A trained horse will “rate” the calf and give the cowboy a position about ten feet behind and (for a right-handed roper) a little to the left side. They point the horse toward a stray or sick animal, pull the throttle, and give chase. Heading: The head loop is the one they use most often in the pasture. The cowboys on this outfit use three basic roping techniques: heading, heeling, and herd roping. In fact, he’ll do it every time, if we give him the chance, which we usually don’t, because Drover and I have learned about that rope. He has even been known to air-mail a loop at unsuspecting dogs. On an average evening, he might throw his loop a hundred times. Even though he’s gone through the process of building a loop and making his throw thousands of times, he keeps practicing. On a long summer evening, you’re likely to find him out in front of his house, throwing his rope at a cinder block or a bucket or a bale of hay. Take my buddy, Slim Chance, as an example. Most cowboys spend YEARS, not months or weeks, perfecting their skill, and the more they practice, the better they become. In other words, ranch roping isn’t nearly as easy as you might suppose. Throwing a rope looks easy, but it’s not so easy when: A) the cowboy is aboard a horse that’s traveling 20 miles an hour over rough country B) he’s holding the coils of his rope and his bridle reins in his left hand C) the wind is blowing like crazy and D) the target is running through mesquite bushes and trying to dodge the rope. If he’s lefthanded, he holds the coils in his … I think you get the idea. Holding the coils of the rope in his left hand, the cowboy swings the loop in his right and makes his throw. When the end of the rope is passed into and through the honda, it forms a loop. It’s nothing but a piece of rope, 25 to 45 feet long, with an “eye” in one end, called the honda. You want to know about ropes? The catch rope is about as simple a tool as you can imagine. Published by permission from John and two partnering groups, the Ranching Heritage Association and the National Ranching Heritage Center, here’s an excerpt on true cowboy roping skills. Here’s the latest excerpt from John Erickson’s five-volume “Hank the Cowdog’s Ranch Life Series.” Hank, known to the readers of the 76-books-and-growing series, sees himself as head of ranch security on a family ranch in the Texas panhandle.

Slim's Good-bye by John R. Erickson