2005 - Volume #29, Issue #2, Page #34

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue ]

    «Previous    Next»

Spring Tether Prevents Horse Tangles

Spring Tether Prevents Horse Tangles LIVESTOCK Horses/Mules 29-2-34 Give a tethered horse too much slack and you're asking for trouble. Make it too short and the horse won't be able to reach feed or water. After years of seeing horses tangled up in tether ropes, Laura Saylor got the idea for a spring tether. Saylor and her husband Eurrat operate a riding stable, show horses and rent out horses for trail rides and other special occasions. They have had lots of opportunity to test the tether out at shows, rodeos and while camping. She says they keep 6 spring tethers attached to the side of their horse trailer with no problems. The tether is a 6-ft., plastic coated, coiled steel cable with a bolt snap at one end and a quick release at the other. With the coil stretched out, an animal can reach hay or water or even lay down. If the tension should start to come out of the coils and they begin to relax, Saylor says it can be restored by turning the coil inside out. She quickly adds that she has used several for more than four years without needing to turn them. "The spring tether works great on trailers, crossties, hitching rails or when hooked to a knot eliminator on a picket line," says Saylor. "I use it every day when I feed." She cautions that the tether should not be used as a training tool. If an animal falls back or pulls hard on the tether, the snaps may break as they would on any lead rope. Saylor sells the spring tether for $20 plus $5 shipping. It is available in red, blue or clear plastic. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Laura Saylor, End of the Trail Riding Stable, 9562 East 750 North, Walkerton, Ind. 46574 (ph 574 586-7970; email: endofthetrail@ skyenet.net; website: www.springtether .com).