No real control.

I usually use his mane to bring in from the field, sometimes I have to use a rope around his neck, like today in high wind and driving rain. Naughty boy. I ride in a bridle though. But I often think ex racehorses are the easiest to handle as they have not had idiots that handled them in their formative years.
 
I can lead my horse by the rug if I forget his head collar, he leads perfectly well in normal rope and headcollar, but I would ride and lead or lead on the road in a bridle just for safety. I would use a stallion chain on a horse that had no manners rather than bridle personally, as I feel this helps teach them to lead properly with a headcollar, and have done with success with my last three horses.
 
khalswitz said:
I can lead my horse by the rug if I forget his head collar, he leads perfectly well in normal rope and headcollar, but I would ride and lead or lead on the road in a bridle just for safety. I would use a stallion chain on a horse that had no manners rather than bridle personally, as I feel this helps teach them to lead properly with a headcollar, and have done with success with my last three horses.
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^^ This absolutely!!
 
Pale Rider said:
Just heard about someone who was trying to lead a horse using a bridle because it was difficult and they wanted more 'control'. Anyway, they've had an accident and been klonked on the shoulder. It's a myth that a bit and bridle give you control. You need a rope headcollar, a 12 foot line and respect from the horse. If you don't have all three, leave well alone.
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So if I don't have a rope halter and12ft line I shouldn't lead at all? What complete and utter nonsense.

There is no one rule. It depends on the horse and the situation. A 12ft rope on a road is hardly safe, is it?
 
doriangrey said:
If a 12ft rope is just that, why doesn't it get wet and soggy and dirty like most lead ropes then?
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The better quality ones are made of a tightly braided sheathed rope. They're fairly heavy, slightly thicker than a normal rope, don't absorb water and mud (and slobbery food) mostly slide off. They're very flexible and have no 'memory' (uncoil instantly rather than hold shape for a little while). There's nothing magical about them, they're just a nice size weight and material to hold and a useful length.. You do get normal length ropes of the same material although they're hard to find.

Conversely I HATE tightly twisted standard length cotton leadropes. Bloody impractical things. Apart from the matchy matchy potential. 12st ropes are usually boring colours :(
 
They're also apparently tasty. Thankfully they're pretty chew resistant too!
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I have these ropes you talk about. I get them from a shop in the Lake District where I live. They are climbing ropes, they do handle very well, they cost very little too............. from a shop that has climbing stuff.............. the same as the PP ropes.
 
Whats the point of a 12 foot rope, why is it better than a normal rope...

I can lead my horse with a piece of baler twine. However Iv worked in a raceyard with young very fit flat racehorses, if you put the equipment on them as described in the op you would be killed. Chifney or Bridle only.
 
justabob said:
I have these ropes you talk about. I get them from a shop in the Lake District where I live. They are climbing ropes, they do handle very well, they cost very little too............. from a shop that has climbing stuff.............. the same as the PP ropes.
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That's them! Mine isn't a Prat Parreli rope but same idea. Think mine was about £20 about 10yrs ago so not particulary cheap but not ridiculous. Often though about buying the rope and making my own but putting the clip on and sorting the end would be a faff. They are just nice to work with and hold.
 
cptrayes said:
This.

I would be ashamed of myself if I routinely had to use a 12 foot rope to lead my horses.

.
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Lol! I've only got one short rope. Am I ashamed... nah! :p

Having said that I rarely even tie up my horses or use head collars these days but they are at home. No dragons breathing fire.
 
I have a Richard Maxwell rope halter, it's the same design as a cow halter, but made from thinner cord. I use it occasionally on any horse that may be having temporary lapse of manners, it is a brlliant bit of kit, no horse will get away from you using one of those. I bought one of these sacred 12ft ropes with it, horrid thing, made from some ghastly manmade slippery stuff, gave me rope burns the only time I used it, sold it at an eq table top sale to a girl who looked like all her Christmases had come at once.
 
A 12ft long rope would annoy me. I've got one extra long leadrope, which irritates me intensely. I can't chuck it over the horses neck while I'm doing other stuff, because it trails on the ground. I can't tie up without the end dangling on the ground, and I have to wrap it round the gate post twice so that the end doesn't end up on the floor. MOST annoyingly, the one time I needed a longer rope (because new horse bogged off in hand), it was on the wrong horse!
 
hayinamanger said:
I have a Richard Maxwell rope halter, it's the same design as a cow halter, but made from thinner cord. I use it occasionally on any horse that may be having temporary lapse of manners, it is a brlliant bit of kit, no horse will get away from you using one of those.
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Now I prefer the thicker, softer rope but I've just got one that's made of webbing across the nose and poll, wouldn't be a lot of good for teaching manners to something stroppy, I don't think, Draft horse looks lovely in it though. It reminds me of the one we used to use with our first horse, so a nice warm fuzzy feeling.
 
Pale Rider said:
Just heard about someone who was trying to lead a horse using a bridle because it was difficult and they wanted more 'control'. Anyway, they've had an accident and been klonked on the shoulder. It's a myth that a bit and bridle give you control. You need a rope headcollar, a 12 foot line and respect from the horse. If you don't have all three, leave well alone.
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Lol. Perhaps her horse was too big for her? *snort*

Auslander said:
I have a normal headcollar, a standard length leadrope, and respect from my horse - so I guess that's even better?
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No, not if it didnt cost half a months wages and has a genuine Parelli label....


doriangrey said:
Is it a him? :D
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Yes.

PR must be bored lately as there are a few of these judgey/controversial threads lately ;)
 
Auslander said:
A 12ft long rope would annoy me. I've got one extra long leadrope, which irritates me intensely. I can't chuck it over the horses neck while I'm doing other stuff, because it trails on the ground. I can't tie up without the end dangling on the ground, and I have to wrap it round the gate post twice so that the end doesn't end up on the floor. MOST annoyingly, the one time I needed a longer rope (because new horse bogged off in hand), it was on the wrong horse!
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That's how I feel about stupid short ropes (for different reasons obviously). It's what you're used to and like. A 12ft rope isn't going to magically make you a competent horseman (despite advertising by PP!)

They are useful though (esp in the case of naughty ponies bogging off!) and a useful piece of kit once you're used to working with them. It's perfectly possible to control a horse with a standard length rope but the extra length can come in very useful at times, esp if you're used to working with them.
 
snooples said:
Whats the point of a 12 foot rope, why is it better than a normal rope...
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It's not a case of 'better' or even ego! It's a case of safety imo, if you have a horse that isn't trained to lead or bounces around it gives you more leverage and space to keep out of the way if required. Obviously, leading an untrained or frisky horse, gloves are a good idea. I'm sure many much more experienced than me disagree of course. lol

With trained horses it's surely a matter of personal preference.
 
PR must be in a happy winding people up mood today. I guess the weather is lousy so he's a bit bored. :-)
Surely everyone knows that it isn't length that matters, but what you do with it?
I'm not ashamed to say that there's a long "12ft" rope hanging off all my rope halters, just because it's there doesn't mean I have to use the length all the time. I'm lucky because I have loads of halters and nice soft ropes, my friends give them to me. So every halter has an attached long rope. I am fussy, no clips, just a neat flat loop to feed through the halter to attach them. I don't have any problem with dangly bits because I've handled these ropes for so long I don't get in a muddle with them. When I tie I I swiftly do that pretty little thing with the end where it is all looped up and neat. Same when I attach it to my saddle if I decide to keep the halter on under a bridle when riding (it's handy to have a halter there if I need to get off). If I want to chuck the rope on my horse's neck I do so, just have the rope doubled. Best of all, if I'm bimbling along with my horse on my rope, and decide to ride, I just tie it up and hey presto - reins!
When I take Old Boy out for his walkies in hand a long rope is particularly useful, because it means that when the path we are on gets unexpectedly narrow I can send him ahead and "lead" him from behind.
 
I'm not talking about not being able to handle a piece of rope because I'm not used to the length! I've managed to lunge, double lunge, and long rein perfectly competently for many years. I am talking about the practicalities of chucking a lead rope over a horses neck while you pick its feet out/get something out of the tack room/generally fiddle around, and of tying a horse up at a safe length without festoons of rope on the floor.
 
I love 12' lines, I don't actually use anything else.

When you have a 17hh occasionally rearing youngster it's so nice to be able to step back out of immediate reach, yet the second those feet touch ground again I'm there. Also should we need to have an unexpected discussion (ie. circle her or back her up) the option is there.

It feels really odd to me now, when I bring someone else's horse to be using a little short rope..
 
amandap said:
It's not a case of 'better' or even ego! It's a case of safety imo, if you have a horse that isn't trained to lead or bounces around it gives you more leverage and space to keep out of the way if required. Obviously, leading an untrained or frisky horse, gloves are a good idea. I'm sure many much more experienced than me disagree of course. lol
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It's actually safer to be as close to the horse as possible if its titting around. I don't like the idea of being far enough away to take a kick in the head! IMHO, it's all a matter of reading the horse - its very unusual not to be able to tell that a horse is about to blow, and to then take steps to prevent it.
 
Auslander said:
I'm not talking about not being able to handle a piece of rope because I'm not used to the length! I've managed to lunge, double lunge, and long rein perfectly competently for many years. I am talking about the practicalities of chucking a lead rope over a horses neck while you pick its feet out/get something out of the tack room/generally fiddle around, and of tying a horse up at a safe length without festoons of rope on the floor.
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That's cos you're not used to working with a long rope?! have none of the above issues with it because I'm used to it. I suppose it's like those who lead constantly with a lunge rope: they're used to it and don't find it a faff but I find them a right royal pain.
 
Auslander said:
It's actually safer to be as close to the horse as possible if its titting around. I don't like the idea of being far enough away to take a kick in the head! IMHO, it's all a matter of reading the horse - its very unusual not to be able to tell that a horse is about to blow, and to then take steps to prevent it.
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Not always it isn't! If you've got a rearer then 'as close as possible' is a really bad idea! The length of the rope isn't going to affect your capability to read and deal with an issue but it can affect the method you'd use. I'm used to working with a long rope and how I'd deal with a situation can be effected by the length of rope I'm holding.
 
Kallibear said:
That's cos you're not used to working with a long rope?! have none of the above issues with it because I'm used to it. I suppose it's like those who lead constantly with a lunge rope: they're used to it and don't find it a faff but I find them a right royal pain.
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As previously stated, I don't have a problem handling long lines. I just cant see that the benefits of a 12ft rope outweigh the need to faff around with it to hang it up neatly, and to tie a horse up safely with one. Each to his ow, but I just don't get whats so great about them
 
Kallibear said:
Not always it isn't! If you've got a rearer then 'as close as possible' is a really bad idea! The length of the rope isn't going to affect your capability to read and deal with an issue but it can affect the method you'd use. I'm used to working with a long rope and how I'd deal with a situation can be effected by the length of rope I'm holding.
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I beg to differ - back in the dim and distant past, I did a lot of sales prep of yearling TB colts, and of warmbloods for the continental sales. I feel most comfortable right behind the shoulder, close to the horse. The people who got landed on were generally those jumped out of the way, whereas those who stayed close, and pulled the little stinkers head round, were the ones who kept their feet close to the ground and got them going forwards again quickly
 
Auslander said:
As previously stated, I don't have a problem handling long lines. I just cant see that the benefits of a 12ft rope outweigh the need to faff around with it to hang it up neatly, and to tie a horse up safely with one. Each to his ow, but I just don't get whats so great about them
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If you're working with well behaved well trained horses and you're just leading to/ from the stable/field, tying up etc then there's absolutely no benefit in a longer rope. But they're very useful when dealing with a difficult, fresh or excitable horse (for the reasons I stated initially) and for that I'd always chose one over a standard length rope or a bridle.
 
I honestly can't see what the fuss is about on this thread.
Being safe hasn't got much to do with what tools you use, but everything to do with knowing how to use them correctly. If you think longer ropes are the work of the devil that's fine just get on with life.
On the other hand, those who use longer ropes daily, understand how to use them and be safe with them are happy - then what's the problem?
I don't see much of people like Buck Brannaman, Steve Halfpenny, Ray Hunt etc etc getting (or having got in Ray Hunt's case) trampled, kicked in the head etc. And yet they never used short ropes with horses.
If you're safe and your horse is too that is what matters. Not the flaming length of your "tool".
(Where's that wink smiley when I need it?).
p.s. I was lying when I said I hang mine up neatly. I only do that when I'm having a chilled out day. Normally I throw them in a bundle on top of a feed bin.
 
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