Ideally, young and novice ropers learn to rope on a patterned horse. They start off on an old campaigner that scores and rates pretty good, and goes through the motions on his own free will. That lets a beginner roper concentrate on his or her roping. Then they get to the next level and they start to wear down that old seasoned horse. They want something thats a little faster and stronger. Theres a transition in trying to replace that good old horse. All of a sudden, its like being thrown in cold water, because every horse works a little differently. Youre going from automatic to having to pull more levers and push more buttons.
If you have an unlimited bank account, you can replace the old campaigner with another push-button horse that's ready to roll. He might be a little younger and a little faster, but he still knows the drill.
If you can get another horse that scores, runs, rates, handles cattle smoothly and faces-another Mr. Automatic-that learning curve to the next level isn't too bad. But those push-button horses that instantly make you a winner are hard to find. The majority of horses need more help from you.
