Isn Ride & Tie hard on the horses?
Most well-conditioned, healthy horses seem to really enjoy the sport! Horses have evolved with a “fight or flight” response behavior. They can rest while grazing, but be ready to bolt and flee at the first sign of danger, then rest briefly, recover, and be ready to flee again. The stop and go nature of Ride & Tie mimics this pattern. The horse sprints, rests for a few minutes while tied, then sprints to the next tie. Inexperienced Ride & Tie horses can take a race or two to get used to standing tied while other horses and people fly by. But you often see an experienced Ride & Tie horse anticipate his approaching runner by calmly watching back down the trail, and when he sees his runner approaching he orients his body facing the direction he will be heading, eager for his next sprint. It is definitely a good idea to practice before a race, by tying your horse to a tree while other horses go trotting or galloping past. And there are a few horses that just never like Ride & Tie. We respec
