# high-lining technique



## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

I've seen a lot of people with sloppy high-lines for both goats and horses, so I thought I'd share my technique and see if anyone else has any tips that they find are useful. 

A loose high-line is not safe for your animals. In my opinion, you want that thing tight like a guitar string. Here's how I get it that way. 

1) Using either rope or webbing (I prefer webbing), first tie loops at intervals to clip the goats tethers to. 
2) tie one end to the first tree (whatever knot you prefer)
3) run the webbing toward the second tree, and tie a small loop about three feet from the trunk of the tree; clip a carabiner into this loop. 
4) pass the webbing around the second tree, then run it through your carabiner. 
5) now pulling on your rope/webbing gives you a 2/1 mechanical advantage to tighten it up. 
6) when you're satisfied with the tightness, secure the loose end with your knot of preference. I usually just pass it back around the tree and throw a couple half hitches in it. 

I like to rig my line about 6 feet off the ground, and my tethers are just under 6 feet. This allows the goats a decent sized area to move around when standing, and also allows them to lie down comfortably. I've found that height also pretty much keeps them from ever getting tangled. I made my tethers out of some 1" webbing with a bolt snap at each end.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

good post, marked it for later


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## imported_Curtis_King (Apr 11, 2013)

Sounds Bullet proof. I like it.

Im 6'5'' and I like to keep mine higher then the top of my heads so when I walk over to the boys in the dark I dont cut my head off in the high Line rope. I learned this the hard way last summer on a pack in Fishing trip. I'll keep working till I prefect this. Good tip. Aslo most of us are visual, or at least I am. Photos of this kind of stuff is a perfect learing tool.

Thanks for the great post

"long Live The Pack Goat"

Curtis King


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## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

I'll take some photos next time I rig one up (Sunday maybe) and/or a video. If I can figure out how to put a video on YouTube, I'll post the link here.


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## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

Ok, so I managed to get a good video of the high-line technique I described. I put it on Youtube; here's the link: 





For all of you aspiring film critics out there, yes, I should have tied the loops in the line before I measured out the length.

Anyway, you can really see what I'm getting at in the video with using this technique to get a nice tight line.


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## TDG-Farms (Jul 12, 2013)

Great video  Thanks!


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## Bowslayer2 (Oct 1, 2011)

I like pictures and this made it easy to understand. I usually tie mine to a tree for the night with just enough leash to stand and lay down. This is something I need to try.

Thanks
JJ


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## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

Thank you, from all the small people who love to cheat with mechanical advantages. I could never pull a line tight enough. The carabiner trick looks like it worked great.


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## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

Glad you all found it helpful. I started high-lining any time I want them to stay put just because I got tired of having them wrap themselves around whatever tree they were tied to. Sometimes I'll do it even if we just stop for lunch just to give them the practice. You'll notice in the video that Maximus walks straight to the high line and stops under his clip in point because that's what I've trained him to do just by having him do it a few times. Nancy, you're absolutely right, this technique takes no strength at all.


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## Nanno (Aug 30, 2009)

I've never tried a carabiner. I've always tied a slippery half-hitch in the line and passed the end through it then cinched it tight. We called that a "trucker's hitch". Comes in handy for lots of things.


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## rifleman (May 28, 2013)

That works too as long as you're careful about what type of rope you're using. Some synthetics will cut through themselves surprisingly quickly if you pull one across the other at 90 degrees with a little pressure. I use the trucker's hitch all the time to get stuff tied down good and tight; I just find that the biner works very well for the high line.


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