KNOTS, PART I

Trail knots remind me of the Dutch kid who stuck his finger in the hole in the dyke to prevent the whole dam from busting. Tying knots is like that, a little thing that if not done or not done right can release a flood of trouble. If I had a dollar for each time I turned around and a horse was walking around dragging their lead rope I could buy us both shrimp dinner. Add another dollar for all the ‘where’d my horse go…’ stories and we could buy a bottle of fine wine for that dinner, and it might help to drown sorrows if the horse couldn’t be found.
Once I rode twenty-two miles into the Itcha mountains of central B.C. When I got near camp, I stopped to do some chores but did not tie up the three horses properly, and the horses, looking for the good feedback at the trail head, headed back out. Well, it got dark and started to snow as I miserably walked and trotted in vain
pursuit of the delinquent, so and so, horses. I caught up, twenty-two miles later, back at the road head, jumped on, and road back, twenty-two miles again. And did I mention? I had ridden out to the road to get supplies before riding in to begin with. That is about ninety miles in about forty-eight hours. Of course, the horses had been happily munching their way in and out, so they had a lot more in the tank than I had. No one will ever have to tell me to properly tie up my horse again.
At our outfitting camp where we enjoy the riding/packing clinics we have about one hundred feet of corral and solid fence posts alongside the camp shelter. Our clinic participants regularly tie up their mounts to these posts. One day, a few years back, I noticed a lead rope tied to a post, but no horse. I walked over to collect the rope, but the knot had been sucked so tight it looked like it had been melted or welded on. To my chagrin, the knot was not the bowline that it should have been but some one’s invention.
It defied all my efforts to loosen it and became a permanent fixture. I left it sit for the next few years. Now and then someone would say, “Oh, there’s a lead rope over there.” I’d say “Yeah, go grab it.” And they would, but, of course, they wouldn’t, and so they would learn a lesson about proper knots, and I would have a little chuckle, small payment for each time I must look at some one’s invention. Recently, some Houdini performed surgery and removed it.
Just think of all the knots trail riders and horse campers need to tie: Knots to tie horses to trees and posts; knots to tie horses to each other; knots to picket; knots to highline, knots to tie rope together, knots to make loops, knots to tail tie and who knows what else. And yet, if you are like me, you probably owned your first horse for a year or two before you could tie your first real knot. And it was so simple you wondered what took you so long, then blamed your dad’s mother because that’s where your stubborn side comes from.
For the rest of your life, you should know some practical knots necessary or handy for trail riding. For us the order of necessity would be something like this. First, we often find ourselves tying up horses repeatedly through the course of a day, for seconds or minutes, and a quick release knot is the ticket here. Second is the bowline knot, very necessary for tying when there may be some pressure put on the knot, because it can nearly always be undone easily. Great for tying for longer periods, for tying horses to each other when being led, for picket lines, for problem solving like dealing with pullers, for pulling your truck out of a ditch, and any other pulling situation you can think of. Third would probably be the inline bowline and the clove hitch. The inline bowline is a bowline loop that is created in the length of a line for highlines or any other purpose, and it can always be undone. Great for securing loads on trucks and trailers, tent guy line ropes, etc. The clove hitch is very good for tying your horse to smooth poles. Other knots we regularly use are the reef knot for tying two similar size ropes together, the sheet bend for tying two dissimilar size ropes together, the Hondo knot for a free-standing loop, tail tying for tying horses head to tail, and the emergency halter, which is a knot, sort of. In this article we will give an example of an inline bowline, clove hitch, and rope halter knot. For the quick release and bowline, see Knots Part II. More knots are available in the Blue Creek Trail Book (www.vistapublishing.net).
Many of you already use these knots or improved versions that you are comfortable with, and that is great! Happy Trails, and this would be a good time to be a knot head. “Knot, Knot, who’s there?” “Taiwan.” “Taiwan who?” “Taiwan heck of a good knot on your horse or you’ll be looking for your horse in the Orient.
HAPPY TRAILS!

INLINE BOWLINE

Inline Bowline – great for highlines, making loops for tent guy lines, tying down loads, tying ropes between trees, etc. – Just lay a rope over your palm and lightly wrap it around your open hand 3 times.

Pull out the middle loop and drag it to the outside then take the new middle loop and pull it out and to the inside.

Then take the new middle loop and pull out a second time and to the outside again.

Then take the middle loop again and pullout for the third time and to the inside again, then pull out the middle loop, and that is your permanent loop.

The collar that comes across the front of the top of the loop can always be shoved down to open the bowline and untie the knot.

ROPE HALTER KNOT

ROPE HALTERS are the best for trail riders, if you have not used one give it try. They are light to carry, unobtrusive under a bridle, act as light nerve line for softer leading, and a 2000lb breaking strength.

CLOVE HITCH

Good for tying to a smooth tree or pole but keep an eye open as a horse can easily rib it loose. Good when placing a basket hitch on a packsaddle – around the forks, or a riding saddle – over the horn.