Paracord is recommended for its stretchiness, but you can use any type of nylon cord instead. It’s important not to use an organic material, such as hemp or rope, as the horse may chew through it and loosen the hay. [2] X Research source
Aligning the ends together is essential to making your later knots as equally spaced and properly separated as possible. It can be troublesome if you realize one cord is shorter than the others while knotting, as you will have to untie and re-align the bunch all over again.
To tie a knot with the whole bunch, wrap the middle of the folded cord around your hand, creating a loop, then remove your hand and push the one end of cords through the hole created by your arm. Pull the ends through and you should end up with a tight knot directly in the middle of the bunch.
If you used alternating colors of paracord, simply combine adjacent cords of different colors to end up with a ring of knots. [6] X Research source
If you tie the same two lengths of cord together all the way down, you will not end up with a net, and instead will have an array of unconnected cords with knots in it. You should end up with about 12 or 13 rows of knots with a little bit of rope dangling below the last knot, usually more than 5 cm (2. 0 in)
Don’t cut away any rope until you have finished the last knots for every loop.
Stop burning the knots when you see the plastic of the cord melting or when it starts to char or catch light. [10] X Research source Keep some water nearby to quickly put out a fire if the knots catch alight.
The loops at the bottom are created by the small gap between the last two knots on the same ropes.
Haynets are popular because they keep other animals from getting into the horse’s food. Rats, mites, and other creatures will easily get into a trough, whereas a haynet can be hung from something and dangle in the air.
You may find that the rope to hang the haynet from is too long, in which case, simply wrap the rope around the pole or fence a few times to raise the haynet and provide a stronger hold.
