EHAL Magazine May 2019

Everything Horses and Livestock Magazine ®

see people try to make the new horse perform exactly like the first horse. Sometimes you get lucky and it works out, most of the time, the rider needs to make adjustments to fit the horse. I see it a lot in the box when it comes to scoring. Try to be open minded when riding multiple horses. Maybe the new horse scores better on a loose rein, or doesn't perform well when you ride spurs? If all you have to do is change one small thing to have success, isn't that easier than fighting every time you step aboard? If your horses work well, you get way better practice than going and fighting with them the whole time you're roping. The other thing I see, especially at my level, is not using a horse for his strengths. As much as I rope, I have to have at least 4-5 horses available to me at all times. In a perfect world, all of them would be awesome and I could just put them on rotation. But, the reality is, some of them will never be anything but practice horses. That doesn't make them worth less however, I need those horses to take use

away from my good ones so that they are feeling 100% when I go to compete. Bottom line, if you are going to rope a lot, you need multiple horses. The last topic for this insert, is using a horse for his strengths. I have 3 horses that I'm currently competing on. Deuce, my sorrel, is the A-team. He scores good, can run fast, stop hard, and finish a run better than any horse I've ever ridden. However, at an enter up jackpot, he tends to get tight towards the end of the roping, especially on hard running steers. The best part about him? He can go to rodeos for multiple days and work the same on every run without having to practice on him. My other two horses are really nice, but they don't physically carry the sorrel horse's ability. However, you can run a ton of steers on either one of them, and they stay the same all day. Since they don't stop as hard, they are easier and more forgiving to dally on when the steers are going Mach 3 with their hair on fire!!

that I hardly ever haul to competition. He's not great in the box, doesn't have that much speed or athletic ability, but is a great practice horse. He gives me a great shot every time and helps me work on making some shots a little out of position so that I'm ready for whatever gets tossed at me in competition. In closing, when you're considering owning and roping in multiple horses, look at your situation. If you're not able to put the time in on a young one, it's not going to be fun for you or the horse. Consider buying another finished one and being open minded to changing you riding style when you switch back an forth. Thanks again for you time, God Bless, and as always......PRACTICE HARDER!!!

God bless, Chad Mathes

Call to Schedule: 816-820-0560 Email: mathes58@icloud.com

www.Facebook.com/ ChadMathesRoping

I also have a horse at home

47 Everything Horses and Livestock® | May 2019 | EHALmagazine.com