Rode in my first ACTHA ride last Saturday. Enjoyed the day very much. One of the “rules” A rider SHOULD carry for their use on the trail: lead rope, halter, hoof pick, knife and a bottle of drinking water.
My father was in the Cavalry. When I was a kid we rode with the lead rope tied in like a noose around the horses neck and a halter under the bridle.
Is this still the best way to carry it?
BTW the only thing I carried Saturday was a multitool.
Yes, what you describe is pretty much the way I’ve always done it when long distance trail riding or camping in an English saddle.
I cannot speak for official ride rules, though. Sometimes people make ‘rules’ that don’t necessarily correspond to the way I’ve ‘always done it!’
In one of my early ACTHA rides last year, I came across a judge who assumed my lead rope around the neck (one of those like the mounted police use with the extra ring and clip on the end) was some sort of tie down and thus against the rules to use. Tying the lead around cavalry-style could also be misconstrued as my rope was.
I took it off for the ride and what I did for rides thereafter was to get a regular lead rope and loop it up short in that noose knot and clip it to a ring on my saddle. That is the way I notice most riders are carrying a lead rope in my area for ACTHA rides.
Halter under bridle is fine, though, and encouraged,
Very uninformed judge but that is a great tip. Thank you
You could also get some small saddlebags to attach to the saddle, I suppose and put the halter/lead in there.
Or is the point that they’re out and available for the judge to see? (I’ve never done any ACTHA rides)
I don’t think that the point is to have them out and able to be seen by the judge, but I think that the items in question should be available to be gotten to quickly.
My horse wears a rope halter under her bridle and I have the lead rope attached to one of the rings on my saddle right behind my right leg so I could grab it quickly enough if I were to hop off and want it.
Lead ropes can be very useful on the trail, on not just for leading… this weekend I went to two rides at Mammoth Cave Nat’l Park here in KY. On the Saturday ride, a horse a judge had ridden out was standing tied to a tree out of the way and a sinkhole opened up under his hind end! His hind end was in the hole, one leg kind up on the side and the other dangling. The horse could not get any purchase to get out on his own (luckily he was calm). We got a person on his head, a person on his tail, and myself and another guy got a lead rope around the dangling hind leg- with all four of us pulling (head, tail, rope around leg), the horse was able to get enough leverage to get out of the hole… it could have ended badly, but luckily it did not. But without that lead rope, I’m not sure what we would have done!
Saw about the Mammoth Park Ride on Best of America by horseback. with fuel prices most likely will never be able to travel there. Wow. I hope the horse stays ok. I had a horse once get sucked in a bog. We were able to get out but about 4 months later he had problems with his back.
I have a cantle bag that fits nicely on both english and western saddles, a lead rope could easily be looped across behind the saddle too with slip knots for easy access but also out of the way of riding.
I also ride in halter bridles.
[QUOTE=percheron;5558926]
Rode in my first ACTHA ride last Saturday. Enjoyed the day very much. One of the “rules” A rider SHOULD carry for their use on the trail: lead rope, halter, hoof pick, knife and a bottle of drinking water.
My father was in the Cavalry. When I was a kid we rode with the lead rope tied in like a noose around the horses neck and a halter under the bridle.
Is this still the best way to carry it?
BTW the only thing I carried Saturday was a multitool.[/QUOTE]
Yup, the Cavalry way is a good way for cross country riding. 
A multi-tool is an excellent idea. But I’d add some water, too!!! :lol:
G.
I do one of two things…
Rope halter OVER bridle with lead rope attached and lead rope tied around neck.
OR
I have a saddle pad with pockets and D loops- I have strings attached to the D rings and just lay halter and lead rope out behind the saddle and tie at each end.
Happy Trails!!!
I trail ride in a halter bridle, and either use a rope around the neck like this
http://www.sstack.com/western_trail-riding-accessories/dura-tech-trail-n-tie-neck-rope/
or a regular lead rope tied up like this and clipped to the front D ring of my dressage saddle
http://www.saddlenrugs.com/pcat-gifs/products-small/nylon-122.jpg
The rope in the first link is what I have and what one judge mistook for a tie-down of some sort.
I agree about it being a misinformed judge… and how that could be construed as restricting a horse’s movement, I don’t know! Just what I was told at that particular ride… so “just in case” I don’t use it anymore on ACTHA rides so I can’t lose points or be DQ’d by something so silly.
I bought an item from Cashel that lays under an English saddle on top of the saddle pad and clips to the front of the saddle. It has multiple “D” rings and ties attached. I used to take a rope halter with attached lead and wrap it together and then tie to one of the “D” rings. I also have used saddle bags I purchased for my Englsih saddle.
Have you tried one of those halter bridles? I don’t know much about endurance but that could be easier.
My family always has a halter & lead on our horses when we go out…just how it’s done.
When I did one the events, I was in a western saddle, so that was easy enough, but the rest of my family rides English and we just do the cavalry knot and have a carabiner clipped to one of the extra rings on the saddle with a small folding hoofpick and I just have a belt with my multiuse tool. We use a thin, small leather halter underneath the English bridle and it looks just fine.
These are all great ideas. Thank you.
Trying to visualize this. Is the lead rope attached to the halter or just coiled up and tied to your saddle? Do you ride western or english?
The lead rope is done up in one of those noose knots and clipped to one of the back rings of my saddle (Australian Stock Saddle). It is not attached to my halter.
[QUOTE=analise;5559570]
You could also get some small saddlebags to attach to the saddle, I suppose and put the halter/lead in there.
Or is the point that they’re out and available for the judge to see? (I’ve never done any ACTHA rides)[/QUOTE]
This is my method of carrying stuff for trail riding, inclding some first aid things for both horse and rider.
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/P7060034.jpg
http://i620.photobucket.com/albums/tt284/cap7297/P7060032.jpg
I keep the bags packed and can easily use them on any saddle, western or english.
Christa
I rode in ACTHA with the calvary-style halter & lead
I ride english and ALWAYS just leave the halter on under the bridle (in my case, it’s a thin rope halter…so not too bulky) with the lead-rope done calvary-style around the neck.
How LAME that a judge thought that was some sort of tie-down??? Geez!!?? LOL!
Here are some photos of my sister and I, at the ACTHA competition at Driscoll Ranch (CA)… perfectly fine with our Calvary Style get up 
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk150/elaineshickman/Trail/SE_ACTHA_postbarn.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk150/elaineshickman/Trail/EHbarn.jpg
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk150/elaineshickman/Trail/SBmossyoak.jpg
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