Gambrels are designed to hook through or loop around the back legs of the animal being butchered. There are different ones for different size animals although I have used anything from actual gambrels to baling twine to chains combined with boards as long as it is able to support half of the animal while the other half is being removed it should be good. the image of the gambrel is one that I have found to be very affordable on fleefarm in the hunting section (click the image to be taken to the fleet farm page for it). It supports all of the pigs I butcher, holds up one half of the animal even after I remove the other half and is strong enough to hold large pigs and small enough to hold goats and sheep. The button will bring you to an approximate equivalent that might actually be good enough for small cows down to goats and sheep.
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This shows lots of promise for butchering large animals like cows. I don’t have a recommendation on the size you decide to order.
This gambrel should work well for rabbits, to chickens to turkeys for those who want an official tool. There are also other styles but this seems to be the most widely available.
Lots of people just use two pieces of Baling twine or Para cord or a similar string with one end tied to a branch or board and the other suspended above the ground at a convenient work height with a loop for putting around the back legs.
