Re: cotton rope vs braided nylon (a word of caution)

["spencer" <spencer@inu.net>]

Just what do you base your opinion on?  Or do you ride bucking horses?? 
Guess it is nice to have the time and money for leather--the cadillac of
tack.  But here in ETX, it will rot in a New York minute and must be
cleaned a lot.  I like to keep to KISS principle.  In almost 20 yrs of
using non-leather products, have had almost NO problems.  If a horse gets
tangled in a rope, there will most likely be a rope burn.  So don't leave
the horse with such a loose rope.  As far as lunging lines..........Unless,
you are roping wild horses and donkeys...the nylon lunge lines do well.  I
am still using reins that I made with colored parachute cord and I made
them back in 85-86.  I throw them in the washer with the pads and put them
back into use.  Haven't killed a horse yet.  But I don;'t deal with wild
horses.  Tame ones are so much cheaper.  At least we have a choice.  BTW,
my paint was uncooperative 2 weeks ago and the leather reins gave me
several big blisters on my fingers.  But they will just turn into more
tough hands.  It happens.  Mary Ann, Tx

----------
From: K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>
To: Jacqueline Mansfield <jaxson@leopard.com>
Cc: Endurance List <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Subject: Re: cotton rope vs braided nylon (a word of caution)
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 1998 11:59 PM


I will not hold onto anything made of nylon that is also attached to a
horse, period.

The tack that I put on my horse is made of leather or it is made of cotton
(all my lead ropes are 3/4"...sometimgs 5/8" but not usually...cotton).

I have a few nylon halters, but I don't buy them myself, and MY horses
wear leather halters too.  I WANT them to break.

I cannot EVEN imagine holding on to biothane reins.  Just looking at that
stuff is enough to make me cringe at the thought of the edges slicing
through my hands.  Do people who use biothane reins always ride in
gloves...or do they just take their chances (or are the edges not as
"sharp" as they look)?

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s.  Nylon leadropes at my place (if they happen to wander onto the
property), get used for tying gates shut...which, as far as I am
concerned, is the only saft thing to do with them.