The halter hitch is a type of

knot A knot is an intentional complication in cordage which may be practical or decorative, or both. Practical knots are classified by function, including hitches, bends, loop knots, and splices: a ''hitch'' fastens a rope to another object; a ' ...

used to connect a rope to an object. As the name implies, an animal's

lead rope A lead, lead line, lead rope (US) or head collar rope (UK), is used to lead an animal such as a horse. Usually, it is attached to a halter. The lead may be integral to the halter or, more often, separate. When separate, it is attached to t ...

, attached to its

halter A halter or headcollar is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. On smaller ...

, may be tied to a post or hitching rail with this knot. The benefit of the halter hitch is that it can be easily released by pulling on one end of the rope, even if it is under tension. Some sources show the knot being finished with the free end running through the slipped loop to prevent it from working loose or being untied by a clever animal, still allowing easy but not instant untying.

Tying

File:Pferdeanbindeknoten1.JPG, Halter hitch 1 : Place rope behind, through or around anchor object. Form a loop in the working part of the rope. File:Pferdeanbindeknoten2.jpg, Halter hitch 2 : Pull a

bight The word is derived from Old English ''byht'' (“bend, angle, corner; bay, bight”). In modern English, bight may refer to: * Bight (geography), recess of a coast, bay, or other curved feature * Bight (knot), a curved section, slack part, or loo ...

of the working part behind the standing part and then through the loop formed in first step. The halter hitch can be derived from the

Noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

knot by turning the working end into a bight.

Difference from similar hitches with the same purpose

The halter hitch is topologically the same knot as the

Falconer's knot The falconer's knot is a knot used in falconry to tether a bird of prey to a perch. Some sources show this knot to be identical to the halter hitch, but with a specific method of single-handed tying needed when the other hand is occupied holding ...

, i. e. a slipped overhand knot around the main part. The falconer has to tie the same knot one handed, throwing the end around the anchor object (the perch), gripping it with a scissoring fingers act, pulling the bight from opposite side of the main part using the back of the thumb. File:AtmacaBagi1.JPG, Falconer's knot 1 : Pinching fingers from below, hooking thumb from above File:AtmacaBagi2.JPG, Falconer's knot 2 : Hand rotated counterclockwise in a "GO AWAY" sign from below File:AtmacaBagi3.JPG, Falconer's knot 3 : End bight scissored between fingers to thumb loop File:AtmacaBagi4.JPG, Falconer's knot 4 : End bight slipped through loop around thumb File:AtmacaBagi5.JPG, Falconer's knot 5 : Tightened by pulling main part, pushing the knot File:AtmacaBagi6.JPG, Falconer's knot 6 : Locked with free end through slip The halter hitch is similar to other slipped hitches that wrap the main part with small differences: *The

Siberian hitch The Siberian hitch (or Evenk knot) is a hitch knot used to attach a rope to an object. It is a type of Bight (knot)#Slipped knot, slipped figure-eight knot, figure-eight noose. The hitch is known for having a tying method suitable even while wea ...

is one where the bight for the slip is twisted one more time i.e. a slipped

Figure-eight knot The figure-eight knot or figure-of-eight knot is a type of stopper knot. It is very important in both sailing and rock climbing as a method of stopping ropes from running out of retaining devices. Like the overhand knot, which will jam under st ...

around the main part. Stronger, traditionally used to tie a horse or reindeer by

evenks The Evenks (also spelled Ewenki or Evenki based on their endonym )Autonym: (); russian: Эвенки (); (); formerly known as Tungus or Tunguz; mn, Хамниган () or Aiwenji () are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Even ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

, tied with a method suitable for tying while wearing a glove. *The

Slippery hitch A slippery hitch is a knot used to attach a line to a rod or bar. It does not provide great strength compared to some other knots, but it can be tied relatively quickly and released very easily. These characteristics mean that it is used on squa ...

and

Buntline hitch The buntline hitch is a knot used for attaching a rope to an object. It is formed by passing the working end around an object, then making a clove hitch around the rope's standing part and taking care that the turns of the clove hitch progress ' ...

are essentially a slipped

Clove hitch The clove hitch is a type of knot. Along with the bowline and the sheet bend, it is often considered one of the most important knots. A clove hitch is two successive half-hitches around an object. It is most effectively used as a crossing knot ...

around the main part.

has the slip placed under the last turn away from the main part, while

has the slip placed under the last turn towards the main part. Easy to tie, secure, easy to untie,

is used several in a row on square-rigged ships for securing the gaskets that bind stowed sails to the yards on top, while

, stronger but more difficult to untie, is used slipped to secure the bottom of open sail. *The

half hitch The half hitch is a simple overhand knot, where the working end of a line is brought over and under the standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable hitches, bends, and knots. Two ...

with slip is one with no extra bight, no extra turn, just a slip inside the half hitch, much weaker than all of the above hitches. File:Siberian-hitch-Evenk-knot.jpg, Siberian hitch File:SlipperyHitch.jpg, Slippery hitch File:Slipped-buntline-hitch-ABOK-1712.jpg, Untightened slipped buntline hitch File:Slipstek.jpg, Half hitch with slip

References

External links

Discussion of halter hitch, including tying diagram
{{Knots Loop knots

Tying

Difference from similar hitches with the same purpose

See also

References

External links