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I had this problem when I first started ponying off of Shatirr, who is really
cranky about having his tail messed with.
I used ground work to teach him to "Drop it!" when the rope got caught, using
a long old cotton rope. I'd snag it under his tail, he'd clamp and kick,
get mad; he'd finally stand still, ears pinned, and I'd tell him to "drop it".
When he did, he's get a food bribe. If he didn't, I'd jiggle the rope. We did
this several days in a row, untill saying "drop it" would get an immediate
lifted tail response from him, rope or not. "Carrot????". Food works with him.
I never have to say this to him now, cause he's got the idea that clamping
means his anus gets irritated, moving the tail away from the rope means he
isn't hassled. He still gets mad and nose-points at the horse to back off and
behave though, but he's just a little fuzzy white general by nature.
Good luck! Linda
> Every time I try to pony another horse off of Gabe's back, no matter how
> hard I try to keep the lead rope away from his tail, the rope will
> inevitably get caught under his high Arabian tail. Boy, does one wicked
> rodeo start then! He clamps his tail down so hard, that no amount of
> bucking will get the rope free. He ends up pulling it all the way
> through, and getting one really nasty rope burn under his tail!
>
> I've had some wild rodeo's and have done some spectacular dismounts
> while Gabe is bucking and the poor pack horse is getting kicked at and
> jerked all over the place! I've pretty much given up on ponying off
> him, but still like to pack in the backcountry. Any advice?
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