How to Rig a Harness Out of Rope

Using the measuring tape, measure your horse's face from the corner of one side of his mouth, over his poll, to the other corner of his mouth. Measure his face from the corner of his mouth, up the side of his face, to his ear. Make note of these measurements.

Fold rope in half. Tie off a 2-inch loop with an overhand knot. This is known as the "tie loop."

From the knot of the tie loop, measure out 10 inches, and tie a simple knot, which will be the "throat latch knot." Assume for this example your measurement over poll is 10 inches.

Thirty-three inches from the throat latch knot, tie off a simple knot, which will become the "left nose knot."

Ten inches from the left nose knot, tie off a simple knot for the "right nose knot."

Measure out 9 inches and tie a "right ear knot." Assume for this example your measurements from step 1, from the right side of the horse's mouth to the right ear, are 9 inches.

On the unknotted side of the rope, measure out 10 inches from the existing tie loop.

Loosen the left nose knot you tied in step 4.

At the 10-inch mark, slip the rope through the loosened left nose knot, and tie a simple knot following the path of the existing left nose knot. You'll be joining the two knots together. Make sure to leave a full 10 inches of rope between the tie loop and the left nose knot.

From the left nose knot, measure out another 10 inches of rope.

Loosen the right nose knot.

At the 10-inch mark, slip the rope through the loosened right nose knot, and tie a simple knot following the path of the existing right nose knot. You'll be joining the two knots together, repeating the process of step 9. Make sure to leave a full 10 inches of rope between the left nose knot and the right nose knot. This is where the rope halter will slip over the horse's nose, so the two lengths of rope will need to be the same length -- 10 inches.

From the right nose knot, measure off 33 inches.

Loosen the throat latch knot.

At the 33-inch mark, slip the rope through the loosened throat latch knot, and tie a simple knot following the path of the existing throat latch knot. You'll be joining the two knots together. Make sure to leave a full 33 inches of rope between the right nose knot and throat latch knot. When the halter slips over the horse's head, both lengths of rope -- the one from the right nose knot to the throat latch, and the left nose knot to the throat latch -- need to measure 33 inches.

From the throat latch knot, measure off 10 inches of rope.

Loosen the right ear knot.

At the 10-inch mark, slip the rope through the loosened right ear knot, and tie a simple knot following the path of the existing right ear knot. You'll be joining the two knots.

Place the halter on the horse, and tie the two sections of 33-inch rope together under the horse's chin. There should be a small amount of slack to the rope beneath the chin. It should not be tight under the horse's chin.

Remove halter from horse. Cauterize both free ends of rope with a match or lighter to avoid fraying.