I rope the dummy whenever I feel like I’m not doing a very good job on my loops, and I rope it two or three times a day otherwise just to throw a few loops.
When I’m roping the dummy, I’m feeling for my delivery and where the tip of my rope is hitting. I want to feel like my tip is hitting on the far-left side of the steer, and I make sure I am following through with four or five throws with the same feel every time I rope it. I’m focusing on making sure my muscle memory and follow through is the same on every loop, with my tip in front of me rather than behind me.
Using A Dummy to Get Your Horse’s Attention with Rich Skelton
I do a mental check to make sure I push my left hand up forward in front of me, so I can keep my horse pushed up and set up in the run. I also make sure I’m looking at the base of the bottom left horn, so with as big of a loop as I throw, I know it will cover the right horn and come across to the left horn.
I move around a little bit when I’m roping the dummy. I normally stay in my lane, but I walk up and rope and walk back and step back. I will also walk all the way up to the base of the bale of hay and stick it on them.
