Easy Instructions for Making Rope Halters

Material

• Halters can be made from any sufficient length of rope in an emergency. But when practicing, use a cheap and disposable material, such as nylon or polyester rope. When you're ready to make a halter to be used on a daily basis, select double-layered nylon over a nylon core rope. Thinner cords can give a bit more control of a horse because when the horse pulls against the halter, it bites into its neck. On the other hand, if you want to always have a gentle halter on your horse, work with thicker rope. You'll need 18 feet of rope for a small pony, 22 feet of rope for a large horse and up to 28 feet of rope for a draft horse.

Basic Knots

• The basic knot used in making a halter is the overhand knot. Make the overhand knot by forming a loop with the rope and bringing one end around the other rope and through the loop. You use a loop knot at the start of the halter. You make the loop knot the same way as the overhand knot except you use a folded section of rope, working with two strands instead of one and using the folded end to put through the loop. At one point, under the chin, you will make a double loop knot; fold both long sections of rope and hold them as if they are one rope and make an overhand knot. You will end up with two loops.

Knotting the Halter

• To begin making the halter, put a series of loose overhand knots in the rope at spacing designed to fit a medium-sized adult horse. If you need to adjust the spacing for a larger or smaller horse, change the distance by 1 inch for most adjustments. Tie the first overhand knot 30 inches from the end of the rope--this position will be by the right ear. Tie the right nose knot 8 inches from the right ear knot, the left nose knot 9 inches from the right nose knot, the throat-latch knot left 31 inches from the right nose knot and a single loop knot 10 inches from the throat-latch knot. Make the loop on the loop knot about 4-inches long.

Forming the Halter

• You will tie into three of the knots you previously made and left loose. To tie into a knot, thread the loose end of the rope through the knot, following the pattern of the knot itself. Tie into the left nose loop leaving 9 inches between the tie loop and the left nose knot. Tie into the right nose knot, leaving 9 inches between the left and right nose knots; this section goes over the horse's nose and should lie flat and even. Tie into the throat latch knot, leaving 31 inches to the throat latch knot. Arrange the halter on a flat surface as it will go on the horse. Grasp the two long loops between the throat latch knot and the left and right nose knots in one hand and tie a double latch knot. You now have two loops about 4 inches in length to which you will tie the horse lead after haltering the horse.

Haltering the Horse

• You must tie one final knot after slipping the halter on the horse. There will be two ends coming from the right ear knot. Toss them over your horse's head and behind his ears. Insert both ends into the single loop near the horse's left ear. Wrap the ends underneath the loop back between the loop and the ropes. Adjust all the knots starting from the right ear knot so the halter fits your horse. Tighten the knots. The ends of the nylon rope should be melted so they don't fray. Do not melt the ends while the halter is on your horse. Never leave a horse alone and haltered. The horse can be severely injured or die if the halter catches on an object and causes the horse to panic.