The advantages of ground-tying: Road to the Tevis Cup # 52

The advantages of ground-tying are many. When you ride out on the trail (as we all do in endurance), it’s a wonderful skill for a horse to have. I’ve known this in theory for a long time. Until recently, though, I never really tried to teach a horse to ground-tie. But Fantazia–rather miraculously–has learned to ground-tie very reliably.

Jump to:

How other people teach horses to ground-tie
The advantages of ground-tying
List of times when you might want a horse that ground-ties

See my post on training my new(ish) horse, Jazz, to ground-tie: Teaching Jazz to ground-tie.

How I teach a horse to ground-tie

Just to be clear, I am not an expert. In fact, I’ve never even listened to an expert explain how to teach a horse to ground-tie. I’ve taught two horses to do it: Fantazia, and her sister Lady. With both, I started with dropping the rope (or rein) on the ground and telling them to stay (“Whoa”). That simple. With Lady, I started while grooming her. I primarily used a halter and lead, and, when I rode with split reins, a rein. She got very good about staying put around the barn while grooming, bathing, working in the field. I never really tested her elsewhere.

With Fantazia, most of the work was done on the trail or in the pasture. Most of it was done with the bridle. Fantazia is very very good about ground-tying, but I don’t think I can take much of the credit. Ever since the first time my off-side rein dropped when I was leading her on the trail, and she stepped on it, she has come to a screeching halt when a rein hits the ground. Or a rope. Even if it hits the ground from the saddle, when looped over (I have long reins). That first time, she didn’t like the jerk on the bit.

Above: One of the reasons Fantazia ground-ties well is that she doesn’t want to make the lead turn into a snake!

We also practiced in the arena. I’d hop off to throw a rock out or pick something up. At first, I’d stop right next to the rock. Gradually I increased the distance from the rock.

It also helps that Fantazia is afraid of snakes. Lead ropes (especially her black one) kind of curl up like snakes. So she will eye it nervously and avoid stepping near it or making it move. The only way to keep the lead-rope-snake from moving is to hold still.

Now, I don’t even need to drop a rein or rope. I just need to say whoa and leave her with the appropriate body language.

Above: Fantazia waiting for me to finish filming a king snake.

How other people teach horses to ground-tie

When I set out to write this blog, I googled “how to teach a horse to ground-tie.” After reading a bit and viewing some videos, I realized that the Standard Operating Procedure seems a lot like teaching a dog to stay. You tell the horse to stay put however you want to, and then move away. Only go as far as you can without the horse moving, and return to its side before it moves. Slowly extend the distance and time you are away. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Click here for a good article by Horse and Rider on ground-tying.

Here is another piece with good tips from AQHA.

Chris Cox piece in Western Horseman on ground-tying.

There are also videos on youtube… I’ve watched a few. The one below, with Craig Cameron, seems to cover the essentials (he has at least one other video on the topic):

If you know of other video how-tos, please let me know!

The advantages of ground-tying

You can go years–probably an entire lifetime with horses–without ever needing to ground-tie your horse. I certainly spent most of my life without bothering with it. Although I’ve had many horses who did, to some degree, ground-tie, or at least stay put when I told them, even if I never dropped a rein, I never tested them or spent any time “training.”

However, if you are doing endurance, as I am, or any sort of trail riding, it’s worth it to spend some time ensuring your horse will reliably ground tie.

Above: One of the most useful advantages of ground tying is that it makes it easier to go through gates that require dismounting.

List of times when you might want a horse that ground-ties:

1. Tacking up, grooming, bathing or otherwise tending to a horse when there is nothing to tie it to.
2. Tacking up, grooming, bathing or otherwise tending to a horse that pulls back. I’ve worked with several horses that could not be tied because they pulled back, but stood quietly to be groomed, etc., with a rope dropped on the ground. However, pulling back is a training issue that needs to be addressed, and I would not fully trust a horse that pulls back to stand ground-tied.
3. Taking pictures.
4. Going through gates that cannot be opened and shut from the saddle. This is probably the most frequent use of ground-tying I put Fantazia to. We’ve got a lot of wire/bar gates.
5. Picking things up from the ground. Maybe you dropped your phone. Maybe you want to heave a rock out of the arena.
6. Peeing while on trail. And other things.
7. Observing snakes up close when the horse is afraid of snakes or when the snake is in an inaccessible place.
8. Observing anything not easy to see from the saddle.
9. For endurance rides: (a) Using the outhouse. (b) Eating your food at an away-hold. (c) Getting something you forgot out of the trailer at the last minute. (d) Picking up your ride card or something else inside a trailer/building. (e) helping another rider.