A phrase used to help remember the correct way to orient wire rope clamps. The “dead horse” refers to the dead end of the wire rope. The “saddle” refers to the saddle portion of a wire rope clamp. The phrase tells the user to apply the saddle to the live end of the looped wire rope and to apply the U-Bolt to the dead end.
Applying the U-Bolt of a wire rope clamp (commonly referred to as a Crosby Clamp) can cause a localized stress point on the live end of the wire rope. As a load is applied to the rope it has a higher chance of failing at this stress point. Using the saddle side of the clamp on the live end of the rope allows the force of the clamp to be distributed over a larger area and therefore avoid a small point of intense stress. The following video shows an example of a wire rope failing due to improper wire rope clamp installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=audmZA4RCMI.