Page 58 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

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.