Hacking out youngsters and getting off rope

[Sophie and James]

I am a big fan of getting off while out hacking if my horse gets worried.

So my young horse is now happily doing about 2 miles of bridleway and road work without incident and seems to be getting more relaxed and confident every day. I haven't got off for over a month now.

My problem is the rope. I still carry a lead rope everywhere and probably shall for a long time as I don't lead at all from the bridle. Now we have started trotting and cantering, the rope, which is normally tied around my waist has come undone a couple of times. Not ideal. I must be rubbish with knots.

I'd like to keep one end attached to the halter (so I can hop off and have it ready) and tie the other end around his neck (like a neck strap) rather than my waist but I can't figure out at all how to do this so it doesn't come undone. I can't seem to find anywhere that sells any kind of rope designed for this purpose.

What am I doing wrong? What does everyone else do with the rope?

Sophie

[specialized]

If you get a longer lead rope, plenty of sources on ebay, many people ride with a lead rope attached to the halter and tied off to a loop attached to one of the dee rings on the saddle.
Alternatively you can get reins with clips rather than straps to attach to the bit, which can be unclipped from the bridle and used as a lead rope.

[fth]

I like the D ring thing - I bought a tiny dog collar and put that through the D ring -- then I just tie the lead rope to that and sort of "daisy chain" it so it doesn't hang down too long....

I prefer that to clip on reins with yong horses as the rein clips are usually not as strong/reliable as the lead rope snaps


Cathy