Page 15 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

A properly tied halter.

But many people make the mistake of tying the half hitch above, rather than below the
halter loop. Now the strength is gone, because pressure tends to pull the half hitch away

from the loop, rather than jamming into it. Such a tie relies totally upon the half hitch for
strength. Tie a rope halter in this fashion and you may find your horse grazing in the next
pasture (which in the West can be miles away). Or, once pressure has been applied, the

knot may jam in such a way you have trouble removing the halter.

In an improperly tied halter the knot may jam.

Sheet Bend
There’s another reason this halter knot is so strong. The half hitch tied correctly in
conjunction with the halter loop is, in fact, another very popular and useful knot, the sheet

bend. If you’ve been tying your halter in this correct manner, you’ve only had to tie the half
hitch because the loop is already built into the halter. But the two combined create a sheet
bend.

The name of the sheet bend, like those of many other knots, is nautical. Anyone but the
most inveterate landlubber knows that the sheets on a sailboat are not the sails, but the
lines (ropes) that control the angle of the sails. A drunken sailor might be “three sheets to
the wind”—the alcohol has taken over. He’s given up control and just let the sheets go.

The word “bend,” as a noun, has as one of its more obscure meanings (according to
Merriam-Webster), “a knot by which one rope is fastened to another or to some object.”
The sheet bend is an excellent knot for either purpose, and it’s a better one for tying two
ropes together than the square knot. Unlike the square knot, the sheet bend is secure even