If a steer wants to drag or get heavy, he's almost impossible to heel. Very seldom do fresh steers drag. They're usually roped out, and sometimes their heads are sore. Some have been roped around a half head or neck and start to choke down. If a heeler cuts the corner too much the steer will see him coming and hang back on the end of the rope. If you know a steer gets heavy, the heeler can stay out around him and ride different position. The best shot on a steer like that is usually the first or second jump. If a steer's head is sore and that's why he's dragging, sometimes roping him around a half head or neck will make him hop off. The most common way to handle a dragger is sliding rope and jerking him out of the ground. To me, that's the worst thing you can do to a heeler. He needs to hurry up and get a shot. Then, when you slide him rope, the heeler's on top of the steer, which causes the steer to drag more and the heeler has to pull off of the steer. The two best things to try are roping a half head or a neck. Make a plan with your heeler. A header can also bend the steer's head and let him float down the arena some instead of coming back up the arena so much. The more you come back up the arena with one, the more you hang him back on the end of the rope.
If a steer starts running up the rope and you try to stay out in front of him to keep the rope tight, he'll be running across the arena as fast as he ran down the arena. That's pretty tough on heelers. As a header, you have to stay ahead of him, even if there's a slight amount of slack. Try your best to keep him in a straight line for your heeler. The heeler needs to be in double attack mode to get up there and get him roped. Don't try to keep him on a tight rope or you'll be going 9-0. Try to come back up the arena just a little bit, to tighten up the rope and try to keep the steer going as straight as you can. The heeler has to drive in there and get him caught. The worst thing the header can do is not stay out ahead of the steer, because then you're in the way of the heeler and you'll also make the steer swing to the outside. If the heeler knows a steer runs up the rope, he can cheat the corner a little, cut him off and try to make him hang back on the rope a little bit. You don't want your heeler to be late in that situation.
