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The Animal ExperienceInternational Professional Rodeo Association, P.O. Box 83377, Oklahoma City OK 73148Cattle and horses. While many of us have grown up around these animals and understand both the abilities and limitations of the bovine and equine species, some people who attend a rodeo have not been around animals larger than cats and dogs. Just as cats and dogs have as many dissimilar traits as shared characteristics, so it is with cattle and horses. Cattle and horses are uniquely suited to rodeo. It’s a natural fit that grew from the knowledge of working ranch cowboys who literally lived with cattle and horses and knew everything about them—who learned that roping was the best way to catch and hold a calf or steer on open range—who knew that some horses were easy to train and others impossible. There is an exchange of service and benefits between rodeo people and rodeo animals with the best service dependent on the best benefits. Animal owners, contestants and spectators receive the best service from animals in peak condition; animals benefit when serviced with the best possible care. Our animals benefit as well in ways other than good care. Rodeo is a new lease on life for some horses who may not be beautiful enough for the show ring, fast enough for the race track, or reliable enough for a pleasure ride. Horses that may not make the grade in any other discipline can find a comfortable niche, and possibly star status, kicking up their heels in rodeo. The lives of many bulls have likewise been extended and enhanced because of a propensity to toss cowboys around like rag dolls. While in the case of both bucking horses and bucking bulls, spectacular animals have been bred in the hopes of producing spectacular performers, rodeo continues to be an outlet for animals that might be considered unwanted or surplus in other areas. Since minimum and maximum weight requirements limit the length of time calves and steers are used, their lives are not extended by rodeo, but they receive the same good care as the other animals while they are in rodeo—such good conditioning that special daily grain mixtures can provide weight gain of two pounds a day in calves. Also, it should be noted, physical attributes of these animals allow their use without harm; for instance, the flexibility of a steer’s neck in its ability to turn its head to its back, and the thick, muscular structure of a calf’s neck. The rodeo environment, in which animals are closely monitored, further lends itself in ways advantageous for the animal. The dirt of an arena that is worked for good footing also provides a cushion for both the contestants and the animals in a fall. Equipment is inspected to meet standards of safety and comfort. Rodeo has evolved into its own special blend of ranch skills, keen competition, and show biz but has never gotten away from its core understanding of two species of animals nor its reliance on cattle and horses for a treasured way of life. |
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