Well, go right ahead and park elsewhere,
then
We do... part of it is that most folks
who tie out around here tie the buckets, feeders, & haynets to the
trailer, too. Everything clanks all night long. You avoided that
with the buckets on the ground.
You sounded very defensive in your post, and I know that you just
started the sport. Be open to other methods of restraining your horse
at camp that are safe & cheap! If you must tie to the trailer, check the trailer over VERY carefully
for sharp edges. That's where I see most of the accidents
happen. Don't forget the license plate if it is mounted down
low! It could be a scalpel the way it cuts!
During the ride, the extra horse that was along
went visiting. I'm hearing many more stories about that than I am
about trailer tying problems.
As with everything, it comes back to the
right horse, the right training, and VISIBILITY. If the horses can't
see the barrier, they can't respect it. As I said earlier, we use a
4" wide white tape with a hot wire running through it. It looks
like a white board fence. I've seen loose horses come to a screeching
halt when they run towards it, expecting it to be solid. That doesn't
hold true for narrow or yellow/black tapes and
wires!
If
your horse "challenges" over a fence, double fence him so he can't
touch noses with a "friend" and take fencing/corrals down by
pushing or striking out.
Some horses bolt forwards rather than back
off of an electric fence - one of mine did that. We made other
arrangements for him. Blankets can block the charge, too. Beware
of covered up hides!
Corrals that aren't anchored to the ground can be pushed over.
I recently saw a PVC corral where the PVC glue had let loose. The
horse knew EXACTLY where to flip his head to dismantle the panel and walk
out.
Sure accidents can happen, but you do what you
can to minimize the risks and keep going
It's possible to bring a rope & tie to
it overhead - ie picket. It would get the horse away from the sharp
edges and cost what ever the hank of rope ran (pretty minimal). A
cheaper method than investing in portable corrals or solar fence
chargers. Remember to use tree savers if you picket to trees.
We've been known to tie to the trailer (up high) and to the truck (thru each
door & knotted on top) or to another trailer if there weren't trees
available. Don't make the mistake that my friend did - he tied to the
side mirror. No mirror on the way home!
:-)
The LAST thing I ever want to hear is "Loose Horse" or
"Get the Vet!" and the horse happens to be
mine.
Linda
Flemmer