Fast Back Focus with Keven Daniel

This time of year many of us are headed to a finals event where we have to haul our horses for many miles. When you drive many hours it’s a huge relief to get out periodically, walk around and stretch your legs, use the bathroom, etc. It’s certainly no different for your horses.

I like to unload my horses every five to eight hours to walk them around, give them a drink and make sure they go to the bathroom. Some horses are reluctant “to go” while on a trailer, especially if there are insufficient shavings. Be sure to use plenty of shavings in your trailer when hauling. Not only will deep shavings act as a shock absorber for your horses, they will absorb ammonia from urine and protect your horse’s lungs.

Personally, I like to put salt in my horses’ feed so that they will drink and stay hydrated while on the road. However, some horses quit eating grain when traveling. If that’s the case ask your vet what kind and how much hay you should keep in front of them until you get where they will resume eating.

When you arrive at your destination don’t just throw your horse in the stall. Spend some time walking him around  to let him loosen up. Find a soft area and give him a chance to roll. Make sure he has access to plenty of clean, fresh water in his new stall. It’s important not to scrimp on shavings for their temporary stall, especially if the ground is asphalt or hard dirt. You want your horse to work his best and he can’t do that if he is stiff and sore from standing or lying in a hard stall.

Fast Back Focus with Ryan Motes

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.

Fast Back Focus with Colter Todd

Occasionally ropers ask me how they can rope fast or right out of the box. This requires practice in getting your rope up fast. As your horse is leaving the box and pushing off his hind end, use that motion to propel yourself forward and up and start your swing.

Practice this exercise, with or without steers, until it feels natural and you can throw your rope without feeling awkward. Video your practice sessions to make sure your form is correct and your swing is level and pointed at the target.

Always visualize the run you want to make before you make it. With the right practice eventually you will be able to throw your rope as soon as you leave the box, rather than four strides down the pen.

Fast Back Focus with Patrick Smith

One of the biggest challenges ropers face is keeping their horses working right. When I’m on the road and competing on a daily basis it’s easy for my good horse to develop some bad habits that can ultimately be very costly.

Many people don’t realize the majority of your time spent in the practice pen should focus on your horse. This is where you need to slow things down and address problem areas for your horse before you compete.

Headers preparing for the USTRC Finals should know:
• Your horse won’t take off on his own because you’ve scored plenty of steers and he’s relaxed in the box
• He probably won’t duck because in the practice pen when he got strong in the corner, you didn’t turn, just followed the steer to the stripping chute
• He won’t quit pulling or try and face early because in the practice pen when your heeler roped, you let go of your rope and kept him moving forward in his left lead

Heelers preparing for the USTRC Finals should know:
• Your horse won’t take off on his own because you’ve scored plenty of steers he’s  relaxed in the box
• Your horse won’t drop his shoulder on the corner because when he tried that in the practice pen, you stopped him, picked up his left shoulder and side-stepped him to the right
• He won’t stop and shut you out because in the practice pen you kept him moving though the dally

It can be fun to rope a lot of steers when you’re practicing, but it’s dull and repetitious work for a horse. You cannot win without the cooperation of your horse, so mix it up and keep it interesting for him. Ride him outside the arena some so he can relax.

When you’re competing the objective is to win and every tenth of a second counts; there’s no time to train on your horse. To be on top of your game you have to be in complete control of your horse – and that starts in the practice pen.

Fast Back Focus with Clay Tryan

When I first started roping I used to get nervous during competition because I just hadn’t competed enough. Practice and hard work will earn your way to the short go, but you have to compete enough to overcome nervousness. The more you compete, the less it will bother you.

Here are some suggestions for mental exercises in the practice pen that can help. When you rope a steer in the practice pen, make it count for something. If you’re practicing with another team, turn it into a match where the losers have to buy dinner or unsaddle the winners’ horses. When it’s just you and your partner see how many clean runs you can make in a row.

Many times I will back in the box and tell myself, “This is the last steer at the NFR and you have to be 5.0.” Sometimes I use the BFI instead and tell myself I have to catch and make a smooth run. Putting pressure on yourself in the practice pen will make you more comfortable during the real short round.

In reality the short round is just one more steer and it’s no different than the first steer. Now, with more experience, I’m almost more comfortable in the short go because I know I’ve roped well to get to that point.