Quick Release Knots:

A knot can be anything tied in a rope from a decoration to a life-saving tool.  The uninitiated would be amazed to know that there exist clubs, associations, and societies dedicated to the study and practice of tying knots - thousands and thousands of them.

For horsemen, several handy knots to know are in the family of knots called "hitches" - used for securing a rope under load to a stationary object such as a pole or ring.  While many knots would do, hitches are best for the task.

Now consider that a horse can place several tons of pressure against a knot in a panic situation.  With such a load pulling against the knot, most hitches simply could never be untied - certainly not in a hurry.  Therefore,  a sub-class of hitches which are released by pulling on a "rip-cord" - that is the loose (called the "running") end - were devised.

You should always tie your horses securely, but in such a fashion that they can be quickly released by a human under emergency conditions.  Quick-release knots (sometimes called "exploding" knots by the experts) are ideal for this situation; strong, non-slipping, yet can be released in a flash.

The "Highwayman's Hitch", as legend contends, got its name from horse-mounted robbers of bygone eras.  They would tie their getaway steed in some hidden location, do their dirty work, and dash back to their mount for a hasty retreat.  For obvious reasons, they needed a knot that was both strong (didn't want to come back to find their horse had wondered off) and quick to release with a single tug.

Two knots that work well for securing horses are presented here.  The first (left) is ideal for securing a lead-line to tie-ring on a trailer (it is not so good for larger anchor points such as trees).  In certain applications, it has the advantage that although it unties (explodes) with just a tug, you still retain some control of the rope... it is still passing through the ring.  This allows you to maintain reasonable control because the rope is still anchored to a strong object.  However, in other applications (the robber's getaway ?) - having the rope still through the anchor point can be a disadvantage.

For times when you want a rope to instantly come free of the anchor point, the second knot (below) is very handy - albeit a little harder to learn how to tie.

Another technique's step-by-step view of how to tie this knot can be found at http://www.iland.net/~jbritton/highwaymanshitch.htm

So, go practice tying these knots and you will have safer horse handling and quicker getaways!

Have fun ... be safe!

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