Rope off my 9 year old, 15 hand arabian horse?

Question

I've had a arabian horse for 4 years that i have fallin in love with and want to do more with her. i broke her and have worked with her since i got her. she is very willing and agile. she surprisingly has GREAT cow sense and i am getting to higher levels in team penning and am going to start some roping, i dont know if she is fit out for it, id like to keep her but if it is phisically impossible for her to then it would be best for me to sell her.... please tell me your opinion, Becca

Some pictures... not the best but they are still pictures :D-

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/texasgirl_174/Jun062008-VID00024_1.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/texasgirl_174/Jun072008-VID00030_1.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/texasgirl_174/cuttin.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/texasgirl_174/cuttin2.jpg

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i122/texasgirl_174/sweetkatcowbec.jpg

Answer 1

An Arabian can do far more than the quarter horse fans give them credit for.  I used to believe the myths about Arabians too.  A big wide butt is overrated much of the time...just like the human weight lifters with massive bulk aren't necessarily any good as athletes.  Each horse is different, but

Arabians pack a lot of strength into those finer but denser bones, and some can give the quarter horses more than a run for their money. An arabian can be trained to carry it's neck in any position because of it's amazing flexibility.  I'd go for it.

Answer 2

If your horse likes what you are doing, and you are succeeding, then I think that's great.  She might not be the most conventional breed for those events but who cares.

The only issue might be that she doesn't have the weight behind her that a QH does for roping, but she's still big enough to drag a calf so I think she'd be fine.  I wouldn't sell her!

Answer 3

I don't see why you couldn't rope off of her...as long as you know what you're doing and can train her for roping correctly and safely, she will probably make a great roping horse.  The cow sense she already has will help, and if she has a good disposition and you're confident you can rope with her safely, go for it.

Spend a lot of time just playing with the rope with her, to let her get used to it...tying on to a steer is a BAD idea until she has a lot of rope experience under her belt first.  Good luck!

Answer 4

Hello,

Well, you have a NICE stout, big butted Arabian!  I like those features!  VERY cowhorse looking!

I have one suggestion:  

Have you tried working her with a noseband (tie down) on the cattle?  It would keep her from being so high headed!

She is eating up those cows!

IF you want to rope trainer, remember that slow is best, SCHOOL the snot out of her in the box.  Don't RUN her out of the box for a while, just track the cattle at a slower pace.

Also, try her on the head and heal side....

You could start doing some work with dallying and dragging to get her use to the feel of that to.  Dally up and drag logs, tires, etc...

Swing the rope around her from the ground first...then when she is okay with it on her.  MAKE certain you rub that rope ALL over her first, get her feet and legs, etc...so she is okay 100% with it!

You can also hang out a at ropings and just watch on her buy the shoots, they are loud as you probably know and when the cattle coming shooting out it can be a surprise to some horses...

HAVE fun, she looks like a great COWHORSE!

Answer 5

I'd be reluctant to rope a hefty steer off her...she might work as a heeling horse (team roping) but no heading...heading horses  really take a slam when the steer hits the end of the rope and you go to turn your horse.   Other considerations are ribbon roping, breakaway roping and tie down roping, smaller calves....I wouldn't sell her until you decide how she'll handle it.  Watch for sore shoulders, withers, and hocks....I'm not into soring up a horse especially if they're not really big enough to handle whats asked of them...I sure as heck wouldn't try steer stopping with her...she'd get jerked into next week.

Answer 6

with most Arabs its a little hard to rope off them because they are so small most of the cows would just yank them all over, I saw a break away roping where the horse (an Arab) accidentally got her mane caught in the rope and the cow pulled her to her knees and pulled a good chunk of her mane out,you could try it she could do calf roping....or break away roping...

Answer 7

I agree with Sovereign on this.  The heading horse does take a hard jerk & then that rear engine needs to engage & dig in to get the steers moving for the heeler to come in & go for 2.  They need the power in the rear.    

I don't rope much anymore, I like my fingers firmly attached to my hands, but I will throw a loop now & again.  It's fun!

Of our 8 Quarter Horses, 3 heel only, 2 can swap ends & the other 3 head only.