Horse Ranch Games

Not too long ago, ranch workers used horses to work their cattle, and that tradition continues to this day on many cattle ranches. After all the day's work has been done and the cattle have been put away, workers and owners of the ranch can challenge themselves and their mounts with a number of unique, fun and practical games.

  1. Team Sorting

    • Sorting out the cows is a big part of life on the ranch, but team sorting provides ranch workers with a way to show off their skills and have some fun. Team sorting is also an excellent way to help young horses learn to work well with cattle. With team sorting, two or more teams of cowboys try to cut a specific cow out of the herd and keep it there for a specified period of time. Many ranch horses will take quite well to this activity, with a natural ability to know where the cow is headed before it makes its move. Others will need more work, but the team penning game is an excellent way to train those horses for real ranch work.

    Hay Bale Roping

    • Decades ago roping was the main way cowboys captured calves for branding and veterinary work. Although roping is not used as much for those purposes anymore, ranch workers can still have fun practicing their lasso skills and developing a more accurate throwing pattern. One of the best games for improving roping in both horse and rider is to use a bale of hay as an ersatz calf. Tack shops sell plastic calf heads that are inserted into a bale of hay, providing a ready target ropers can use to practice their throwing, both while at a standstill and when running by at full gallop.

    Cowboy Races

    • Ranch workers love to show off the speed and agility of their mounts, and one of the best ways to show off those skills is with an old-fashioned cowboy race. Ranch workers can design any number of race courses around the pastures and corrals at the ranch, from simple head-to-head straightaway races to dashes that require horses and riders to negotiate poles, barrels and even jumps. The best part of this game is that ranch workers can create their own variations, providing endless new challenges.