|
Dear Jim,
Pulling back can be a real problem and it is quite possible
that horses on a high line would be less prone to pulling,
since they would not have the sensation of being affixed to
a solid object. I have studied a lot of veterinary text books
on horse behavior but have seen little or no information on
pulling, so I'll give you my own personal opinion.
There are two types of pullers, obstinate pullers and panic
pullers. The former are horses that have learned that they
can break a rope or halter and get loose. They are pretty
easy to spot because they will test the rope and pull back
in short fits, being fairly calm and relaxed between pulling
attempts. Generally once they determine that they cannot break
the rope or halter, they quit pulling.
A panic puller is a whole different story. These horses may
stand tied for weeks on end and then suddenly something triggers
their flight response (usually a human crowding their face)
and once they discover their flight response is not available
to them (because they are tied) a sheer panic sets in. The
panic is very obvious in these horses as their eyes get big
and the fight to get away will stop at nothing. Often these
horses shut down and sit back on the rope and lock up. Sometimes
the only thing you can do to relieve them is to get the rope
untied or cut the rope.
Panic pulling is very common in Thoroughbreds and I believe
this is because we have bred these horses for hundreds of
generations to do one thing: run. Therefore the flight response
in TBs is very strong. I have had many TBs that could not
be tied but otherwise were very compliant and obedient horses
and would stand willingly all day long at the hitching rail
with the rope just looped around it. If the flight response
is triggered and they can move away, they do not panic.
When I was younger (and dumber) I was under the illusion that
if panic pullers were trained right, they wouldn't pull. I
was working on a TB breeding farm and one year we had a very
nice yearling filly (the cream of that year's crop, a grand-daughter
of Bold Ruler) that was a puller.
By George, I was going to
break her of that so I found a big fat rope, a strong halter
and a strong post and tied her up. She fought and fought and
then reared up, turned up side down and hung from the rope
with her neck twisted and suspended in the air. I cut the
rope and she lay there, stiff and unmoving, with her eyes
as wide as platters, and I could not get her up. I was sure
she had broken her neck. As I looked out my office window
at her, waiting for the vet to answer the phone and thinking
how I was going to explain this one to the owner, she leapt
to her feet, shook off, stuck her tail in the air, and took
off at a full run! I considered this an inexpensive lesson
and since that time I have accepted the fact that some horses
will just never tie.
But I do think the obstinate pullers can be rehabilitated
with the above method. Also, I have seen overhead devices
for tying pullers, which make them less likely to pull because
they never hit a fixed object. There is a new device on the
market, called the Blocker Tie Ring that is specifically for
pullers and if they pull, they get a slow release on the rope,
which keeps the panic from setting in. I just bought one of
these devices but I have not had the opportunity to try it
yet.
One caveat about tying horses that fight the rope: if they
bruise their poll (a highly sensitive area) this may exacerbate
the pulling problem. The "Be Nice" halters are made
of narrow nylon rope with metal knobs at the poll, specifically
made to put pressure on the poll to encourage the horse not
to pull. This will work well on an obstinate puller but will
make a panic puller much worse since pain increases the panic
and fear. Another caution is using nylon tied rope halters
on panic pullers because they will not break and can put an
excessive amount of pressure on the poll. A few makers of
rope halters are making them out of cotton instead of nylon
so that they break before hurting the horse.
I do think that a horse would be less likely to pull on a
highline because there would be a fair amount of give. However,
if one horse did start to pull it could set off a chain reaction
of pulling since panic in one horse will lead to panic in
another (a simple fact of herd behaviors, horses tend to act
like the horses around them). That is another reason why most
trail operations will not keep a horse that pulls. I'll be
interested to hear from our other trail operators to see what
they think of pullers.
 |
