Re: Methods to safely pony more than one at a time?

["Kim Pelletier" <kim@redhorsetech.com>]

> I'm new to the endurance net... I wonder if any of you know any methods to
safely pony more than one horse at a time?  How in the world did packer's do
it a hundred years ago?  Thanks for your thoughts!
>
> Eclectk
> Desert Springs Sport Horses
> http://www.Sportshorses.homestead.com
> (best viewed in explorer 4.x or newer)
>

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Packers are still doing it today, not just 100 years ago :->  !

Be warned --- ponying horses can be dangerous... most wrecks happen simply
because of the fact that you have a series of different-personalities
(equines) tied together in a line, which is an interesting play with fate
when you consider the flighty nature of horses themselves :-).  If you can,
it's best to avoid ponying unless you are willing to fully accept the
principles of Murphy's Law to the fullest.

Anyway, every packer has their own methods.  I'll describe the one used in
the station I worked at in the
East Sierra.

We usually use a long, thick cotton lead rope (I like 20 ft+ myself --- its
a preference though on the actual length).  You work on the left side of the
horse.

On "naked", unsaddled horses, we begin by tying a loose, quick-pull bowline
around the neck using the end without the snap --- in essence, you are
forming a non-tightening rope collar.  Important: You must, *absolutely
must*, use a bowline knot.  An inappropriate knot will either tighten around
the horse's neck under stress and choke him, or the knot itself will tighten
so much that you cannot undo it in an emergency without using a fid (a
tapered, stainless steel knot loosening tool on specialized Buck and mariner
knives).  Sometimes, even with the best bowlines, you still have to use a
fid if it rained, your fingers are frozen/sore, etc.  But, at least you can
still loosen it quickly with this type of knot.

After forming the collar, I guide the rope back towards the tail.  The goal
here is to tie the rope to the tailhair to keep the rope from dragging along
the ground.  As long as the horse is not a shorttailed Appy (or a mule), you
can grab the tail PAST THE TAILBONE and double it over.  Form a clove hitch
with the rope and slip the doubled tail into the loop and tighten.  NEVER,
never include the tailbone itself in this loop.  This attachment is
optional, but I like to use it to help prevent any misbehaving horses from
stepping over the otherwise long length of rope.  With Appys, mules, and
other tail-deficient equids, we'll saddle them and run the rope through some
"snap-on" latigo loops we make specifically for this purpose.  They simply
are leather loops with a snap --- just attach them to the rear cinch ring on
a western saddle or pack rigging and run the rope through.

So, you now have a rope collar on the horse, and attachment point to the
tailhair or loop... just snap the remaining lead rope to the following
horse's halter.  You want to keep a kicking distance length from the leading
horse to the following horse, but not so long that the rope drops below the
knees.  With that in mind, until you become comfortable with your rope
length and such, you may have to redo this process a couple of times until
you instinctively know how much rope should be left on each end.   Some
horses need more rope, some need less.

On greener horses who are following, we may run a second rope on the other
side.  In other words, the leading horse has two rope collars, two
tailhitches (from each side of his body), and the following (green) horse is
attached by two snaps on his halter.  It helps keep him following the string
straight and not pull away on a single rope side.

When you stop and undo your string, take the last horse off by unsnapping
him from the leader and tying him to a tree or ???.  Then undo the
clovehitch on the tail, then the neckrope.  Just keep going with this
process until you eventually get to your first-in-the-string horse.  Never,
ever leave the tailhitch holding a horse alone...

Okay, safety concerns:

    1.  Horses in packoutfits are normally going only at a walk.  This could
be hell if you go any faster and one horse decides to set back.  Try to keep
your strings as small as possible --- I've led 23 at one time for 8 hours,
but it was slow, tedious going.  Not fun (two packers were fired the
previous day, which is why I got the large mess --- this is not the norm for
pack stations).

    2.  ALWAYS keep a good, sharp knife handy in your back pocket WITH A FID
to loosen the clove hitch and, in emergencies, cut rope if you absolutely
must.  We don't cut ropes often at all (major ego downer back at the station
if you do :-)  ), but to prevent a wreck with a green horse, you sometimes
have to quickly jump off your own horse and do some quick
unsnapping/untying.  Clove hitches can sometimes be a real pain to undo
without a fid, especially if a following horse is a puller and tightens the
knot.

    3.  It's best to not have "kickers" in your string.  If you have one,
tie him or her to the very end.  Kicking and biting causes instant wrecks.
"Pullers" need to have their ground lessons worked on before putting them
into a string, or (since pack outfits don't have the luxury of time for
ground training), we place the puller in the very front so we (the wrangler
or packer) get yanked on instead of another horse's tail.  Eventully, the
puller figures out it's more work to fight than cooperate.  As always, it's
best to figure out why the puller is pulling in the first place and take
care of that problem immediately.

    4.  Important: Always be awake!  Wrecks happen.


Did I say enough about wrecks yet??? :-)

Hope it helps...

Kim

Lubbock, TX  --- nowhere near the Sierra mountains :-(