Hi Ya'll,

Doing an overnight camping trip this weekend. Its our maiden voyage with horses and I cant wait! The campground does not have corrals and do not allow temporary pens... tether and picket lines only. I will tie the horses to it before we leave but I'm afraid they will get hung up, get loose and/or rope burned while standing there all night. Any advice??

Are you camping somewhere in our great state of Texas, Sunshine? Just curious. I have never picket lined any horses, so cant help you there!

Yes, we are heading to Lake Arrowhead for the weekend.

Tie the highline between two trees, and have it roughly six feet high, high enough that your horse can walk under it without snagging it anyhow. Make sure it's pulled tight. Then, tie the horses far enough apart they won't get tangled up together, and each one's lead rope long enough for them to reach the hay on the ground. Make sure you tie individual loops in the line for each lead rope, or use a knot eliminator. They will move around, eat, and do just fine. I've taken a number of horses, tied them for the first time on a highline and left them all night. I've never had a wreck.

Enjoy your trip, camping with horses is one of the best times I know.

73 is right. High lining is one of the safest ways to go about it. We have camped many times and always high lined the horses. Also knot eliminators are easy and rather inexpensive, and worth there weight in gold. If you find that your horse is too close to his neighbor or to that tangle of branches, you simply move the knot eliminator. No trouble untying knots, then retying them. Good luck with your trip. Horses add a whole new element of fun.

For in the future, fine an old cowboy and let him train your ponies on how to stay on a rope. My old QH could be put out on a rope and feed all night or day. He knew how to back away from a fouled rope and when to just stand and wait. It's a real plus especially where there's no where to picket ponies.

old cinch rings work well in place of knot eliminators. also make sure you take a couple of old cinches for tree savers. just put them around the tree and tie your highline to the cinches.
liam

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the advice very much. I just ordered the knot eliminators this afternoon. Great idea using old cinches for tree savers!! :-)

I agree, high lining works well, but there is a little more to it than just tying the picket line between two trees. I don't care how tight you get the line to begin with, it WILL stretch. Using a come-along or a tying system that allows for tightening without totally undoing everything works best. I totally agree with the tree savers! I use a Prusik to tie my horses to and I add another one to clip a hay bag onto then remove the bag when they are done. I don't like to feed on the ground because it promotes stretching, not to mention the sand-in our area. The prusik can be slid away from the horse to attach the feed then slid over to them. The advantage is that I can slide the prusik along the rope but if any pressure is put on it, it won't budge. I never tie a horse longer than their neck. I've seen too many horses get their foot over the rope, freak out then a wreck occurs. Especially with a horse that hasn't been picketed. I always make sure that my mares can't swing their butts to each other because they are, well, mares and tend to want to protect their little patch of picket! We have camped quite a bit with our horses, I know that we have done things properly and how my horses will behave but I never get any sleep that first night! Have fun!!! Here is a link on how to tie a prusik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik_knot

I agree with everything above. All good advice. I use picket lines a lot because we camp alot at ropings and just to get away. I also use them alot around the house so our horses will be used to them, and I just thik that they are a handy way to throw up a quick temporary "hitchin post." I would suggest taking a little time to hobble break your horses before the trip. That way if they were to get some way or another tangled or hung up on the picket line, they will stand without panicking until you can do something to get them loose. If your horses were to get hung up in something like wire hidden in some grass, your horse will stand still until you can get him loose without tearing his legs apart trying to fight to get himself loose. I am sure anybody who has ridden on a ranch a lot or maybe even done lots of trail riding has found ways to get their horses legs tangle up. It happened to me the other day when walking my horse through some brush looking for a missing cow. There were lots of dead limbs scattered along the ground in the deep swamp-like woods in the river bottoms I was searching in. The filly I was riding, with only about 45 days on her, got her rear leg hung the fork of a large limb just above her foot and below her ankle. She went to take a step and she was stuck to a 15 or 20 foot fallen limb by her back leg. Since she was accustomed to having her front AND back legs restrained in hobbles, I was able to just get off and get her foot loose without her throwing any fits. Hobble breaking one is quick, easy, and has lots of benefits. You may even be able to let your horses graze at the camp in hobbles. {Also} try using picket line at home before you go camping to get yourself and the horses accustomed to it. Also, I am a big fan of the Blocker Tie Ring from Toklat. It virtually eliminates horses pulling back or getting hung up on picket lines, or anywhere else. They used to be cheap and then Clinton Anderson started using them and calling them an the "Aussie Tie Ring" and they suddenly got expensive. I haven't bought any for years, but I think that they are worth the money. I think they are 15 or so buck now. I used to buy four for twenty. Still how much is your horse worth? It might be cheaper than a Vet bill. You might check out "The clip" I think it is theclip.info. My wife and I rarely tie one solid without a tie ring. We almost lost a horse years ago because it fell while tied up. Ever since then we have used the tie rings. We were introduced to them by a mule guy who was in his 80's. I feel like they are a very good way to keep your horse safe, especially on a picket line.

One other handy little thing that was taught to me by an old ranch hand that my wife and I use. One time I was working on a big outfit that had hardly any trees anywhere. We were riding race horses that had come off the track. Most of them were very usable, but just wouldn't ground tie. When we would get off to do anything you had tie lead your horse if there wasn't a place to tie them up. We would often ride all day and never see a tree. This old hand I was working with one day and I needed to stop and fix a water gap. He told me to tie my horse to the rear dee on his saddle and he tied his horse facing the opposite way to the dee ring on my saddle. We didn't tie them solid, as they were wearing snaffle bits and we tied them by the reins, but the horses couldn't run off, just go in circles, and we were free to do whatever. My wife and I now teach our horses that at home and use it when we are places where there are just no handy spots to tie up. MOst recently, we went on a big St. Jude's benefit trail ride and everyone stopped to eat lunch. We were next to a lake and there were about four trees and spots to tie up were at a premium. Everyone sat there juggling a rein, a sandwich, and a drink. Many Pepsi cups were spilled due to a horse trying to graze at the end of a rein. Our horses were "head and tailed" as we call it, and they never moved and we walked around visiting just making sure to keep an eye on them in-case they needed us. We didn't spill anything or drop our sandwiches.

Those are my long winded opinions...Hobble break them, practice the picket line at home first, and consider using a tie ring.

[ May 22, 2007, 04:57 PM: Message edited by: alleyrider ]