I'm trying to figure out ways to "take apart" a hair object, so I'm left with just a ponytail of hair.  I figure I'll find a hair object to decapitate in some free stuff collection, BUT ...

I have no idea how to go about taking it apart.

pjz suggested using mats to hide the scalp part of the hair mesh, but I don't know if the hair I find as a freebie somewhere will be amenable to that, so I'd appreciate any thoughts on alternatives to get the same effect.

The quality of the end result, where the scalp part is detatched (or however this can be done) isn't critical, it'll be reduced in size to be used in banners so it'll likely be a little more forgiving I hope.

If something has uv coordinates then you can create a mask for it which would be applied in the material room, or you may be able to go into the Hierarchy panel and turn off visability.

You can also assign additional material zones to the hair,if needed; then apply transparency to the zones that you want invisible. {I'm not much of a modeler; but...} You can open/ import the obj in a modeling application (Blender, Carrara, Hex, Modo, ..., ...), and remove the unwanted parts; then simply export the remaining part(s) as an obj, and import it back into Poser. (It will then act as a static prop.) Now, after I've said all that; I think the transparency method s probably easier/ less time-consuming, and you'll still be able to use any movement/ styling morphs that might be present in the hair. (Assuming that it was a conforming figure at first...) Well, I hope that my speculatory rambling was helpful. (:

An alternative idea: apply a magnet to the hair, then adjust the magnet zone to cover only the scalp part. Shrink the scalp so that it disappears inside the figure's head.