Lasso

A lasso or lazo (/ˈlæsoʊ/ or /læˈsuː/), also called reata or la reata in Mexico,[1][2] and in the United States riata or lariat[3] (from Mexican Spanish lasso for roping cattle),[4] is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled.

After catching the cattle, the lasso can be tied or wrapped (dallied) around the horn, a typical feature on the front of a western saddle.

But in its original Castilian Spanish (in Spain) definition, reata means a group of horses, mules or donkeys tide together to go in a straight line or the leading mule of three that draw a cart and, in nautical settings, a rope for binding masts and spars (woolding).

[15] In Colombia the equipment is called “Rejo”,[16][17] in Costa Rica “Coyunda”,[18] in Ecuador “Beta”, and Peru “Guasca”.

[19][20] Meanwhile in Colombia, the term Reata or Riata means: hardened, firm, rigid, severe; it also refers to a belt for pants.

Huns are recorded as using lassos in battle to ensnare opponents prepared to defend themselves in hand-to-hand combat around AD 370.

In Mongolia, a variant of the lasso called an uurga (Mongolian: уурга) is used, consisting of a rope loop at the end of a long pole.

It is not the wont of this people to carry arms, either of bronze or steel, except only a dirk; but they use lassos made of thongs plaited together, and trust to these whenever they go to the wars.

[25] On the American continent, the method of roping cattle developed in Mexico as a way of managing and controlling individual animals (lassoing).