Can you help a horse that is anxious about being tied up?

This is Magic, who was previously very anxious when he was tied up. His lovely owner Jen has been working on retraining him to stand when tied and has shared this great idea for making the process more fun and rewarding for him.

Jen has smeared some smooth peanut butter on a chopping board and hung it up with Magic's haynet, so he can lick the board while tied. As you can see it is working a treat!

When retraining anxious horses to be tied up it is vital that the experience is positive for them and that they are only asked to stand for very short periods of time to start with (and that could be just a few seconds). Once they are relaxed at that stage then in subsequent sessions you can gradually increase the length of time they are tied up.

The horse should always be untied before they become anxious, so that they realise being tied up isn't a scary thing to do. They must always be given something to eat for the duration of the session, so if they don't think their haynet is appealing enough as a reward for standing quietly, then this lick mat is a great idea!

You could also use this for husbandry tasks your horse is uncomfortable with or when they may need to stand for a while – like clipping, vet or farrier visits or even when travelling in the wagon or trailer. Having a calm equine friend present is always a help too.

Peanut butter is best fed in moderation, I would feed no more than a few spoons of it a week. Don't use a peanut butter that contains artificial sweeteners, do check the ingredients list. Some companies may use a number instead of the sweetener name in the ingredients list. You don't need anything other than peanuts in peanut butter and please avoid palm oil! Also don't feed peanut butter to horses with EMS or allergies – horses can be allergic to nuts too. However, you could also smear fruit or vegetable puree on the board as a replacement.