Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship And Personal Growth With Van Hargis

A clinic participant asked a great question: “What do you do about a horse that ‘sets back’ when tied?” In this episode we talk about this from the perspective of safety and understanding the horse’s instincts, and offer specific suggestions about how to avoid the problem, and how to address it in a horse that’s already developed the habit. Preventing–or Curing–the Horse that “Sets Back” When Tied Some horses react badly to being tied up, using all their strength to pull against the restraint. Can this be prevented? Can it be “cured”? Why does a horse pull back when tied? It’s because the horse doesn’t respect the halter, so it all starts with proper halter training. Flight or fight response The key to understanding this problem is understanding the horse’s instincts. By evolutionary development, a horse is a prey animal whose first, preferred response to any threat is to flee–get away first, check it out later. W