Important to know about the Trailer Tie
Even though the majority of the trailer tie is made from a soft material, the metal attachments at either end, and the metal length regulator in the middle, create a lot of noise in the stable or transport vehicle. This can be very stressful for the horse and create a horrible environment for them to travel in.
The fact the trailer tie can lengthen itself under pressure, means the horse can move out of position and doesn’t have a clear idea of where you want it to stay.
The trailer tie should give resistance if the horse moves out of position and then an automatic release if the pressure builds past 90 kg, or even earlier with smaller or younger horses. The test with the trailer tie really highlighted the dangers of this type of tie-up.
The trailer tie up test was a very interesting one, as a number of different things happened when pressure was applied. As you might expect, as the pressure was applied the metal regulator allowed the trailer tie to get longer until there was no more length to give. Then the regulator started to buckle in, meaning the edges pointed outwards. This is something we see at a lot of yards and in trailers. The metal is a hazard from the start of it´s usage, but becomes even worse when rusty, then the edges become even sharper and can be very dangerous for the horse and the person handling them.
At 220 kg the stitching finally broke, which is a lot of pressure for your horses’ muscles and bones to deal with. This creates a high risk of injury.
That’s without mentioning how the tie-up flew once broken, which could easily have hit someone or the panicking horse, which won’t help it to calm down quickly.
To continue our test, we did what a lot of equestrians do and applied a “DIY” fix by tying a knot where the stitching gave way. We then continued our test, and it was quite amazing to see how strong this tie-up is in its different components. We eventually stopped lifting at 579 kg as our counterweight started to lift off the ground and things would have gotten too dangerous. The bull snap clip didn’t break or give way, nor did the panic or safety hook and the material is incredibly strong. This means something else would have to give way for the horse to get loose. The risk for injury, or worse, with the trailer tie is extremely high.
To get the trailer tie loose in a panic situation you would have to try and get close enough to manually release the panic hook from the halter, which is putting your life on the line.
Once again, we have seen the panic hook, or safety hook, doesn’t automatically release under pressure and requires manual intervention.
The bull snap clip on the trailer tie is possibly the trickiest to put on and off and certainly requires two hands to operate it, and is very slow to use compared to other clips and carabiners.
Other commonly used names for these tie-ups are trailer tie-up with metal regulator, trailer tether, safety trailer tie, trailer tie with panic hook and adjustable trailer tie.
Safety should be non-negotiable when managing horses. Professional care means eliminating potential risks before they can cause harm. When you want to use a safe tie-up solution – have a look at the EasyConnect.
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