Cross Tie Adjustment

Fixing something is never simple.  I used the cross ties one evening and Dani was more restless than she's ever while tied.  It's been a while since we had access to cross ties but she shouldn't have been that agitated.  I noticed that the ties were set pretty high and pulling upwards on her head.  Also I'd have to be on my tippy toes to reach the quick release snap if I ever needed to untie a panicked horse.  So this task was put on the list of something I needed to fix...a never ending list when one first moves to a new home.

The next day I set to work unscrewing the ring holders.  Several of the screws were stripped so it made a simple job that much more difficult.  I find that often I can use a flat head screw driver to get the stripped Phillips heads moving.  If they are really bad you often have to drill out the screw with a smaller bit.  I finally got all the screws out of both rings (much grunting and some cursing occurred in the process).  Then I measured for the height at which I wanted to install them.  Typically you have them around eye level for the horse or about 6 inches higher than the horse stands at the withers.

I ended up adjusting the rings about a foot or so down from their original position!  You can sort of see in the picture below.  The cross tie on the left is the original height and the one on the right is the adjusted height.  Much better and I can reach the release if I ever have a panicking horse.  That is very important!

Once you snap the cross ties onto the ring you check the length by having the ties themselves touch in the middle as I've demonstrated above.  Of course you can adjust to give your horse a little less pull on the halter depending on how they act in the cross ties.  I have to do some more work with Dani on cross tie manners and remind her how to chill while tied.  At least now they are set properly for her and we can move on to another project.