Mirror Game for Working Cattle

Video Transcript

"In our work in our desire to become more competitive in the sport of team penning and ranch sorting we've created a number of games that help us to utilize less cows but learn some of the skill that bring us to a better competitive edge. Laura and I are going to demonstrate what we call a mirror game and it's going to mean that both riders are going to take control putting a cow in the center and seeing if we can't mirror each other as we keep that cow moving between us. Although this is not any part of the traditional rules of the game. It's some of the stuff that's helping or novice riders get a little more savvy in learning how to control and bring the cows to a better position when we go to do our team penning. We'll be explaining the sport of team penning and ranch sorting with a demonstration of ranch sorting and that will help you to understand a little bit more of why these games are so valuable in us learning. We're going to go ahead and bring out one cow and we'll choose this little cow right here in front. I'm going to go to its hip so I can bring it by itself and now we're going to try and push it in a way that keeps it here in the center of us. We're watching to make sure that if I go ahead of this cow it's going want to turn on me. If I stay on its side I can keep it on a path straight onward. There's a lot of connection that occurs when the cow slows down and the horse has to stop and wait for the cow. So although we want to the cow to move we're also not discouraged by the fact that our horse and our cow are making that kind of mental connection. That these two animals do together. So we'll let this cow be here as we've keep it in good control. The horses did a good job and so we let then end on that good note of having performed quite well and keeping that cow right in our control."