Merchants wanted the front door readily accessible to horse-drawn wagons and buggies so customers could easily load up their purchases. That situation was not conducive to drawing in customers and required extra labor to remove the stuff. The contents of this document are not for reproduction. Horses tied in front of a store will quickly produce large piles of smelly and fly-attracting manure. Return to the "Learning More About Horses." pageĬOPYRIGHT © 2008 BOB LEMEN, GRAND RAPIDS, What you don't see in the films are the livestock handlers who step in to hold the horse as soon as it's out of camera range!
![how to draw rope tied to a post how to draw rope tied to a post](https://2rdrtx4bt29lo91s31mjhkji-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Survival-knots-rope-cordage-paracord-tying-survival-preparedness-shtf-6.jpg)
In real life (as opposed to reel life) a horse tied in that manner would soon be wandering down the street in search of some grass to munch. Look closely, and you'll also see that the actors usually just give the reins a quick wrap or two around the rail. Having the cowboys take the time to turn their horses in at a corral would slow down the action too much. So, why do most movies have the streets lined with hitching rails? Simple.
#How to draw rope tied to a post free
Many of those corrals were offered free of charge, in the same way that a modern shopping center might offer free parking in order to attract customers. had a corral available for shoppers, travelers, and such. In the old west, all livery stables, hotels, feed stores, etc. If a rider plans to be away from his horse for more than a minute or two, it's best to either stable the critter or turn it in at a corral. A hitching rail is not the most secure method of restraining a saddle horse. It's a long street with many wagons on it - and nary a hitching rail in sight! From a stereograph photographic print, courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. (For example, take a look at the photo at left of Placerville, California's Main Street, taken around 1865. Again, if you look at many old photos you'll usually see a goodly number of wagons parked along the streets, but few, if any, saddle horses. Having even one horse tied up in front made it very difficult to park a wagon there. That situation was not conducive to drawing in customers and required extra labor to remove the stuff.Ģ.
![how to draw rope tied to a post how to draw rope tied to a post](https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/cartoon-rope-noose-tied-comic-style-drawing-suicide-hanging-lynching-vector-illustration-111336180.jpg)
Horses tied in front of a store will quickly produce large piles of smelly and fly-attracting manure. About the only place where you'd see one was in front of a livery stable. If you look at very many old photos of western towns, you'll notice that stores - including saloons - almost never had a hitching rail in front. (Photo courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. When not used to secure the horse, the reata was coiled up and tied to the saddle - as in the case of Calamity Jane in the photo at the right. When a rider needed to leave his horse outside while he entered a building, the rider simply held the end of the reata, which extended out the door to the horse. It was simply a very long lead rope (sometimes 30 or 35 feet long) which was tied to a horse's head. This is why the original vaquero "lariat" - or "reata" - didn't have a loop and was not used for working cattle. You'll find a little more about it in Q&A #162 - Do-it-yourself hitching posts.Īs I mention in the Cowboy Dictionary, in the early days - especially in California - hitching rails were rare. The main branch supporting the overhanging end of the post tapered out from the bottom of the tree, thus allowing plenty of gap between the swing seat and the trunk of the tree.ĭimensions are given in the picture below.The thing you're talking about is called a hitching rail - often mistakenly referred to as a hitching post.
![how to draw rope tied to a post how to draw rope tied to a post](https://www.theduchy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Larks-Head-SC.jpg)
The height of the post was approximately 2600mm (8′ 8″) off the ground. The overhang was approximately 1000mm (40″), one third of the total length of the post. The cantilever (overhang) end of the post was placed in the fork of two strong branches for added support.