1) Nautical terminology 2) Sail attachment 
Each yard on a square or gaff rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails. Formerly, the footrope was the rope sewn along the lower edge of a square sail, and the rope below the yards was called the horse or Flemish horse. These terms will be encountered when reading the classic 18th a...
Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails
Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails
• (n.) That part of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed. • (n.) The rope rigged below a yard, upon which men stand when reefing or furling; -- formerly called a horse.
Foot'rope` noun (Aut.) (a) The rope rigged below a yard, upon which men stand when reefing or furling; -- formerly called a horse . (b) That part of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed. 
Each yard on a square rigged sailing ship is equipped with a footrope for sailors to stand on while setting or stowing the sails
the portion of the boltrope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewn. · a rope suspended a few feet beneath a yard, bowsprit, jib boom, or spanker boom to give a footing for a person handling sails.