When I took him to his first ride, I tied him to the trailer and within 5
minutes got his foot caught in the lead rope. He pulled back a couple of
times, then looked over at me with his leg cocked and a look on his face
that said, "Are you going to do something about this?"
He has never put his foot through the lead rope again. Additionally, I
tie him loosely enough so that he can lie down, roll, and get up without
getting himself caught up.
There are two aspects of teaching your horse to do this.
1. Take him/her out to graze leaving the lead rope attached to the
halter and let him drag it around while he wanders about grazing. Horses
very quickly learn to keep an eye on the lead rope (and they can't really
get themselves very hung up, because the rope isn't attached to anything,
they just have to keep from stepping on it).
2. Teach your horse to yield to pressure rather than pulling back
against it. This helps not only if he gets himself hung up in the lead
rope tying him to a trailer (or whatever), but additionally, is very
valuable if he happens to get caught up in barbed wire or some other
unpleasant substance. They learn to look over at you and ask "are you
going to do something about this?"
I have seen too many loose horses in camp to feel comfortable with
portable corrals for a stallion. And the thought of an electric fence
keeping in a stallion (or out a mare) is inconceivable to me.
kat