 Team lines tied in clove hitch to the "Jake Staff" |
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 Again, long team lines through hands to "Jake Staff" |
 Lines through Doc's hands looping down and to the "Jake Staff" |
My students know how much emphasis I put on safety when we work with our horses. Line control is a very important piece of the safety picture. In my article, “Ten Common Driving Wrecks with Horses”, I state, “It’s easier to drop a line than you might think. A horse can stumble or root with his nose pretty hard, and it’s not uncommon for us to simply fumble a line and drop it. If you don’t have the lines secured as a backup one or both can be lost and you can easily lose control. My preferred safety net is to sit on the lines.”
Sometimes, it just isn’t practical to sit on the lines. I encountered that situation this winter while driving Dolly and Molly on a bob-sled; I always drive them from a standing position. The above photos show a safe alternative to sitting on the lines; they are secured and retreiveable if they are dropped or pulled from our hands.
There are a few reasons I prefer to use the clove hitch
- it is quick and easy to tie
- it is quick and easy to tighten
- it is quick and easy to loosen or adjust
- it is a very secure knot
- it is quick and easy to slide up and off the “Jake Staff” if necessary
- this knot doesn’t tangle: slide it up and off the “Jake Staff”, drop the part of the lines with the clove hitch in it, and the knot falls leaving the lines tangle free.
click below for clove hitch video:
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