How to Lasso

Many people have attempted to make lassos and use lassos but were often discouraged easily due to lack of proper equipment or lack of knowledge. Learning to cast a lasso (lariat) is no easy task and can take a lot of practice to become a skilled caster.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Manila rope

1. Make a lariat loop. Make a simple overhand knot and pass the end through the knot, forming an eye. The eye should be just three or four inches long. You need to tie an overhand knot to keep it from pulling out. Pass the other end of the rope through the eye and you will have a lasso.

2. Hold on to the eye and throw the rope out on to the ground. Shake out all of the kinks and twists. Shake out a noose that is about four or five feet long and make sure the eye is hanging about half way down. The eye should be on the outside, the side away from you. Coil up your lariat with your left hand and take the coils in the left hand. Place the coils between the thumb and finger so that it may smoothly run from the hand.

3. Swing the noose up and around your head. This is done in much the same way as a pitcher winds up in baseball. Swing the noose with a right-to-left motion.

4. Learn to cast. Despite popular misconception, it is not necessary to swing the rope over your head to gain momentum before casting your rope. If you are not riding and in pursuit, you need only to throw the open end of the lariat towards your target, as wild movements could possibly frighten your target.

5. Develop your own lasso style. Some prefer to cast with a quick, jerky movement of the hand. They use mostly their wrists, very little of their arms and none of their bodies to cast. Others prefer to employ their entire bodies. Either way is acceptable and can be perfected with practice.