Posts Tagged ‘cowgirl
Herding Cows on Horseback
Last month we took Blitz and Boomerang on a long trailride in one of the nearby nature preserves. Little did we know it would end up being one of our favorite adventures ever when we happened upon some loose cattle.
The further down the trail we got, the more cattle we started to see. We figured they had gotten out of someone’s pasture, but we weren’t sure where they belonged. We were DYING to herd them somewhere (just like real cowgirls) but it just didn’t seem like it was meant to be.
As we made our way towards home we couldn’t help ourselves with herding a few into a small cluster.
While we were taking the obligatory “cow selfie” the farmer who owned said cattle popped up over the hill in his truck to see our little cluster of cattle. Seeing that we were DYING to take our littler herd somewhere the farmer asked us if we minded helping him drive them back to their pasture. Um yes please! He didn’t have to ask us twice!
Check out the video: Herding Cows the Cowgirl Way with Painting Pony
Blitz and Boomerang chased stray cattle, moved them through a water crossing, and got them all safely back in their pasture.
When you live on the east coast (at least near us) herding cattle like this is not something you get to do everyday, especially in a real “farm” setting! It was a dream come true for us.
The farmers were very thankful for our helpful ponies, and we had the best trailride ever! If anyone else wants to “accidentally” let their cattle escape, you can totally call on the Painting Ponies to help you round them up!
Boomerang the Roping Pony
You might remember that for my Birthday I wanted a lariat so that I could learn to rope. To my surprise my husband had already gotten me one – before I publicly announced on the blog that it was on my wish list! I had no big plans for the rope, it was more just for fun and a good way to desensitize the ponies to new things.
I spent the last few weeks roping things around the farm, fence posts, traffic cones, dachshunds, I even tried to rope the neighbor’s dog that escaped (unfortunately my attempt was unsuccessful – although we did end up catching the dog). Then I started roping things in and around Boomer to get him used to it.
Then just a few days ago I decided to try it while riding him. I wasn’t surprised to find that it didn’t faze him much, and I began using clicker training to teach him that the rope was a positive thing.
My first few attempts to rope while mounted were pretty pathetic. Boomer tolerated me while I roped his face, a couple of legs, and tail. I’m still not quite sure how the cowboys manage to the throw the lasso, hold the extra rope, and steer the horse at the same time. It’s not easy!
Anyway, here’s a few video clips of my first attempts at TROTTING and roping.
I could definitely use some more practice! Although I’m very happy with Boomer’s attitude towards it. Maybe soon we’ll work our way up to cantering! Yeehaw!
Lariat
I’m constantly learning something new. There will ALWAYS be something I don’t know, so why not try to learn EVERYTHING I can? It’s sort of a sickness I have, I want to try everything.
So while competing in the Extreme Cowboy Race was something totally new and different for me, I couldn’t leave it at just that. While at the expo I jumped at the chance to learn how to throw a lariat. After all, I could have been asked to rope a “cow” during the competition for all I knew.
I was sort of relieved we didn’t have to rope something, because I think I could use a little more practice.
I’ve added a Lariat to my Birthday wish list (which is tomorrow!) because it was so much fun I can’t wait to give it a try while riding a horse!
After trying my hand at tossing the lariat I made sure Boomerang was ready for roping too. During one of our schooling sessions in the indoor I practiced throwing a lead rope around his head, ears, and sides. Just to make sure that should I NEED to throw the rope in the race, he would be fully comfortable with it. You can never be too prepared!
Anyone else out there know how to throw a rope? Any secret pointers so I can look super cool throwing my lariat off an english saddle?
