Knots for Tying Your Horse
- March 31, 2017
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- Savanna Simmons
Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Ranch Life, Uncategorized
When tying my horses, there are two general knots I use: one for a horizontal bar or tie rail, and another for a vertical bar or in a ring. Neither pulls loose if a horse sets back on it, which I personally prefer, because I don’t want my horses to know that they can get loose of their own accord (not that I deal with pulling-back horses often). These knots also loosen relatively easy in the instance of a horse pulling on them.
The first knot I’ll show you is the one I use for a horizontal bar or tie rail. You can also use this one on a vertical bar, if you choose. This is a great knot for a horse that can work it’s knot loose and get free; it would be pretty hard for those horses to get this one worked loose.

Lay your rope all the way over the bar without a loop, going over the rail away from you. Leave the appropriate length for your horse to be tied.

Bring the tail of the rope up and over the front rope and over the bar, again over and away from you. Leave a “V” as show in the photo.

Tuck the tail of your rope from the back to the front through the “V” you left loose. To tighten this knot, simply pull your tail rope. If you horse is tied too long or too short, feed your rope around through your knot.

This is what your knot should end up looking like. It is actually two half-hitches. It does not have to be pulled as tight as possible to hold your horse. Should your horse pull back, the rope will tighten. To undo, pull at the top where the number 3 is, then pull where number 1 is.
The second knot works on either bar, horizontal or vertical, but works best on vertical. I especially use this one in the trailer or for tie rings.

Using a loop, sling it from right to left over your rail, leaving the right amount of length, or even a touch too short, on your top rope. Keep your loop as small as possible, but large enough to make the knot, as the loop will feed back into the slack between your horse and the fence.

Pull the tail of your rope behind your loop, keeping it relatively snug. With my left hand, I hold the rope as you can see, pinching it in place.

Lay the same tail over your loop and behind the slack that hangs between your rail and horse. So, you went behind your loop then directly over the loop. Under, over, under, can you guess what’s next?

Here is another view without a hand in the way. Lay your rope under the loop, over the loop, under the slack, then…

Going over your slack rope, form a loop and run it through your existing loop. To tighten this knot, pull your slack rope (running between your horse and the fence) down, being sure your loop doesn’t slip out of the other loop. This is a really easy, quick knot that is very easy to tie and untie.

This is what your finished knot should look like. To untie this knot, pull the tail that is hanging down. If you have horses that like to fiddle with your ropes, flip the tail over the horizontal bar, if you have one, or tuck the tail back through the loop.
Pardon our dirty tan lead ropes. They were, at one point, stark white. I guess that’s what happens with use!
Posted in: Featured, Horse Care, Horse Training, Ranch Life, Uncategorized
About Savanna Simmons
I'm Savanna Simmons and I live north of Lusk, Wyoming, on the Four Three Ranch with my husband Boe and our sons, Brindle and Roan. I grew up evolving my horsemanship with clinicians like Ray Hunt, Joe Wolter, and Jack Brainard, but not within a...