Training Your Own Horse, Part 1 of 6: Good Knots to Know

by Alice Trindle, photos by Susan Triplett

With the summer of 2008 racing by, I find myself falling into the trap of a “Hurry up--go faster--get it done now” mentality. Life seems to be speeding by, and it is so easy to fall into the whirlwind and forget many of the lessons the horse has to teach me about life, time and attitude. In my haste I often lose sight of my Horseman’s Protocol, forget to breathe, and sometimes set things up without a clear picture that adheres to the basic principle of good attitude combined with soft movement to create willing communication. It is easy to forget the basics and in the process create situations that are not safe for horse or rider. Maybe it is time to slow down and go back to dressage or training ourselves and our horses in the fundamentals!

This next series of articles, Training Your Own Horse, is an effort to slow down and look intimately at some basic practices, exercises, and uses of equipment to help us keep horse and rider safe while building on the rudiments that enable positive attitude, flowing movements, and ultimately create a wonderful partnership. We will examine six areas that will help you start a young or new-to-you horse, and perhaps give everyone some new ways to use old tools with a fresh approach. Here are the topics we will cover:
· Good Knots to Know
· Proper Use of the Flag
· Use of the Lariat
· Liberty Work
· Proper Use of the Whip
· Working Another Horse from Atop Your Own

Let’s get started with the knots! If you are anything like me, your mind goes into rusty arthritic mode when forced to learn a new knot. However, knowing good knots is critical to keep both horse and human safe. Most of the knots presented were no doubt suggested as a result of graduating from the School of Hard Knocks. The lessons in this school have killed horses, broken necks, cut off fingers, and dragged people. Often, these accidents happen not out of ignorance, but simply from a lack of awareness, or perhaps never learning a safer way. Take a look…maybe you will see something different and a reason to learn a new knot!

The "John Wayne" Quick Release Knot
Uses: Tie horses to appropriate fence, post, or in the horse trailer

Reasons to Use: First, it does not get tightened to the point that it is too difficult to pull the knot loose; second, when you pull the knot out, the horse is loose from the post, and the rope is not wrapped around the post, pole or hook.

Disadvantages & Cautions: The huge caution on any knot when you are tying a 1,000+ pound creature on the end of the rope: don’t put your fingers inside any loops! A disadvantage to this knot is that it is a quick-release, and if your horse is a nibbler, he will have it untied in seconds. The basic reminder for tying your horse is to tie higher than the horse’s eye, and have the distance between horse and post no more than 1.5 feet. When using any knot to tie inside the trailer, make sure the tail of the lead is inside the trailer so it cannot fly out and find its way into a wheel. This would not be a pretty picture.

Make a kink in your lead rope about 1.5' from where it attaches to the halter. Place the kink around the post, making sure the object you are tying to is secure and higher than the horse’s eye.














With your left hand (the horse is to your right), grasp the edge of the kinked rope so that you can clearly see the kink, the tail hanging down, and the rope attached directly to your horse.










Reach across with your right hand to grasp the tail and bring it over the top of the kink and the horse rope.











Continue around the horse rope; bring the now-kinked tail rope to your left hand.










Exchange the rope from your right into your left hand. Grasp the edge of the kinked tail rope you have just exchanged--don’t put your fingers inside any kinks or loops!










With your right hand, pull on the horse rope until the knot is snug.

To untie, simply pull on the tail.

Note: If your horse is a nibbler, feed out the size of the final kink and wrap the entire loop around your horse rope in a half hitch, then run the tail down through your final kink. Remember, with this addition it is no longer a quick-release knot.

QR or Quick Release Latigo Knot
Uses: Use this knot to politely and smoothly find a snug fit without the use of metal hardware. Remember that your latigo should be about 6.5 ft. long with enough length to go through the buckle in your cincha three times.

Reasons to Use: The QR Latigo gives you more options for polite tightness of the girth; it places the knot portion ahead of your knee rather than under the stirrup fender, as with the use of a half-hitch knot; and it allows you to get the latigo loosened quickly without being in a dangerous position, such as under the horse, when a saddle rolls or in other emergencies.

Disadvantages & Cautions: Some saddles have a small hole in the rigging for the attachment of the latigo, making it difficult to quickly release this knot. Remember that if your saddle does twist and roll under the belly or onto the side of the horse, first unbuckle your back cinch, then pop the QR knot. This is where a correctly fitting breast collar can alleviate a lot of the potential problem.

Start with a nice, neat latigo!

Run the tip of the latigo through the cincha; you will go past the buckle a total of three times. Politely pull straight out on the tail of the latigo while you push in with your left hand.



Next, run the latigo through the top plate in your rigging and out the front toward the shoulder of the horse. Next, double the tail and turn it so the rough side is facing you.





Push the tail under the plate and store the excess under the stirrup leather.

The finished knot!

For more useful knots, visit www.tnthorsemanship.com