back to the old school ranches around the Old West. Tie-down roping was used and still is used when calves are sick or even injured. The technique is used by the cowboys to rope and, basically, immobilize the sick or injured calves quickly for timely veterinary treatment. Due to the large stock of cattle, most ranches prided themselves on how quickly they could rope and then tie their calves. This was important because the lives of the calves might have sometimes depended on this.
What is Tie-Down Roping?
Fortunately, this art was quickly turned by the cowboys into an informal contest. And as the contest matured, tie-down roping was born. Today, to have the best contest, cowboys have to develop their horseman skills. They have to learn how to sprint faster and even how to rope quickly and accurately. For every NFR fans, the Tie-Down Roping event is the most famous event during the National Finals Rodeo. Most fans want to watch Tie-Down Roping during NFR.
Tie Down Roping Event
Today, the event has been polished more and more. In recent games, the mounted cowboy will start from a box. This is usually a three-sided fenced area that’s set adjacently to the chute that’s holding the calf. The fourth side remains open from the box and provides a lead to the main arena. Once the calf has been released, the cowboy’s success in the main tie-down roping event will depend largely on the precision of his teamwork with the horse.
Basically, the calf will receive a head start depending on the exact length of the main arena. As it sets off, one end of the breakaway rope barrier will be looped around the neck of the calf and then stretched across the main open end of the starting box. The cowboy allows the calf to reach its advantage point before the main barrier is finally released.
However, if the roping cowboy breaks the barrier right before the calf reaches the head start, the team (cowboy and the horse have assessed a penalty of 10 seconds). If you want to know more about how to do Tie-Down Roping then you can visite prorodeo for more details.
What Type Horse are Use to Do Tie-Down Roping
The horse that is used for tie-down roping is trained to stop once the cowboy throws the loop around the calf and catches. As the horse stops, the cowboy will then dismounts and sprints towards the calf. He will throw his hand over the calf and maneuver. This is called flanking. If the calf is lying once the cowboy reaches, the cowboy must allow the calf to stand up before he can flank it.
With the calf flanked, the next thing the roper does is to tie any of the three legs of the calf together using a pigging string. This is a short type of looped rope that the cowboy clenches around his teeth while on the run.
The horse’s main job right now is to pull back hard so that there is no slack around the rope, not so hard that the calf is dragged. When the cowboy finishes tying the calf, he should then throw his hands up to signal that he has completed the run.
Conclusion
With the run completed, the roper can then remount his horse and ride forward. This will create a little slack around the rope. He will wait for up to six seconds to determine that the calf remained tied. However, if the calf kicks free, the cowboy is awarded no time. The person with the least time will win the contest.