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Shouldn't Have Roped It

L

Lenahorse

Active member
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
30
Location
Greenville TX
We had a large fleabitten gray gelding in our neighbors lot that they could not catch, we tried everything, even bribed it with feed. They were going to TRY to load it up and take it to the sale. I was asked if I could rope it, well I could try. I was on a BIG bay gelding 16+ hands tall and real stocky, he was an old pick-up horse. My 1st throw at a fast trot caught him, I was tied on, not dallyied.(big mistake) When the slack came to an end I knew that I was not in the best place to be, it jerked the gray completely over backwards. I had an old nylon rope that has stretch in it, I could feel the rope stretching longer. At one time all 4 feet were in the air!. My saddle was up over the withers almost on his neck. My horse made a some type sound as to say what have I got holt of. The grays owner was hollering you killed him! He got up real slow and just stood still, they ran to him and grabbed the rope, by then it had slack in it and I had got it untied. When I got off BU (big ugly) his saddle literally was on his neck. He was ok with a funny look about him. The gray had a rope burn all the way around his neck like Clint Eastwood in his movie. After all said and done the gray walked in the trailer (whick he had never done before without throwing a fit and all was well.
I guess now that he is trailer broke & trained they might keep him.
Larry
 
The cowboys I learned from had a healthy respect for the teaching properties of a nylon roped pulled tight :) :)

I'm told that in a wild cow, a little nylon therapy often affected their ability to see --improving vision and decision making --:) :)

could be the case with this horse --

I love it when it works out that no one gets hurt!
 
I was going to halter break a couple of weanling colts once, and put them up the chute to put the halters on. The plan was to let them back up out of there and then I'd come up slow and pick the ropes up off the ground to catch them again.

NOT. :shock: :shock: :shock:

They started to back out, but as soon as the chute was wide enough, the one in the back turned and ran....fast. Trouble was that the knot on the end of the chute got wedged in under the edge of a plank. Flipped him right over on his back! He stood up, and shook his head, then I walked up to him and tied him to the fence. He never ever pulled on a rope again.

His brother, who was about as dumb as a bag of hammers, on the other hand took forever to halter break. :roll: :roll: :roll: I think the wrong one got flipped. :wink:
 
Kato said:
I was going to halter break a couple of weanling colts once, and put them up the chute to put the halters on. The plan was to let them back up out of there and then I'd come up slow and pick the ropes up off the ground to catch them again.

NOT. :shock: :shock: :shock:

They started to back out, but as soon as the chute was wide enough, the one in the back turned and ran....fast. Trouble was that the knot on the end of the chute got wedged in under the edge of a plank. Flipped him right over on his back! He stood up, and shook his head, then I walked up to him and tied him to the fence. He never ever pulled on a rope again.

His brother, who was about as dumb as a bag of hammers, on the other hand took forever to halter break. :roll: :roll: :roll: I think the wrong one got flipped. :wink:
Click to expand...

Seen them break a neck easily doing that with young and old horses. I put them in a small pen or round corral and work with them until they face me and let me up to them. Takes patience, but when they start moving their lips you know you won.
 
I once had a colt that was hard to catch, so I did the same thing. Roped him & jerked him around a couple of times & he would catch easy :wink: --for about 2 weeks. He ran past me again in the corner one morning, so I says I have the cure for you young man! I catch my old horse, and am tied on. I drop a loop on the colt as he runs past, but dropped my slack on the wrong side :???:my horse steps over it! Well the rope runs under my horses belly and out to the colt who has the loop deep on the neck like a horse collar. He spins us over like a top as my horse is leaning for the jerk which comes from underneath. I was busted up for weeks. One of the worst wrecks I was ever in :roll: . Sure watched my slack closer after that. The colt did catch even though it was a month before I could even ride. Lessons learned the hard way :( I now use the patience method. Works better :lol: Easier on everyone.
 
Not meaning to elaborate on this, as Kato said, "things have changed a lot in the past 25 years", but the friends I have that REALLY understand horses will tell you that the way a colt is halter-broke will have an impact on him his whole life. It is one of the most important things in his education as he goes on to be a good using horse. So much is set when in their mind when they are halter-broke. It needs to be a lesson in giving to pressure, not being pressured.
 
To elaborate a little further yet, I didn't intend the colt to flip like that. :shock: These colts were quiet enough to stand unhaltered for a nice scratch, and I felt they were ready to get used to halters and the preliminary feel of pressure. They weren't ready to have a halter put on them in the middle of a pen, so I put them in the chute to do it. When training colts like that, I would sometimes go days before ever tying him up. Sometimes it was just a matter of picking up the rope and getting him used to gentle pressure on it, then when this was done calmly, reward by removing the halter and letting him go. I would never tie a colt that wouldn't stand quietly with me holding the rope. This was an accident, but it had interesting results. I wouldn't recommend doing it on purpose.
 
Faster horses said:
Not meaning to elaborate on this, as Kato said, "things have changed a lot in the past 25 years", but the friends I have that REALLY understand horses will tell you that the way a colt is halter-broke will have an impact on him his whole life. It is one of the most important things in his education as he goes on to be a good using horse. So much is set when in their mind when they are halter-broke. It needs to be a lesson in giving to pressure, not being pressured.
Click to expand...

This part not only tells you a lot about the horse, but also a lot about yourself......After the sessions are over, go back and think about what happened, good and bad and it may tell you a lot about yourself.....

I can guarentee the foals go bac and deliberate on this. It always amazes e that the better horses seem to have given things some thought and are better than where you left them,

PPRM
 
Lonecowboy said:
when it comes to roping hard and fast
here's a rule that fits,
whatever you get your rope on,
either it's yours---
or your it's!!!!
Click to expand...

AMEN!!!
 
I bought a mare named "Lost River Mist" from the King's ranch in Texas in the early 1980s. Great little cow horse but you could not tie her. You could hold the rope in your hand with no problem but if you tied her in about 2 or 3 minutes she started backing and kept going untill something gave.

I could not count the halters and ropes broken. I had enough of it one day and took a 1" rope and ran it up thru the halter and tied a bowline knot around her neck - - - then I tied her to a three foot in diamiter oak tree with about 30 feet of slack. I then tied her to the tree with bailing twine and walked away.

Sure enough in a couple of minutes she started backing and when the twine parted she took off in high gear till she hit the end of the big rope. Streched out on her back, I thought she was dead but in a couple of minutes she was back on her feet. After that you could tie her with kite string and she would never pull.

I'm older now and do not advise that but she was dangerous the way she was and I had tried everything else first - - - -this was a last recourse.
 

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