Aaron Tsinigine has found two horses to fill the void left in his rig after Smudge retired earlier in the horse’s career than Tsinigine would have liked. Finding a good replacement has come down to figuring out how to score on those new horses, Tsinigine says. 

The Feel of Things

Getting used to a new horse all comes down to scoring. It’s about getting the feel of a horse in the corner. Sometimes that can take a week or a month or even longer, and sometimes you never get that feel and the horse isn’t going to work for you.

New Demands

For instance, my yellow horse I rode at the US Finals scored so well when I got him this summer, but he hadn’t been shown roping at the highest level yet. So sometimes he’d move a little bit, and sometimes he’d stand too still. I spent a month getting him to understand what I want. The only horse I’ve ever clicked with really, really fast was my bay, Smudge, who I won the world on in 2015. But even he took about a week.

On the Line

No matter how much time you put on a new horse at home, you won’t know what you’re in for until you put your money down and rope on him in a pressure situation. Then, you’ll be able to tell what sort of funky moves he’s going to make and if you’re about to get smoked by a steer. Until you make a money run, you won’t really know what’s going to happen. n