Hog Tie Competitions

I was first introduced to Western Hog Ties at a hog tie comp at Leather Pride Week Fair Day (if  memory serves) in Sydney many years ago. One of the competitors (Mark of DV8 House) and I discussed some sensible rules for such competitions.

• Both use the same length of rope
• Use all of the rope
• Must be secure
• Hands & ankles must be tied.
• Must be able to pick up the rope bottom by the rope

The critical ones I had overlooked and highlighed by Mark were the same length of rope and using all of the rope. Although the size of the rope bottom would also be a consideration for this as well.

The main caution is that the wrist is a weak joint and that direct binding from ankles to wrist can lead to injury. 

The alternative to direct binding of wrists to ankles is to start with a basic chest harness and bind the hands and feet with 2 column ties to the chest harness. This distributes the load across the chest and shoulders which allows for a longer scene with lower stress on the bottom.