Page 26 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

Tying up the foot begins with a piece of rope—around twenty feet is good—made of soft
cotton if you intend to wrap it directly around his hind pastern. If you have a hobble half to

use around the hind foot and intend to insert the rope through the ring, the texture of the
rope is less important. But cotton is best for direct contact, because it’s less abrasive and
more comfortable for the horse.

Attach hobble half on pastern.

For safety, the colt should not be tied up to something secure during this procedure—it’s
far safer to have an assistant hold the lead rope. If you’re alone, wrap the lead rope a turn
or two around a post or pole rather than tying it, so that if the colt should spook during the
process, the lead rope could allow slippage and prevent a fall.

Start with a bowline around the base of the horse’s neck, right about where a horse collar
fits on a draft horse (step 1).

Tying up a foot, step 1: place a bowline around the neck.

Then bring the rope down between the horse’s hind legs (if you’re going to wrap around
the hind pastern) or through the ring of the hobble half (if you’re using one). Then bring the
rope back up along his side through the loop at the base of the horse’s neck (step 2). This
creates 2:1 leverage, and by pulling you can raise the colt’s hind leg up under him.
However, I don’t do that right away. Instead, I just take the slack out of the rope and tie it

off with a half hitch with quick-release loop (see page 14). The colt may kick against the
rope, testing it, but if you’ve trained him to lead by each foot he should accept the restraint
readily. When he quits testing the rope, I’ll untie the half hitch and pull the colt’s foot slightly