Re: Picket line rope

[Lauren Horn <lhorn@home.com>]

The Craig/Haisz family wrote:
> 
 what is the best kind of rope to use, that
> is not too expensive?  


A 1 inch cotton rope. I got mine at Orchard Hardware Store. The Marine
Stores are more expensive. 40 - 60 ft. should do depending on how far
away the trees or trailers are and how many horses.


I was given wise advise by an experienced back counrty horsewomen who
said not to use a sliding type of attachment. When we were in Yosemite
we used a "High-Line" which is like a picket rope except that it is
higher then the horses head; about 4 inches higher. Then you attach or
securely tie your leadrope to the highline. You don't want the leadrope
to slide on the high line. The lead rope can hang to approximately 6-8
inches from the ground. The horses can walk in a circle under the
highline. WE used this set up for 5 nights and didn't have a problem
with it and our horses had never been tied like this before.. One of our
horses even laid down. The experienced guide said she has never had a
problem with this set up in years and years of using it. She wrote an
article that was in Western Horseman about picket and high lines. It is
in the May issue and I can FAX it to you if you would like.

Lauren