Think Like A Horse - Natural Horsemanship

Rope Halters

Rope Halters have no buckles, no snaps, and no stitching.  They are one continuous piece of strong rope.  The rope ends up being doubled when complete, which makes it very strong.  With no snaps or buckles to break, the rope halter is a great resource for tying a horse securely.  The worst thing that can happen, is for a horse to pull, the halter, snap or buckle breaks and the horse gets loose.  Not only can the horse get scared and hurt, but worse is the horse just learned that it can get free, it just learned that it can break halters, it just learned that it does not have to accept being tied.  Bad lessons when you are teaching a horse to tie. You  don't want the horse knowing it can get loose if it pulls. 

Another advantage to the rope halter is when a horse pulls, when wearing a rope halter tied correctly, the rope pulls behind the ears and is not comfortable. This means the horse will learn to give to pressure, pull less and will learn it cannot get free, which are all good lessons. The opposite if true with a nice soft nylon halters.  The rope halter is only as strong as the knot holding it.  Tying the knot correctly is a very important point that is often overlooked.  I see lots of rope halters used and very few are tied correctly.  If not tied right, it will work loose and the horse will learn to pull and get free.  A correct knot will not work loose and will properly secure the horse.  An incorrect knot will allow the horse to get free.  So when a horse gets free it does not matter if it got free from the snap breaking, the knot giving or the knot securing him to the tie point gives, the  horse learns the same lesson, he can get free if he pulls, so you teach a horse to pull.

Click here to watch a Video on how to tie

Lots of people don't like rope halters since they have to be tied with a correct knot.  It is easier to hook a buckle than learn to tie a proper knot.  Tying a rope halter is simple and I have a few pictures to show it tied properly.

 Notice that the finished tie will always have the end of the rope facing away from the eye.  Some people tuck the extra hanging end of the rope halter or tie under the chin part of the halter. The pictures below show what the knot looks like when tied correctly.

Another thing that adds strength to the rope halters is where the lead rope connects to the rope halter.  Since we got rid of snaps and buckles on the halter (since they are the weakest part) we need to get rid of them on the lead rope with snaps.  This not only makes the halter and rope stronger, but it gets rid of the pesky buckles that are constantly annoying and banging on your horse's chin.  (I know some will tell you to use that snap and pop the horse on the chin to get his attention for training your horse)  Please, no training takes place with pain, only fear happens with pain.  Another problem with buckles is it is heavy and swings which moves and teaches the horse to ignore it, which is what you do not want.  You want a horse sensitive to any movement of the lead rope, a rope is more natural and more responsive.  Some buckles make noise as they swing.  If a horse lowers his head while walking, the buckle swings and hits his legs, if he lowers his head too low the buckle drags on the ground.  If you drop the lead rope and the horse steps on the buckle it can get caught on his shoes or break or cause a stone bruise to sole.  If you happen to grab the buckle and the horse pulls, the buckle can get caught on your rings or your finger can get caught up in the hole of the buckle.  When a horse pulls a buckle or snap breaks, they are sharp and fly fast, they can cut you or your horse, they poke your eye or your horse's eye out.  All of these are just some of the many reasons to get rid of buckles. Once again, ask yourself, if I were a horse would I want a rope or buckle hitting my chin?  I know I would rather a rope.

 The two most common ways to attach a lead rope to a rope halter are demonstrated by these two photos.  In the white rope picture (left), the rope is just pushed up the loop and then circles around the loop and then back down.  It should look like a square knot.  In the brown rope picture (right), instead of going back down the loop, it goes under the first rope and will look like a sheet bend knot.

Both knots are strong and won't slip, some prefer one over the other.   The square knot is harder to untie after weight is put on it.

Rope halters are also called Natural Halters or Cowboy Halters.  Long ago in the old west days, buckles and snaps were not available like they are today, so most halters were snap less and buckle free.  And for those who think you need that heavy snap for training, to pop or annoy your horse, amazingly long ago, when horses were the primary means of transportation, they still seemed to get their horses trained without snaps on lead ropes.  I have attached a few images to the left that explain the way to attach a lead rope with a loop at the end. This is very secure and is basically a square knot, so if the loop was cut off you connect like the last picture as described earlier.

Untying the Halter:  It is important to tie the halter right so when under load it will hold and not slip.  It is also important so you can untie the halter after a 1300 pound horse sits on the knot.  I see some people using nails, screwdrivers or pliers to try and untie a rope halter.  Don't do this.  It tears the rope fibers and weakens your halter.  It is also not needed.  It the halter is tied corrected as in all my pictures, it will untie no matter how much weight is put on it.  However you have to know the proper technique, which is really simple.  To untie, just bend the top of the loop backwards and it will untie with ease.  The loop I am referring to it the same loop that you put the lose end of the rope in, when you tie it.  So bend the loop back onto itself and the knot will come lose.  Remember, the knot has to be tied correctly for this to work.  Notice on the photo on the left that the excess of the rope is tucked under the chin to keep it from flopping around and possibly hitting the horse in the eye or causing a spook. 

 The excess rope used to tie the halter is always pointing towards the back of the horse, away from the eye.  This is quick check of making sure the halter is tied correctly.

If you would like to tie or make your own rope halter here is a good site.  (Click Here) or for a different site (Click Here)  
 

When a horse is tied with a good rope halter and lead rope, he will not break away because a snap or buckle breaks.  He will only pull once or twice,  he will learn he cannot get away and then stand nicely.  Using rope halters give much better feel to the horse.  Many people use the web halters which are soft, comfortable and don't put any pressure on the horse.  Web halters may seem nicer, but they then to teach a horse to pull and tell the horse that he can pull harder without any uncomfortable pressure.  This is not good and the horse will soon learn that you cannot stop him from pulling and that you cannot make him uncomfortable when he does pull.  Every time a web halter or snap breaks, you teach your horse to pull to get free (release).

 Snaps are not a problem for a horse.  I get the best used lead ropes from owners who spend good money for lead ropes with snaps.  I just cut off the broken snap and I have a nice stronger lead rope with no snaps.  "NO SNAPS" for horses, they bang into the horse's chin, they flop around and give mixed signals, they bounce and hit the horse when he moves, cause extra weight on the halter so it is harder to be soft and light, they break and cut horses and are just not good for training.  I see many top trainers selling their "Special" lead ropes with fancy buckles.  Most all have snaps, which is just unfair to the horse.  Don't use snaps, it is a cheat, it annoys the horse, it interferes with training and creates pain and fear.

Here is a couple results of a two horses that were not properly secured.  A sad loss of a horse and the unsuspecting people in the cars.

I still see way too many halters tied wrong.  I am adding a few more pictures to help make sure this is explained clearly.

Here is a picture of a regular halter with all the parts labeled.  The names would be the same for a rope halter.  I do not recommend using this type of halter, a Rope Halter is always much more effective, stronger, no metal parts and safer.

BAD TIE:  This is just one of the many WRONG ways to tie a rope halter.  Once you learn the right way it is very easy to see if a halter is tied properly.  So study the right way, you will see many examples of the wrong way if you look.  An easy way to remember the right way is the tie, if right, is always below the loop and never on top, as in these knots, the tie is above the loop, incorrect.

This is a picture of what is called a "slip knot tie".  I have a couple of issues with this knot.  One issue is the hanging end goes toward the eye.  The second issue is to undo the slip know, after pressure is applied (horse pulls), you still have to move the top loop in order to untie the knot.  So this is no better than the normal tie.  Another issue is this knot will not slip while "under load" (horse is pulling) therefore it has little purpose other than to look like a slip knot or quick release knot.

Securing Reins From Lead Rope: 

Sometime you will want to or have to ride your horse with just a lead rope and halter.  Attaching the reins can be tricky and seems to give lots of people problems.  Here are some photos of how to attach a lead rope to a rope halter so you can have reins and the ability to give direction to your horse from both sides.

This first image is basically taking the lead rope around the horse's neck and then looping the rope around the rope halter, just above where the other end of the lead rope attaches to the halter. 

This second image is after making at least two loops and maybe three loops, then you take the end and run it up and over the top (first loop).  You do not want to make your loops tight just yet since you will be running the lose end down through the loops so secure your reins.

This third image is showing you running the end of your lead rope down the loops and out the bottom.  This will make sure your end is pointing down from the horse and will not interfere or irritate the horse.  After pulling this end down then you want to tighten your loops and tighten the knot.  This will secure your reins.  In this pic the end is run through the rope halter, I normally don't run it through the halter and just run it back over the first loop and then back down.  Both works just personal preference.

The final image shows the reins now tight and securely tied.

 Back to Top of Page: