stake-outs

[JimB]

Well, my new trial horse arrived the other day. So now I'm busy putting together all the stuff that goes into playing the game. I've seen all kinds of misc pipe, steel, rods used for the stake-out. Even see that Christie and Dogsunlimited are selling "sets". So what do you use for the stake ? Do you tie to the halter, or use a collar ?

[myerstenn]

I use the halter simply because its easier to controll the horse, if you walk your horse to the trailer to dress him and he only has a collar on and he is a little spirited, he will walk you. The shorthair people all use collars and the pointer people all use a halter figure that one out?????

[RayGubernat]

JimB -

When i am at a trial, my horses have both halters and collars on them. I stake them out using the collar because it will not break(triple ply nylon webbing). I do lead them and tie them to the trialer via their halter. I loosen the collar before saddling up so it slides don th horse's neck a bit. Gives me something besides mane to grab onto as I am hauling my fat butt into the saddle.

For a stakeout I use either a custom made one that I bought from a trialer or the Christie stake. The custom one is about 2' long and made of 3/4" cold rolled. The Christie is about the same dimensions.

For a tieout I bought some 3/16" aircraft cable and bull snaps for each end. I secure the cable loops using aluminum sleeves that you mash down and cover the cable with some old garden hose which i then taped in place(and covered the exposed metal and wire ends and edges) with wide electrical tape. I orignally slipped the bull snaps into the loop, but after each of them broke or rusted solid, I added a 1/4" screw closing repair link to the loop and attached the new bull snap to that. The tieout is about 10 - 12' long.

This type setup has served me well for about ten years now. I also bought a rope tieout from Christie, but I keep that one as a spare.

I encourage you to keep spares ...repair links, snaps,etc. This stuff never breaks when you are home so you are going to have to jury rig something in the field and it has to be safe and secure.

RayG

[Karen]

I stake out with a collar. A collar, tightened appropriately, will not slip off the way a halter can.

[RayGubernat]

Many folks use "Breakaway " halters on tehir horse.. If one fails to realize that the leather strap is worn or dry rotted, it could break loose with relatively littel force. Evean a perfectly fine breakaway halter can let go it the horse get really spooked and hits the end of the cable with all its strength. I suspect that even a standard nylon halter or the snap hoding it on might let go if a horse hit the end of the cable at full power.

I remember a horse that got loose in a lightning storm up at Clear Sring MD on Friday evening, the first night of the trial. A bowhunter, doing some souting, found the horse late Sunday afternoon. It was a looong way off and the hunter had no way of knowing whose horse it was or how to contct the owner.

Right after that one...I had those nylon collars made up and riveted a dog tag on each one.

RayG

[JimB]

Thanks for your replies. I have used both halters and collars. I too have name tags on the collar. Right now I think I'm more concerned about the stake itself. I have seen some pretty huge stakes,.....then again the guy I bought this horse from used something not much more than a 2' piece of rebar with an attached ring to clip too. I assume that you wanted the stake driven all the way, flush to the ground so the horse can't hurt himself ? Can anyone explain what they use and how they made it ?

[myerstenn]

I prefer to use a rope through a rubber hose and a light as i can find junk car axle as a stake. I previously used used metal cables but in recent years i have been a little concerned when a thunder and lighting storm rolls in . I would hate to get a horse killed because it was to well grounded.I use a plunber fish tape to pull the rope through the hose an attach bull snaps with a bowline knot to each end. Use a good rope comparable to check cord material

[Brittguy]

I stake out with the halter. Run a cabel through garden hose about 20 or 25 ft. long. At the stake end I use a welded ring and car axel.

[RayGubernat]

JimB -

Most of the horse stakes I have seen are essentially 2' peices of cold rolled steel round with some manner of attachement on the top section which can revolve, more or less freely around the round bar and on which you can clip a bull snap, repair link or some attachment. Above that attachment there needs to be something you can beat on with a sledge.

Most of the stakes I have seen were 3/4" in diameter or larger. Most were 2' long or so. If you have soil with lots of tree roots in it, it is not advisable to put any sort of point on the stake(or you may need a T post puller to get it out). Trust me on this one...I've been there and it ain't fun. If you have real sandy soil, you migh want to go longer than 2'.

The rope or cable does not need to be longer than about 12 feet. The longer it is, the harder it is for the horse to pull the stake vertically out of the ground with head action, which is a good thing, but the longer it is, the more space yo take up in the assembly area which tends to annoy folks wha also want to park their trailers and stake their horses out, somewhere in the same zip code. Also, the longer the tieout line is, the more chance it wil get hung up on something or the horse will wrap itself up in it. Like everything else...it is a tradeoff.

The revolving fixture can be as simple or as elegant as you like. I have seen stainless steel stakeouts with ball bearing rotating fixtures and I have seen pieces of 3/8" steel flat stock with 2 holes drilled into it and a bunch of things in between.

One of the nicer ones I saw had a 1 inch piece of steel or black iron pipe welded about five inches from the top. The pipe was a slip fit over the solid round bar. Then a second 3 inch piece of the same size black iron pipe, with a flat metal tab of 1/8" flat stock about 6 inches long welded to it was put in place above the welded section. Kinda looked like a flag with a hole drilled in it for a repair link. Another 1 inch piece of pipe was welded on top of the flag section, leaving a quarter inch or so of room. On top of that there was a steel nut , threaded on and welded in place so you could beat on the stake without mushrooming the round bar. You don't want to beat on black iron either, as it will crack and then you got nothin'.

The flat stock section comes in real handy occasionally as a crow bar to hook underneath and lever a stuck dog or horse stake out of the ground.

RayG