Page 62 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

idyllic camping spot has a couple of them, ideally twenty to fifty feet apart. My highline rope
has an eye splice at one end, so I can loop it around most anything by passing the free end

through the eye splice. But really you should use some sort of “tree-saver” to preserve the
bark. A cinch off one of the packsaddles can work, but isn’t ideal. Too often, small bits of
bark work into the cinch and must be removed, and tree-sap on a cinch is less than
desirable.
I know a man who makes tree savers out of rejected auto seatbelts, and commercial tree

savers are also available that have a large ring on one end and a smaller one on the other.
Encircle the tree, pass the small ring through the large one, and pull tight to cinch to the
tree. Try to install the tree saver above a small limb or knot to lessen the chance it will slip

down. On my highline, I insert the eye splice through the ring and the other end of the rope
through the ring on the tree-saver or else tie it with a bowline. That end of the highline is the
non-adjustable one.

Tree-saver for highline.

On the other end, I pull the rope hard through the ring, and holding the slack, tie a slipped

half hitch, then a doubled half hitch for security. But should I need the highline tighter than I
can get it that way, I use one of the picket line loops to create extra leverage for pulling the
highline really tight.

Horse and mules on highline with metal loops.

Picket Line Loop

The highline needs loops to which you can tie the lead ropes of your animals. You can buy