with Ryan Motes
Stopping a heel horse correctly
One of the most commonly asked questions when I train horses is how to get a heel horse to stop harder. Before you even think about roping you need to spend some time riding your horse and teaching him how to stop correctly. This should be done at a slow pace so they can learn to collect themselves.
Start trotting, then lope and then slow to a trot before stopping. Avoid pulling hard on the reins or stopping hard out of a lope. Before stopping relax and lightly pick up the reins so the horse can anticipate the stop. When stopping, lightly lift your reins and when your horse responds, immediately release the pressure. Through repetition, he will be lighter and easy to stop using this exercise.
Once your horse responds to the light pressure on the reins you’re ready to rope the mechanical dummy. Make sure to ride all the way into position for two or three strides and that your horse is matching the speed of the steer. Hold that position and at first check your bridle reins to ask your horse to rate. Most horses will start to pick this up quickly. Through repetition he will learn to rate and to anticipate when you throw your rope.
Stay at a trot while roping the dummy until the horse is comfortable stopping correctly. Then step it up to a lope. After that is going well we progress to slow steers and eventually work up to faster cattle.
Ryan and his partner, Luke Brown, were the winners of the Speed Williams Invitational Match Roping held in Las Vegas on December 14, 2008.
Official Rope of
Fast Back Ropes, Inc. • Granbury, TX • 800-479-1851