Every horse should learn to feel okay to be tied fixed to a post or any solid object. But there are relatively few occasions when a horse should be tied to a solid object.
I largely discourage most horses from being fixed-tied for most tasks. I see there are times when tying up a horse is required, such as when at an event or camping overnight in the mountains. All horses should know how to tie and not be troubled by having their movement restricted. But when it comes to tying a horse for the most routine and mundane tasks I get bothered. Saddling, grooming, farrier work, injections, oral worming, hosing, etc are the types of jobs there should be no reason to tie a horse, and may even be anti-training.
The reason most people tie a horse to a solid object is to ensure they don’t walk away. The obvious question to ask is why does your horse want to leave? The second obvious question is how can I help them feel there is no reason to leave?
When we tie a horse to something solid we limit our ability to re-direct the thoughts from wanting to leave us to wanting to stay with us.
If I am saddling my horse and it wants to fidget and move around, I can re-focus my horse’s thoughts to stay with me if I can direct it. Having it tied to something hinders my ability to re-direct my horse’s thoughts. But if the lead rope is in my hand, I can apply a feel to bring its thoughts back to me and quiet its emotions before proceeding. In that way, I can saddle my horse with minimum trouble. This is equally true if my horse won’t stand quietly for the farrier. If the rope is not fixed to something I can use a feel to re-direct the horse’s thoughts to quiet its mind and its feet for the farrier.
I understand that there are times when a horse needs to stand quietly while being tied. I get that. A horse should learn to be okay to stand tied. All my horses can stand comfortably while being tied to the horse trailer or the fence. But this comes from teaching a horse to give to the feel of the lead rope. It does not come from teaching a horse the futility of pulling back. One of the worst training techniques I have come across is the so-called “Tree of Knowledge”. This is where a horse is tied fixed to a tree for hours and allowed to pull and pull until it gives up in futility. More than once I have intervened when I have seen this practice. It’s horrible. At a minimum, it encourages horses to shut down and at worst it gets horses killed or injured (not to mention trees complain about it too). Please don’t do it.
If you have a horse that is still learning not to pull back, try using a Blocker Tie or some device that allows the lead rope to slide free if your horse leans hard against it. You just might need a lead rope that is twice or more longer than normal. They are a great idea if you have a difficult horse or one who has a habit of pulling back.
While every horse should learn to feel comfortable when tied up to a fixed object, there are relatively few times when I recommend you do it.
This horse had a history of pulling back and hurting itself when tied. It was a long-standing habit. I used a long rope that slid around the post that enabled me to apply variations in feel to help the horse learn to yield and come off the pressure rather than resort to the fight.