Advanced Cow Working and Roping Clinic

Cow Working

On Saturday 9:00 – 4:00 we will be working with the cattle in the arena, corrals and in the open fields. This is not for rodeo or competitive sport. We will be teaching and practicing "low stress stockmanship” for practical ranch work skills.

The riders may be grouped into “ranch crews” and assigned tasks that require teamwork and good horsemanship. Tasks could include such things as dividing the herd, taking certain cows to a different location in the arena and holding them there, sorting designated cows away from the herd, putting designated cows in a corral, taking cows through gates and obstacles, and holding or driving the herd in the open without using the fence or corners.

Ranch Horsemanship

Cow work develops a much better communication and partnership with your horse. Your horse will learn how to listen to your cues and move responsively. Working with cattle gives your horse a practical reason for listening to you, really using his body to become more athletic and coordinated and moving in a variety of ways quickly, smoothly and under control with your direction. Riders should be able to properly execute specific movements which are necessary to be successful in ranch and cattle work including turn-on-the-forehand, turn-on-the-haunches, rein back, side-pass, leg yield, roll back, quick gait transitions and solid stops.

Roping

We will offer instruction on specific techniques of ranch roping from the ground on roping dummies and then from horseback. You should know the basics including how to hold the rope, build a loop and swing it. Ranch roping is quite different from competitive roping. There will be instruction on several different types of loops to throw for different situations, pulling slack and dallying on the horn. Roping will consist of break-away roping (head or heel) in the pen and in the open arena. If there are riders who are confident with their roping skill and their horse's ability to quietly hold a dallied cow, there may be the possibility of team head and heel roping in the arena and laying the cow down to remove the ropes. We recommend a leather or mule hide wrapped horn, (not rubber wrapped) because in ranch roping you will need to use your horn as a clutch to slip rope and give slack. There will be instruction on slipping rope. If you don't already have a "ranch rope", we will have a variety of ropes you may use or purchase. On Saturday you will have the chance to rope live cattle with break-away ropes.

More Information

Lodging

There are Airbnbs available Covington Vacation Rentals & Homes - Georgia, United States | Airbnb and major chain hotels in Covington, located within a 25 min drive to the Ball Ranch.

These hotels are all located at exit 93 off I-20:

Hampton Inn 678-212-2500 14460 Lockridge Blvd. Covington 30014

Holiday Inn Express 470-441-9500 1445 Paras Dr Covington, GA 30014

Travelodge 770-784-1849 10225 Hwy 142 N. Covington, GA 30014

Horse Boarding

We have stalls and outdoor paddocks available for $25 per night at the Dabney Farm and at the Ball Ranch. The10 x 12 stalls have shavings and water.

Please add your boarding fee to your clinic fee when submitting payment. Please bring your own hay and buckets. Three stalls are available. Shavings are provided. Please clean your stall before leaving.

Electric Hook-Up:

$10. per/night. We have two 30 amp hookups available at Dabney Farm 1034 Hodges Cir., Mansfield, GA 30055. Dabney Farm is an easy, direct 25 min drive for hookup and additional stall or paddock boarding.

Free primitive or RV camping with no hook-ups is available at Ball Ranch. Restroom is available in the barn.

What to Bring:

Meals and beverages for the weekend. There are no nearby restuarants. Spectators bring lawn chair, note pad and pen, all horse tack for participants: Helmets are recommended and required for participants under 18 years old.

*Current Negative Coggins Required for all participant's horses. No stallions or dogs please.

Quote from Ed about this clinic:
"The emphasis of the clinic is on using the cows to build a better partnership with your horse. The cow work will develop more confidence, forward impulsion, lighter responses and more fluid movements plus it's just lots of fun for horse and rider both to play with cows! Lots of my dressage students like to ride in this clinic to give their horses a definite job in using the dressage movements to work cows. The cow work gives their horses a break from constant schooling and helps them become more versatile as all-around riding horses."

Here are a few testimonials from participants in our past Cow Working Clinics:

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I've ridden in this clinic times. Highly recommend. Non-intimidating environment. Hardly anyone there had worked cattle before and they had a blast. Most had horses that had never seen cattle and they all came away with a lot of confidence. I have worked a lot of cattle yet I also always come away from this clinic with new information and a smile.
John Rollins

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I had a great time at the Cow Working clinic this week-end. I learned a lot about riding, horses, the history of riding, life on a ranch and being a cowboy in the west, and more. I appreciate your approach to horses and teaching. After a nervous start, my horse Brisco seemed to love it, especially cutting one cow out of the herd. That just seemed to line up with his personality.

Thank you again for a great clinic.
Clare Connell
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Ed, Just wanted to thank you again for your help this weekend at the Cow Clinic. It was a lot of fun, greatly benefitted my horse -- and may have saved me or someone else from serious injury due to his fear of cows. When we left, he saw all of the new cows in the front pasture. He was on high alert, but he was manageable and not dangerous!
Thanks again
Martha
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Ed, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed the clinic. Daniel and I were so proud of Spirit!…I hope you were too. Your cowboy assistants were so knowledgeable and patient with everyone, they were a wonderful asset for you. Thanks a bunch,
Ann C

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Hi Ed,
I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed this past weekend. That's more riding than I've done in quite awhile but I couldn't have asked for a better clinic experience. You may hear this all the time but you truly do have a very unique and blessed talent for teaching horses and humans! Everything about the clinic was so well thought out... everything made sense... and Jim and Richard... well, I don't think you could have done any better in bringing them in to the mix! Mike was wonderful support as well. And it was such a pleasure to meet Colleen!

One of the longest lasting lessons I will take away from this past weekend was that I gained so much self-assurance in tackling something new. I never once worried about what my horse was doing. I never felt disconnected with him. I felt as one with him and that is a great feeling. This speaks volumes as to how well the overall clinic was conducted.

You, Jim, and Richard gave us all some great homework assignments. My birthday wish list includes a new Ed Dabney saddle pad and a rope!

Ann H

Many thanks to Whitney Granberry for producing this video