What's wrong with this picture?

Ok, look at the photo above, do you see anything wrong here?
Beautiful fall day, check. Fields and trails to ride, check. Nice smooth MFT to ride, well cared for and looking particularly handsome that day. Safety halter on..wait..is that leadline tied in a knot instead of a quick release???

How about this photo.



We can plainly see the proper quick release knot. Same safety halter on gorgeous buckskin QH. What could be wrong with this photo?

Hands up anyone who spots the potential disaster? Aha! Yes, both horses were tied to the lower rail on a fence with really long leadlines. What is wrong with that you ask? They could easily get their foot over the rope, get tangled and panic. Which did happen to the lovely buckskin mare. We had a broken rail, a lot of scrambling, and fortunately just some rope burns. It could have been far worse.

Lesson learned? Horses should always be tied at least above the level of their chest. If you want your horse to get in some free grazing, walk them around on the leadline. The more significant lesson learned though was how much it hurts to realize you did something that caused your horse pain and distress, which could have had far more serious consequences.