The Hogtie

A person in a white bodysuit in a hogtie. They are lying face down on the ground, with their forearms tied behind their back in an antiparallel position by blue rope. They have a blue chest harness. A green column tie around the ankles is tied off to the chest harness, pulling the shoulders and head up off the ground into a mild back bend. The legs are bent at the knees, almost to their maximum capacity.

There’s a good reason the hogtie is a bondage classic. It’s a highly adaptable tie that can be strict and demanding if you want it to be, but can be adapted to be comfortable enough for almost anyone.

Bottoms: arch your back into the bend rather than lying passively and letting the rope pull you into position.

Step by step

A person in a white bodysuit wearing a chest harness made of blue rope. A band of four strands of blue rope crosses high on their chest and goes under their armpits. A doubled rope comes over each shoulder, goes under the chest wrap, and then doubles back and goes over the shoulder.

1Begin with a chest harness or a figure 8 shoulder harness. The chest harness is more comfortable, but the figure 8 will give you better leverage for pulling into a back bend.

We now see the person from the rear, with a blue wrap going horizontally across their upper back and shoulder lines going from the chest wrap over the shoulders. Their forearms are antiparallel behind their back and their wrists are tied together with a two column tie.

2Have your partner lie face down and tie their hands together using your favorite column tie.

The person is lying face down. The chest harness and wrist tie are unchanged, and their head is raised up slightly. Their legs are bent at the knees, with the calves pointing straight up. The ankles are tied together with a column tie.

3Tie the ankles together.

The hogtie has been completed by tying a green rope between the chest harness and the column tie at the ankles. The tension on the green rope bends the lower legs slightly forward of vertical. It also pulls the chest back and up, forcing the back into a modest back bend.

4Run a rope from the ankles to the chest harness and carefully pull into a back bend. Tie off with a jam-resistant knot. The adjustable grip hitch will let you adjust the position as your partner settles into the tie.

Options for arms

Separate arms

We are looking over the head of a person in a hogtie toward their feet. We can see a little bit of the chest harness and have a clear view of the line connecting the chest harness to the ankles. The wrists are not tied together and are parallel to the body, reaching back toward the ankles. Each wrist has a single column tie in green rope that is attached to the ankle on that side. The separation between the wrist and ankle ties is only a few inches.

You can separate the arms rather than tying the wrists together.

Using a bar tie will make the hogtie more sustainable, while attaching the wrists directly to the ankles can make it more strenuous.

Strappado

This is a side view of a person in a hogtie. They have a blue chest harness which is connected to a column tie around the ankles by a blue rope. Their arms are tied behind their back with a strappado. We can’t see the details of the tie, but can see one band of green rope pulling the upper arms together and another band binding the wrists together.

A very strenuous option is to tie the arms together in a strappado position.

Arms in front

This image shows an adaptation for the hogtie for people who aren’t comfortable with their hands behind their back. The person in the image has their arms in front of them, with the elbows bent and the forearms resting flat on the floor. The wrists are tied together with a column tie.

People with back or shoulder issues may find the hogtie much more comfortable if their arms are in front of them. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Use a column tie around the wrists
Use a parallel lashing to hold the forearms parallel to each other
Use a square lashing to cross the arms

Other options

Separate the legs

We are looking at a person in a modified hogtie. Each of their legs is bent most of the way back and is bound by a ladder-style futomomo. The futomomo has a column tie around the ankle, a wide wrap connecting the thigh to the calf just above the ankle, and a wide wrap connecting the thigh to the calf just below the knee. Each futomomo is connected to the chest harness by a green rope that attaches to the wrap just below the knee.

There are lots of fun options for separating the legs:

Connect the ankles with a bar tie for increased comfort
Tie each ankle to the chest harness separately for better crotch access
Put futomomos on the legs for extra immobilization

Add a head tie

We are looking at a person in a standard hogtie with a blue chest harness connected to a column tie around the ankles. A green rope is run through the mouth and tied back to the ankles. The tension on the green rope pulls the head back, forcing the person into a deeper back bend.

You can get a deeper back bend and relieve some pressure on the chest by attaching a second ankle line to the head.

Good attachment points include:

A hair tie
A scarf wrapped around the head
Rope carefully tied around the head

Necks are delicate: work with your partner to find a position that’s safe and comfortable.