How to Tie the Highwayman’s Hitch

The Highwayman’s Hitch is also known as the Highwayman’s Cutaway. The Highwayman’s Hitch is not too dissimilar to the Painter Hitch, and functions in a very similar way. The Highwayman’s Hitch is a great way of tying something up quickly and also has the advantage of being a quick release knot. To see the comparisons you may be interested in this post; How to Tie the Painter Hitch.

A word of caution would be’ to only use this hitch as a temporary hitch and not used for critical loads.

For additional security, a toggle or the working end of the rope could be pass through the final bight to prevent it from easily coming undone. Having said that though, a number of people have said that some horses excel in the art of undoing knots.

For those of you that are interested here is a link to the Painter Hitch.

How to Tie the Highwayman’s Hitch Video

In this video I will demonstrate how to tie the Highwayman’s Hitch.

What is the Highwayman's Hitch Used For?

The Highwayman’s Hitch is a quick release hitch that is used to tie horses to a spar. One problem with the Highwayman’s Hitch is that it is a quick release hitch (for a quicker getaway) but some people have said that some horses know how to escape from this hitch. For additional security the working end can be passed through the final bight. However, even some horses are known to undo this!

How to Tie the Highwayman’s Hitch Video Tutorial

This is the short and sweet version of the video, where you will only learn how to tie the Highwayman’s Hitch.

Highwayman’s Hitch Alternative

If you are looking for an alternative hitch to the Highwayman’s Hitch, then you may be interested in the QTaR Hitch. It is tied in a similar way to the Highwayman’s but it does have an extra turn that gives the QTaR Hitch a little bit more security. How to Tie the QTaR Hitch can be found by clicking on the link.