DCHP-1 Online
diamond hitch † 
1 a complicated hitch used in securing a pack on a horse, about forty feet of rope being thrown back and forth over the animal in such a way that it forms a diamond pattern on top.
- 1872 (1873) . . . and then the triangular shaped load is bound in one by folds of shaganappi twisted firmly but without a knot, after a regular fashion called the "diamond hitch."
- 1963 . . . he learned the diamond hitch on the Chilcotin pack trails.
2 throw a diamond hitch, See note.
- Since the rope used is thrown from one side of the horse to the other, a diamond hitch is said to be "thrown" and not "tied."
- 1911 (1914) We took a pack pony, and I was shown how to throw the diamond hitch, quite a complicated business, if you don't know how.
- 1957 My partner . . . thought he knew how to throw a diamond hitch.
- 1872 (1873) . . . and then the triangular shaped load is bound in one by folds of shaganappi twisted firmly but without a knot, after a regular fashion called the "diamond hitch."