Breakaway hondas are an essential part of roping practice, saving ropes from being drug down the arena by calves, which allows ropes to last longer and practices to move more quickly.
With the collection of breakaway hondas on the market, The Breakaway Roping Journal wanted to create a resource for those getting into the breakaway practice game by rounding up the main kinds of breakaway hondas in one place.
Table of contents
What is a honda, anyway?
A honda is noose knot, designed to tighten a loop around a calves’ neck. It’s an essential part of every rope and often features a piece of rawhide to help the rope slide smoothly through the honda.
What are the benefits of using a breakaway honda?
There are a handful of reasons athletes use breakaway hondas, but here are a few.
When used with a horn knot, breakaway hondas keep the rope attached to the saddle. This means a calf won’t drag a rope through the arena, dirtying it up, and a roper doesn’t have to use a catch pen to capture the calf and remove the rope themselves.
Don’t forget the horn knot
To make breakaway honda effective, the end of the rope should be secured to the saddle horn using a horn knot.
Kinds of breakaway hondas
Editor’s note: This isn’t an exhaustive list of breakaway hondas on the market, these are just the main styles.
Hondas that require untying knots:
Eight Away honda
The Eight Away honda is an s-shaped piece of plastic that hooks onto the rope at the base of the existing honda. To apply, ropers must untie the honda knot and use the other end of the “s” to hold the honda closed. When the loop comes tight around a calf or dummy, the plastic will bend and release the loop.
JR honda
The JR honda sees a roper untie the existing honda to apply, much like the Eight Away honda. A difference between them, though, is that the JR honda’s end is secured in the existing knot on the rope. When a loop comes tight, the JR honda’s circular design will release the rope.
Hondas that require cutting ropes:
Rattler Magic Loop, Jerry Beagley and CST Hooey Loop
There’s an assortment of breakaway hondas on the market that see athletes cut the existing honda off the rope, slide the breakaway honda on and tape or knot the end of the rope to secure it.
These work just like a rope honda, except the slit in the plastic allows the loop to break loose when tension is applied.
Learn how to apply a honda like this with Danielle Lowman here.
Nothin’ But Neck honda
The Nothin’ But Neck honda uses a screw to secure into the end of a rope that’s been cut. Ropers will wrap the end of the rope in electrical tape to keep everything tight as the screw is driven in using a phillips-head screwdriver.
Double A honda
The Double A Honda uses a screw to secure into the end of a rope that’s been cut.
Hondas that don’t require changing the rope:
EZ Eye
The EZ Eye is newer on the market and attaches using a bendable piece of plastic. There’s no break on the honda, one side of the attaching plastic breaks free and the honda stays on the length of the rope.
Hero honda
The Hero breakaway honda is one of the few on the market that doesn’t change the rope when it’s applied; i.e., there’s no untying of knots or cutting off hondas.
Made by Cactus Ropes, the Hero honda fits into the existing honda and extends past it. When pulled tight, the ABS plastic allows the rope to snap through the slit at the end of the honda.
Super Hero breakaway honda
A combination of the Nothin’ But Neck and Hero honda styles, the Super Hero honda fits into the existing rope honda for practice.
Breakaway hondas can be found in nearly every breakaway roper’s practice supplies, and with a little experimentation, new ropers will find the one that suits them the best.
