How to Attach Leads to a Rope Halter – 6 Ways
Leading is a basic skill for riders and horses. But before we lead the animal, we’ve got to halter it and then attach a lead rope to that halter.
How we connect our lead rope to our halter is an important consideration. We want it to stay on yet be easy to disconnect when we want. Here’s 6 different ways to do so.
Loop to Loop – I like leads that have an eye loop already spliced in. I like this yacht braid model from Weaver Leather. With this I can very quickly and easily tie in and out.
If your lead doesn’t have a loop you’re in luck. First leads without loops are usually less expensive and second the knots are super easy to tie. Here’s 4 different methods that I know to accomplish this.
Square knot – I like using a square knot because the tag end of the lead puts down and away from my animal. I remember this knot by tracing rabbit coming out of his hole, around the tree, and back down the hole. Does that remind you of another knot? It should! I’ll put the answer at the end of the column!
The Sheet Bend and it’s Family – For me the sheet bend is where it’s at for tying onto a halter because it’s the exact same knot that we use to tie the crown of the rope halter. You ARE tying your rope halter properly aren’t you? Only having to remember one knot is a good thing.
How to tie a Halter knot – https://www.trailmeister.com/how-to-tie-a-rope-halter/
The Double Sheet Bend – If you want a little more heft to the knot or want to be doubly sure it won’t come undone you can wrap the lead around the loop an extra time before tucking it under. I’ve heard more than one clinician claim this as their special knot and even named it after themselves. I don’t have that big an ego. And by the way a double sheet bend can be found described in a book printed way back in 1774.
The Halter Hitch – What a quick release version? Tie a single sheet bend with a bight or slippery hitch. I don’t like this method because it makes for a big wad of material but it sure does come undone in a jiffy.
Clipping On – I’ll be real honest here – Generally I’ll just clip the lead to the halter. Especially when I’m camping or riding. It’s quick and easy. When I’m camping I’m prone to using a locking carabineer instead of weaker snaps.
Yes, Hardware can give conflicting cues but let’s face it, quiet hands on your part can cure that. My biggest reason not to use hardware is that it is ALWAYS the weakest part of the connection. No matter what type of clip or snap you use it can and will break, or you’ll lose it. It’s for this reason that we should all know different ways to tie that lead onto the halter.
Well there you go a bunch of different ways to connect a lead to a rope halter. Find at least one way to tie on in case your hardware should fail.
ANSWER: The bowline knot also uses a rabbit mnemonic to help teach how to tie it. How to tie a bowline – https://www.trailmeister.com/how-to-tie-a-bowline/
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How to tie a Halter knot – https://www.trailmeister.com/how-to-tie-a-rope-halter/
How to tie a bowline – https://www.trailmeister.com/how-to-tie-a-bowline/
Weaver Leather rope halter – https://amzn.to/3oJIFLf
Weaver Leather lead – https://amzn.to/2YLXbY4
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