What to do When Your Horse Acts Up in Cross Ties

Clinton Anderson from Downunder Horsemanship has developed a way to train horses, regardless of their past problems or traumas. It all begins with training the owners so they can gain their horses’ respect and understand how to properly control them. Join Clinton on his weekly endeavors of tackling some of the most challenging situations with problem horses, and problem owners. This week, we join Clinton as he demonstrates what to do when your horse acts up in cross ties.

One problem that Clinton helps his clients address is a horse that pulls back in cross ties or paws while tied up in cross ties. While this problem can be addressed, Clinton tells us that he’s not actually a big fan of using cross ties in general. He believes that a horse can get in a lot of trouble with them. Horses can spin around in cross ties, rear up, and get a leg over the top of the ties, which can be dangerous. Whenever Clinton does decide to use cross ties, it’s always in conjunction with the Aussie Tie Rings. As an alternative to cross ties, you can tie your horse up using a quick-release knot and follow the “short and high” rule.

With that being said, if you have a horse that’s acting up in cross ties, getting him under control is important for his safety and yours. Horses that paw while cross tied typically do so because they’re anxious or full of pent up energy. They paw the ground or misbehave because they’re anticipating being taken out of the stall and having to work or sweat. If you believe your horse is pawing because he’s anxious or is full of beans, do the opposite of what he expects. Bring him out of the stall and immediately do groundwork with him. Great exercises to practice are Lunging for Respect Stage One and Stage Two, the Sending Exercise … any groundwork exercise you have room to do. After moving your horse’s feet, put him on the cross ties and brush him down. If your horse begins to act up, immediately untie him and begin the exercises again. You want to make the cross ties look like the rewarding part of the day—they’re where your horse finally gets to take a rest.

Clinton compares this process to how he works a horse outside the trailer and then lets him rest inside the trailer when teaching a horse how to confidently load on a trailer. This approach is a good way to turn something your horse thinks is unpleasant into a reward. You can use your imagination a little here to adapt this practice, but it’s a great way to get your horse to relax and behave in cross ties.

For the past 20 years, Clinton Anderson has devoted his life to creating the best training tools and videos available to help bring his method to you. But there’s only one problem. You can’t bring your TV into the arena. That’s why he’s been hard at work, developing a new platform to deliver the Method to you in a whole new way, a way that brings 20 years of horsemanship and puts it in the palm of your hand. Introducing the Clinton Anderson mobile method.

The Clinton Anderson Method is the key to getting the most out of your partnership with your horse and we want everybody to experience the difference it will make. That’s why we created three new ways for you to get the training content you need at the price you want. Our basic level allows you to purchase and download training content to your device at our standard price with no annual fee. When you become a No Worries Club member for $19.99 a month, you get up to 50% discount on any of your purchases. You’ll also get eight digital videos and four digital journals a year and access to the No Worries Club website, the largest collection of Clinton Anderson Method material and resources in the world. If you want the ultimate experience, the premium membership is for you. You get all the benefits of the No Worries Club, a printed copy of our No Worries Club quarterly journal, and access to every training kit, including all videos and Arena Mates. Altogether, that’s thousands of dollars of horse training and 20 years of horsemanship delivered right to your fingertips.

Start your digital training experience today. Visit our homepage and download the Downunder Horsemanship app to experience the Clinton Anderson Method in a whole new way.