauls.....with minis or ponies. But there are a lot of "it depends" situations.

 

[Matt73]

If the trailer has dividers that the horse can brace itself on, I tie. If the trailer is big and open, I don't tie. In the event of a sudden stop, if a horse falls and it is tied it could be a big problem.

In my opinion it's best to have dividers and tie. In the event of an emergency/accident, having horses loose with a door flying open could be terrible.

Always tie with panic snaps or a quick-release knot.

When stopping for a while to fuel, sometimes I untie so the horses can lower their heads and such if possible. It's important to not tie heads too high so they can clear their airways.

I have a semi-stock trailer, but it has a divider. I wouldn't feel comfortable hauling horses in an open stock trailer because there is too much room for injury. Dividers allow them to brace in event of sudden stops or turns, and also to help support their legs and muscles during a longer trip. To me horses are not "livestock" or "stock" per se, like cattle or pigs, so if you can install some dividers that would be best. There are some pretty cool ones people have devised to convert stock trailers to mini trailers.

Andrea

I do the same. I always tied big horses. They always had dividers and were well secured on all sides. When hauling minis, I've always used a stock trailer and would never think of tying any horse (big or small) when they have that much room.

 

[Poodlepill]

Thank you for your replies, I meant that when I got my two horses from 2 separate places were at different times so only had one horse at a time in my trailer. Now I'm thinking I wish I had my 2 horse trailer back, less room for 2 mini's to get thrown around.

I guess I will check into one more divider so I can put one mini in the front compartment and the other in another divider.

General rule seems to be no tie

 

[midnight star stables]

...

We don't tie..... and we provide hay bags/nets to keep them occupied.

We do the same with one or two horses. Three and up we'll tie. We use busy-snacker haybags that allow for no chance of getting a hoof caught.

This works for us but there are many options.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I never tie my two. But if I transport mine with someone else's, both are tied unless they are in seperate compartments of the stock trailer.

I did recently transport 8 miniatures, 4 in the front and 4 in the back compartment. Two were weanling fillies. We did not tie any of them, as we felt it would be unsafe for the weanlings. They all traveled fine, but they were used to each other.

I transported my gelding with a friend's stallion ONE TIME. Both rode in the front, tied, as we had carts in the back section. It was a nightmare.

So, I think it depends on the horses.

 

[Katiean]

Weather I am hauling one or all four horses. I always tie. I worry about the horse getting spooked and bolting out of the trailer if they are not tied. Besides, I have a regular big horse trailer. I tie one in front, facing front on each side. Then I tie one on each side facing back wards. They travel well that way. My trailer does not have dividers that go to the floor. It is a good thing that my stallion travels well with the mares. It is when he gets around other mares he has no manors and screams his head off.

 

[wingnut]

I trailered my two yearling girls for the first time this year for 4 shows. All but our 2 yr old were delivered to us.

Based on the information I rec'd here, I put both of them in the front section of our 19ft stock trailer. They were both untied. They are very comfortable with each other so I wasn't worried that they would injury each other by fighting or anything. They weren't thrilled about being transported but as soon as we got them off the trailer and tied close to a hay bag, they couldn't care less.

Our stock trailer has a door on the right side in the front that my daughter would climb into so she could clip their lead ropes to their barn halters before I opened the divider door. We never had any problems with potential escapees as a result.

The one time I took the three younger horses to a show, we put the yearlings up front as usual and the 2 yr old rode alone in the back section, also untied.

 

[Taylor Richelle]

I also have a stock trailer with a divider. I usually separate mine. Just so it gives them more room. I also don't tie...as I'm always worried they would get caught up in the lead or something like that. I have tied before and have had major problems...

So I just let them go loose. But you can try tying if you would like. I guess It all depends on the horse.

 

[billiethekid40]

It depends on the trailer, but since both of my horses prefer to lie down while travelling I do leave them untied whenever possible. As for loose horses in the event of an accident- I won't tie a horse so solid that the tie isn't going to break in an accident anyway so they'd still be loose if the accident was bad enough to have a door fly open. More often than not the trailers I have used in the past have access to the horses without opening a door they can escape from, so they are tied while loading and unloading but unsnapped before we move out. On short trips with trailers that aren't really set up for hauling minis I have tied to keep horses from laying down and rolling under dividers.

 

[Sandee]

My trailer is set up for minis. Hence, the dividers provide JUST enough room for a mini to stand and go all the way to the floor so no feet can slip under. I leave them untied so they put their heads down and not get stiff from one position. However, when I went to pick up my new double registered mini/shetland, I was told he was used to being tied. I didn't want to stuff him into the mini porportioned stall and make him even more claustraphobic so I removed one divider (making two stalls into one) and tied him.

I think, now that he's been here a bit and gotten used to my other horses, that I would probably see if he would fit in the mini stall and not tie him.

Point is you have to know or judge how your horse(s) will react to trailering and then "go with your gut". Everyone does what they think is best and no one way is a guarentee that a horse will not get hurt.

 

[O So]

I don't tie O So. I do keep his halter on but take the lead line off once he is in! I heard that tieing is not a good idea so I never did it!

I don't have a traditional trailer though! ( as most of you know) LOL His actual stall area is 3' x almost 4'! He is able to put his nose up to the windows and also look out the windshield if he wants! It's quiet the site to see! LOL All I have to say is you really have to love your horse if you travel with is poop odor!! LOL It's not bad as long as we a moving, but long red lights can be a bit overwhelming! LOL Nah, it's not that bad!!

I don't like pulling a trailer so this set up works great! Of course we don't go far with it though. The furthest I have gone is about 20 miles to the vet and back. Most the time it is only a 3 mile treck to the stables and back! I think if I were to go for further distances, I would have hubby make a trailer for him!

 

[minih]

We used to never tie, left them loose and we had a lot more problems hauling than we do now. We always tie ours with dividers so they can have something to balance against. We do travel a lot during show season. When we left then loose, we had more than one horse that would jump over the partitions, rear up and get their leg hung, their feet would go too far under the divider and hurt the coronet. We now have the bar dividers that are higher up on their sides and tie them in. No hurt feet, no jumping and everyone is happy. I was always concerned after we had one rear up that they would flip over backwards in the trailer and with the partition not be able to get up.