Page 58 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots
P. 58

5. WEBBING WOES
















  As  the  years  pass,  changes  evolve  in  the  construction  of  outdoor  and  equine  gear.  A
  century ago rope was rope, mostly twisted and made of natural materials. But in our time,
  web straps, particularly those made of nylon and other synthetic materials, have become

  increasingly common. “Latigo” originally meant a strap made of latigo leather, but today the
  strap that hooks to the cinch on your saddle (and the “billet” on the other side of the saddle)
  may be made of nylon rather than leather.
























                                               A typical narrow synthetic strap.

     Narrower  webbing  is  used  on  panniers,  backpacks,  and  the  straps  that  connect  packs
  under  the  horse’s  belly.  And,  tough  as  these  synthetics  are,  they  occasionally  fail,  are
  unintentionally cut, and perhaps need to be joined in some way. And there’s the rub.
     Take  two  scraps  of  one-inch  webbing  and  attempt  to  join  them  together  with  a  square

  knot. You may succeed, but you may find that the knot slips under pull. If it doesn’t slip,
  you’ll find it difficult to untie. In any case, the flat webbing makes an ugly knot, because the
  material must inevitably make strange twists and turns in the course of tying. Knots imply

  round material—rope—and they’ve developed through the centuries for use on such, not on
  flat straps.
     Enter mountaineers, who deal with webbing constantly and whose lives frequently depend
  on  the  reliability  of  knots.  Although  most  of  their  techniques  go  beyond  the  scope  of  this
  book, one knot they frequently use can be of great help to the horseman who must join two

  web straps together. It’s important to note, though, that climbers aren’t often worried about
  untying the knots they create; their big concern is strength of a knot, and the rock anchors
  they create often are designed to stay in place.
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