Editing Cow hitch

{{Short description|Type of knot}}
{{Knot-details
|image = Tête d'alouette.jpg
|name = Girth hitch
|names = Lark's head, Lark's foot, Ring hitch, Lanyard hitch, Bale Sling hitch, Baggage Tag Loop, Tag Knot, Deadeye hitch, Running eye
|type = hitch
|strength =
|origin = Ancient
|related = [[Clove hitch]], [[Cat's paw (knot)|Cat's paw]], [[Bale sling hitch]], [[Prusik]]
|releasing = Non-jamming
|uses = Tying a rope to a ring or pole
|caveat = Can fail unless equal tension is applied to both of the standing parts of the rope.
|abok_number= #5, #56, #59, #244, #310, #1184, '''#1673''', #1694, #1698, #1700, '''#1802''', #2163, #2164, #2168, #2175, #3317
}}

The '''cow hitch''', also called the '''lark's head''', is a [[List of hitch knots|hitch]] [[knot]] used to attach a rope to an object.  The cow hitch comprises a pair of [[Single hitch|single hitches]] tied in opposing directions, as compared to the [[clove hitch]] in which the single hitches are tied in the same direction.  It has several variations and is known under a variety of names.  It can be tied either with the end of the rope or with a [[bight (knot)|bight]].

==History==
A simple and useful knotted structure, the cow hitch has been known since at least the first century when described by [[Ancient Greek medicine|Greek physician]] [[Heraklas]] in a [[monograph]] on surgical knots and slings.<ref name="hage">{{citation|last=Hage|first=J. Joris|periodical=World Journal of Surgery|date=April 2008|volume=32|issue=4|pages=648–55|title=Heraklas on Knots: Sixteen Surgical Nooses and Knots from the First Century A.D.|doi=10.1007/s00268-007-9359-x|pmid=18224483}}</ref>  Known under a variety of names, this knot has been used both on land and at sea.<ref name="ashley305">{{citation |last=Ashley |first=Clifford W. |title=The Ashley Book of Knots |year= 1944 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |page=305 }}</ref>  The common alternate name "lark's head" is attributed to Tom Bowling (pseudonym) in the 1866 work ''The Book of Knots'' which is presumed to have been adapted from a French manuscript; lark's head is a literal translation of the French name for the knot, ''tête d'alouette''.<ref name="ashley11">Ashley, p. 11.</ref>

==Variations==
The underlying cow hitch structure can be formed and used in a variety of ways.  These variations are differentiated by method used to form the knot and the way in which it is loaded.<ref name="ashley290">Ashley, p. 290.</ref>  In particular, the knot can be formed with an end of the rope, in a closed loop or strap, or a combination of these two in which it is tied with the end and then formed into a loop by securing the free end to the standing part.  Although certain names tend to be historically associated with a particular variations, real-world naming is not necessarily consistent between various users and applications.

===With the end===
When tied using the end of a rope, such as when securing an animal's [[Lead (tack)|lead]] to a vertical post or stake, this knot was said to be more resistant to loosening than the clove hitch as the animal wanders around the post.<ref name="ashley44">Ashley, p. 44.</ref>    In general, however, this single-ended form of the cow hitch is less stable compared to the variations in which both ends are loaded.<ref name="aksday">{{citation|author=Cyrus Lawrence Day|title=The Art of Knotting and Splicing|edition=4th|location=Annapolis|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year=1986|pages=94–95}}</ref><ref name="outdoorknots">{{Cite book|last=Soles|first=Clyde|title=The Outdoor Knot Book|publisher=The Mountaineers Books|place=Seattle|year=2004| isbn=978-0-89886-962-0|pages=96–97}}</ref>

===In a closed loop or strap===

This form is commonly known as a '''strap hitch''' or '''girth hitch''', the latter term being common among [[climbing|climber]]s.  It is the method commonly used to attach [[luggage tags]] which have a pre-tied loop of string or elastic. This form is also often used to connect loop-ended [[lanyard]]s to handheld electronic equipment, since it can be tied without access to the ends of the fastening loop.

===With the end, then secured into a loop===
When tied by threading the end and then the end is secured to the standing part, the knot is known as a [[bale sling hitch]].

<gallery>
File:Cowhitch in loop.png|Made with a closed loop
File:Smyga, Nordisk familjebok.png|Shown being used to hoist a [[barrel]], and (left) for tying a lead to a sounding line
File:Ankertonne.jpg|Made with an [[eye splice]] around a ring
File:Bale sling hitch knot.png|Made with end and then secured to standing part
File:ZipperCowHitch.jpg|Cow hitch at [[Zipper]]
</gallery>

== Applications ==
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2021}}

=== Tatting ===
The craft of [[tatting]] is composed primarily of lark's head knots over carrier threads.  A lark's head is called a double stitch in tatting.

=== Friendship bracelets ===
In the context of [[friendship bracelets]], the lark's head is called the reverse knot or the forward backward knot or the backward forward knot if the author is being directionally specific for instructional purposes.

=== Cableman's hitch ===
Another application for the cow hitch is in the handling of large electric [[power cable]] in [[surface mine]]s. Known colloquially as a "Cableman's hitch", it is also used to attach loops of cable to the back of a pick-up truck during a shovel move. As the cable can weigh upwards of 22 pounds per foot and 3–4 loops of cable can be attached to one length of rope, a clove hitch's shearing force would damage the cable jacket. The Cableman's hitch puts the strain onto the hitch crossing over the two running ends of the rope. <br />

=== Products that use cow hitch knots ===
* The [[Wii Remote|Nintendo Wiimote]], for securing the strap to the Wiimote
* Some [[Mobile phone charm|Mobile phones accessory]] use this knot to secure themselves to the phones
* Textile/[[Rubber Band|Rubber Bands]] attached to the [[Zipper|Zip Pullers]] is usually tied with Cow Hitch, usually to reduce the size of the Puller.

==See also==
*[[Halter hitch]]
*[[Hoxton knot]]
*[[List of knots]]
*[[Ringbolt hitching]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Knots}}