Emmy Lou
Roper Pro! 12/23/2019
Dratted Kohout Challenge- Rope Something From Your Horse
Let me start out by bragging about being a total roper pro (see Roper Santa! I have that exact same rope.) I have roped the middle of a wild hackney pony (embarrassing story in book two). I have been in hundreds of roping lessons and clinics, excelling in all (none) of them!
In the Parelli world, the highest level of online horsemanship involves a 45′ lariat. We students start out hating the lariat. We live with our rope 24/7. We sleep with our rope. During my 2nd or 3rd year dealing with the rope, I complained that sometimes I was able to make loops and sometimes the rope fought me and was impossible to loop. That is when the glorious instructor explained that ropes are right or left handed and need to be held correctly. That is when I understood that the rope had to be looped in the correct position. Eventually, I passed the online tasks which also did involve looping the full 45 feet rope up while seated on the horse.
That was nearly 100 years ago…or 20….
Now we have the Kohout Challenge in our Missouri Fox Trot Urbane web site. https://foxtroturbane.com/
Day One. I’m sitting on Fancy with my beloved lariat. I can’t get a throwing loop. My throwing loop is a figure eight. I can’t get it to be a circle. (I’m back to hating the rope.)
Day Two on the ground. I get my figure eight loop and turn it up side down. Miraculously, it becomes a loop. I was holding it upside down! Aha!
Day three is today sitting on Fancy. I get my loop. I whirl it over Fancy’s head. I throw it and it goes about six inches. Another miracle occurs and I get it looped back up. I discover that I’m holding it in the wrong place. Now the whirling feels better. I throw. Sadly, I’m holding the rest of the lariat so the loop flies only about two feet. Aha!
I decide Fancy should walk and I’ll rope a cone while moving. A roping failure miss happens, but what improvement!
I try to loop up the lariat. The rope won’t move. Fancy must be stepping on the rope. One hand holds the loops, one hand tries to pull the rope and it still won’t move. Fancy must be stepping on the rope with a back foot. I ask the back feet to move and pull on the rope again. It won’t move. Repeat, it won’t move.
Damn, Fancy must be caught in the rope. I’m holding a rope attached to Fancy’s back foot. This isn’t looking good. I throw the hated rope on the ground and dismount.
Sigh….
I roped my horse’s back foot. I am a roping pro!
Emmy Lou – We Love You!
Emmy is a Cadillac trail horse. She is rated as a beginning rider and kid horse. She dies not spook, turn and run nor bolt. She goes straight down the trail. If anything major concerns her, she will stop. She has been a saddle-up, get on and ride horse.
I’m borrowing her for the spring and summer.
I’m one of those crazy people that insist on forming a relationship on the ground, doing ground work always before I ride and being able to independently move the front and back parts of the horse’s body. I also love to have my horse backup and come to me. I believe it to be polite to ask for the horse’s permission before I touch the horse.
Emmy knows nothing of my beliefs.
I played with Emmy on the ground today. I forgot that the rope and halter was in the house. We played at liberty in the round pen. Today was the first time she moved her hindquarters from my focus and body language. I did not have to touch her, nor did she leave me. Of course, we did already have a session of running circles, so she was not fresh.
Emmy got tired of running and I asked her to face me about five times. She finally stopped and looked at me. Looking at me is the first step in the connection language.
She got to rest. I came to her and put my closed hand close to her nose. This is “the horseman’s handshake”. I can’t touch her till she touches me. Emmy chose not to touch me. Well, she really doesn’t like me all that much and has no curiosity about my hand. She is a superior creature. Queen Emmy.
I started asking her with body, non-verbal language, to move her hindquarters. Good Lord! She took an approved step with her back legs. This is first time she has done this from my focus. I decide this is the time to get her to come to me. She has to move her hindquarters and I’ll walk away from her. After a while, the horse takes a forward step which is the start of them coming to you.
It Happened. She took a step forward towards me and stopped. We did it again. Our improvement was amazing. I decided she could walk toward me until we got close to the gate. After many one or two steps attempts towards me, we finally made it to the gate. I offered my handshake. She touched me! I petted her and let her out of the gate to the new hay bale! Rewards are understood.
Huge progress!