Ridecamp: [RC] Dumbo Making a line tight

Lest people think they need to be a boyscout to put up a line, I gotta
post my method.

First. Forget the fancy knots. Buy 2 knot eliminators...little metal
thingys that you hook the rope through that elminate the need for knots
and www sites about knots. :-)

2nd forget to bring your rug, inner tube or whatever. Just use your
horse's rear shipping boots (after removing from horse) to run the rope
through to pad the tree bark.  This is also good because when it's time
to leave and you search all over your campsite for the rear shipping
boots you'll remember where you put them and won't forget to take down
your rope.

If you don't have a ring to put on the rope, an old snaffle works just
dandy.

I noticed nobody mentioned putting stoppers (knot eliminators work for
this) on the line that stop the ring and keep the horse from reaching the
tree at each end. This will eliminate chewing, wrapping self around the
tree, and rubbing halter off on tree.

My method for getting the rope tight is just tie a slip knot around the
tree at one end, lifting up high with the manure fork. Tighten slightly.
Put a knot eliminator about 6' from the tree to keep horse away from tree
on that end. Make sure you remember to put the ring on the rope now. (big
bummer to get it all tightened and realize you forgot). Next I put a knot
eliminator maybe 7' from the other tree. The knot eliminator has a loop
in it. I put the rope (with shipping boot on it) around the tree and then
just run the end out to the knot eliminator. I stand on a tack box or
rickety chair, put the rope through the hole on the knot eliminator, and
use the leverage to pull hard back towards the tree.  After I the chair
or tack box flips out from under you, repeat above.  Now. to tie that
off, make circles and put the rope through it over and over until it
resembles some sort of knot that you've seen somewhere.  Pull it and see
if it stays. If so, cool.

IMPORTANT:  ALWAYS use a lead with a bull snap.  For some reason the
other kind just turns loose sometimes when they flip their head around. 
I like cotton ropes if possible, less rope burn danger. Hang so that the
knot is 6" from the ground. I tie it to the ring (or snaffle) with a
quick release knot, but carry a knife since quick release knots never
seem to release after a horse sits back on them.

I recently had my first cases of the horses having trouble in about 7
years of using a high line.  My mistake was I had one really long rope
tied from the horse trailer to about a 4" pine. It looked as tight as a
guitar string (a high one at that) but if they leaned on it it let them
pull out to the side to get more grass. Somehow he did that, then turned
and suddenly had a problem.  Note: dull pocket knife won't even dent a
good caving rope.  Amazingly, I was able to easily pull the rope and get
it to give enough to turn him loose. The line immediately snapped back up
and looked *really* tight.  No more flimsy trees for me!

Angie

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