How to Easily Get into Roping

If you have been wanting to learn the basics of roping and riding a horse, but you do not have enough time, then you have definitely come to the right place. There are a couple of things that you would have to master and a lot of terms that you would have to be familiar with, but you can always start off with a few pointers to catch up on roping.

Today, we will discuss how you can quickly learn the basics of roping to get you started. From learning how to properly hold the saddles hold the saddles to commanding your horse the right way, we will all discuss it here.

Practice on a Dummy Head

The first thing that you would have to learn, of course, is roping. You can try on the ground by practising roping a dummy head on a hay bale. You can then try swinging the rope over the dummy's horns, extending your hand all the way to the right, and then laying the rope over its horns.

You should then make sure to practice timed drills on the ground along with roping quickly and moving your feet. You can also have your dummy move in a zigzag pattern so it would seem a little more realistic.

Pay Attention to the Way you Swing

To practice swinging the rope, try to make the rope go around your own head and have the tip of it go over the top of the horns - both doing so to smooth as you possibly can. Make sure not to change your angle all the time and try to maintain the rope as flat as possible.

Also, try avoiding swinging too high to the right, as this will make you miss the right horn. And if your hand stops, you will most probably miss the left horn. Make sure always to follow through and bring your right hand across your body.

Practice the 3 Drills

Before finally bringing your horse in, you would have to remember three critical details:

1. First, have a friend of yours yell "go" as you stand behind your dummy. Once you hear that, start roping, but make sure to lay the rope onto the horns with only the second swing. Practice this for a couple of times until you feel like you have mastered it. You can also ask a friend to go do a competition with you so you will feel a lot more energized.

2. Once you have mastered that and you have been roping the dummy on the second swing, then you can move on to the next step. With the same steps as the first one, have your friend yell "go" again, but this time, you have to make sure that you will follow through by pulling your slack.

3. Now, this one's the toughest of them all. Try stepping a few steps back from the dummy and stand with your feet together. Have your friend say "go" again, but make sure to take a step forward as you swing your rope. Make sure to rope in two swings and then follow up by pulling the slack.

Once you are confident with your moves, you can try bringing the horse in. You just have to make sure that they are used to working with dummy heads and you are both good to go.