How to Tie Rope Horse Halters

Whether on the dusty trail or in the barn, a horseman doesn't always have a halter handy. Perhaps the one used on your horse was broken, or perhaps you never had one to begin with and would prefer a natural alternative to the commercially available options. In this article you will learn how to create a simple and sturdy halter using a few lengths of rope and a couple standard knots. This article will show you how to create a standard rope halter as well as one that can be created quickly for emergency situations

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1/4 of an inch thick nylon rope. Double braided nylon is recommended for its durability and tensile strength. For an average sized horse about 20 feet should be adequate.
• A sharp knife or blade
• Matches or a lighter to seal the ends of your rope, if appropriate.

1. You must first figure out how big you'd like to make the halter. Measure your horse around the nose at a spot below it's cheekbones. Due to safety concerns, it's a good idea to use a piece of string to take measurements on a horse. Cut the piece of string to the measurement, and figure it out from there. Metal tape measures can cut or injure your horse should it become spooked.

2. 
    
   The yellow dot indicates the location for the overhand knot that will become your tie loop.

   To begin, fold the length of the rope in half. Where the rope is folded, create a small loop and tie an overhand knot to secure it. This will become your tie loop, for later fastening the halter onto your horse.

3. 
    
   Location of the Throat Latch knot.

   Working with one side of the rope, tie another overhand knot. The space in between the tie loop and this knot would be the same as the distance from a tie loop to a throat latch on a leather halter. For a medium sized horse, the length would be about 9 inches. Be sure not to tie the knots too tightly, as you will be opening them up later.

4. 
    
   The left nose knot, 33 inches from the throat latch knot.

   You will then create a knot below the throat latch knot on the same side of the piece of rope. The distance between this knot and the throat latch knot should be roughly 9 inches longer than the measurement of your horse's nose circumference. This is your left nose knot. For our example horse, it will be 33 inches.

5. 
    
   The right nose knot in relation to the other knots.

   Create a knot below this one, roughly the same distance from the left nose knot as the tie loop knot was from the throat latch knot. This is your "right nose" knot. In our example, This knot is 9 inches from the left nose, or previous, knot.

6. 
    
   The right ear knot in relation to the others.

   Tie another knot. This knot is referred to as your right ear knot. This knot should be one inch less in distance than the previous two knots were from each other. Again, for our example, the knot will be 8 inches from the previous knot. This is the last overhand knot you will create on this side, and it should be 30 or more inches from the end of the rope. It is, of course, better to have more leftover than less.

7. You should at this point have one piece of rope with several overhand knots, and one piece of rope that is completely free of knots, separated by a loop. Take the knot-free piece of the rope, and tie it into the third knot you created, the left nose knot. You should tie this knot using a double overhand knot. When making our example harness, a circle was created with a 49 inch inner circumference.

8. Again using the overhand knot, thread the un-knotted rope through the left nose knot, and secure it. Leaving a little bit of slack, do the same for the right nose knot. The loop you just created should have an inner circumference of about 18 inches.

9. Leaving slack, tie a length from the right nose knot to the throat latch knot, essentially creating a conventional throat latch as would be seen on a standard, commercial halter. Ours was about 30 inches.

10. Feed the thread that is now at the throat latch knot into the right ear knot. Secure it using a double overhand knot. Your piece of rope should now look vaguely halter like. At this point, it is a good idea to try the piece onto your horse to fit it, and see if any knots or lengths need tightening.

11. You should have two long lengths that run between your ear knots and your throat latch knots. Take them, and using a regular overhand knot, make a loop. This is where the lead rope will secure to.

12. Congratulations! You've now got your own hand made rope halter. Seal the raw ends of the rope with matches. If you haven't tied the knots too tightly, you can adjust them to your horse as needed. To fasten the halter, thread the tie strings through the back of the loop and create a latigo knot (the same knot you would use to tie a gentleman's tie or fasten a western saddle cinch).

13. If all of this is too complicated for you, you may fashion a rope harness in a hurry. Take your piece of rope and circle it loosely around your horse's neck, fastening with a bowline knot. Create a loop and slide it over your horse's ears. Create another loop and slip it over your horse's nose. Fasten using a slipknot or other appropriate quick release knot. Thread the excess rope through the loops that were created, and lead your horse away!

Tips & Warnings

• All of this is merely a guideline for creating a custom fit. Measurements vary from horse to horse, and it is recommended that you try the halter on at various stages of creation.
• Don't tie your knots too tightly. You can always make them again, but they can be a pain to undo!
• Do not let a haltered horse out to graze unsupervised. This can be a dangerous situation.
• Don't tie a horse with a horse halter. They can tighten easily and asphyxiate your horse.
• Use good judgment. If your horse has sensitive skin, perhaps a rope halter is not the best choice.
• Properly check and adjust your equipment each time you use it. Not only is it safety for yourself and the animal, but also a part of good equipment maintenance.