Essay About Flank Strap And Different Events

Cruelty of Rodeo Myth
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After tying his hand in the rider slides up on his rope. He clenches his teeth as he
nods his head. The bull, little yellow jacket pushes the gate open with his head and
lunges out. He takes one strong jump and turns back hard and fast. Changing his speed
and rhythm and moving to counter the riders moves. The cowboy is thrown to the
ground hard after 3.9 seconds. The bull stops his spin and looks up at the crowd as a
gladiator would after slaying the Lyon. He trots through the out gate and the ride is
complete. This is how a typical trip went with this great bull. He was retired at the end
of this year at the 2005 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) finals. He finished his carrier
with a bull rating of 22.9 points(PBRnow.com). This is the score given to the animal out
of 25. This was a born and raised bucking bull that loved every minute of his job.
The myth that says rodeo is violent and cruel to animals that enjoy this sport is
simply not true and these animals are not hurt in any way in the events, with any of the
tools, or with the way they are kept and fed. Rodeo is a very rough sport and is very
physical for both the cowboys and animals that compete. Although very rarely are
animals hurt it is really a very safe sport for the animal. The sport of rodeo is a fun game
for the competitors and animal stock involved. Just like people some animals are nicer
then others and some can be very mean. Although rodeo and the gear used can without
proper education appear to be painful and dangerous to the animal, this sport and
these tools do not injure the stock.
During the different events during a rodeo different tools are used to increase the
performance of the animal without causing injury. The most controversial tool is
typically the flank strap that is used during the bucking events.
The flank strap is a piece of rope or a flat strap with a pad that goes around the
back end of the animal between the belly and the hind legs. Typically with a experienced
bull the flank strap is a heavy piece of rope that is tightened before the animal is released
from the chute. On horses or young bulls it is usually the flat padded strap that is
tightened as the animal leaves the chute
A very common misconception about this strap is that it is tied to the animals
testicals to cause them pain. It is also said to be cinched down very tight to the point
wear this animal cannot breath. This is simply not true (American Rodeo). This is
clearly shown on the more experienced bulls that have the strap tied when the are still in
the chute. This is obviously not hurting them or they would buck in the chute as soon as
it was tied. When the flank strap is tied to tight the animal will not buck(American
Rodeo). You will be able to notice if this ever happens because the animal will run off
or fall over instead of buck. When an animal is in a lot of pain it has no interest in
bucking well (Rick). Therefore the stock contractor, usually the one who ties the flank
strap, will want to leave the strap loose. The entire idea behind this strap is to be left lose
enough so that it is annoying and the animal thinks he can kick it off. This is why you
get those great looking kicks during a ride (Rick).
This idea can be proven with a bull named Hotel California. Three years ago they
had no rule on how tight a rider could pull their rope. A Brazilian rider (Brazilians are
known for tying there ropes too tight) got on him and pulled the rope so tight the animal
could barely breathe. The bull did his best to buck well but in the end he simply couldnt
buck to the best of his ability. Also this really hurt the animals pride and he went off and
refused to buck any more(Rick). Although it is sad that this happened this proves that
rodeo people do care about these animals because after this the PBR made a rule that you
could no longer have more then one person to pull rope in order to make it so the rope
would not be over tightened.
Another tool that is used during the rodeo are the spurs. These are basically
hooks that are worn on the heels of a riders boots. They are used to help the rider hold
on with his feet when the animal bucks. The opposition to rodeo says that these spurs are
very sharp, are jammed into the animals hide, and cuts the animal. Although this is not
true in American rodeo it does stem from some truth. Spurs today are blunted and
rounded off. To make sure of this if an animal