Your horse is studiously ignoring you. you are in the round pen and you have a nice new lariat you want to try out. You've never handled a lariat before, but it looks pretty straightforward. You toss one end of the rope toward your horse's hip. Well, over the withers seems to work. He promptly moves forward at a smart clip, but the darned lariat seems to have a life of its own. It didn't go where you wanted it to, there are suddenly all these coils on the ground, and, oh, crud, this time around your horse steps into the loop, which is tightening around his fetlock. This is serious trouble in the making.
Have we mentioned that your own feet are getting tangled in the extra coils on the ground as well?
Okay, let's rewind. This is not a scenario we want to play out on your horse property. So let's figure out what you can do to avoid this dangerous situation.
Most people never get their horses fully "rope broke." They may acquaint them with a swaying lead rope or a flapping lunge line, but since many of us do not intend to rope calves and may not even have a horn on our saddles, why bother?
Anyone who has ever seen a rope wreck or had to deal with a severe rope burn can give the answer to that in one word. Safety.
Horses have a positive genius for getting tangled, spanked, spooked, tripped, "burned," or generally messed up by ropes. Chances are excellent that someday your horse may be startled by a dangling lead rope or get caught in a longe line. In his effort at a rapid departure, he may suddenly find himself "draggin' a dragon," taking you and/or a large clanking object along with him.
Teaching your horse ahead of time that a loose rope does not have to be a threat can help prevent a serious injury. Training a horse to be "rope broke" does not take long, but it can be a significant factor in the safety and enjoyment of your horse.
Of course, rope safety is essential when training a rope horse, but it is valuable for virtually every horse. Consider the trail horse who might get a foot caught in a tie line or in vines. Think about the show horse who unties himself from the trailer. And what about a horse that gets cast in his stall, where ropes may be needed to pull him away from the wall.
Rope training teaches horses, "Don't fight or try to run. Just relax."
The Human Element
Unfortunately we-the ones who are supposed to be in charge-often know less about ropes than do our horses.
Let's change that. To prepare yourself and your horse for contingencies, step out of the saddle for a little bit and learn to safely "sack out" your horse with a rope.
"Sacking out" is a method of gradually getting the horse to accept the sight, touch, and feel of something that might otherwise frighten him. The goal of this training is not to produce a roping horse, although it could be a good start. These exercises will, however, help prepare your horse to handle the inevitable oddities that happen when you combine horses and ropes.
Will sacking out with a rope "burn out" your ability to cue your horse with that same rope?
"When you come to dinner and Jody and I are in the driveway waving, if you're just coming in, you know that wave means 'Hi!' If you're leaving, you know the same wave means 'Bye.' The motion may be the same, but the context is different," explains John.
"When you're walking toward a horse with a rope in your hand, he can learn by the angle of your body, by how you are holding the rope, and what part of his body you are looking at, what you want him to do."
There is no specific age or level of training necessary before beginning rope training-"three days to 30 years!" says John. The early stages of rope training are useful when teaching young foals to lead. You can continue through more advanced saddle work and fill in some of the small or large holes in training that lead to problems with older horses.
