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Rodeo Stock

Frolicking in grass hitting their bellies, rodeo stock spends a majority of their time in a pasture. “Herd management is a huge component of keeping these animals healthy,” Beutler said. “Our horses get 24/7 access to hay and grass, but the bulls have to be regulated or they will eat themselves to death. All of our animals get grain once a day and always have water from our well.” Supplemented with salt and protein, some of Beutler’s animals are easier to keep than others. “These animals are a lot like kids, you have to keep some of them separated because they don’t get along and they end up hurting each other,” Beutler said. “Some of our animals are older than others so they need a little more TLC. Their welfare is our top priority, if they do not feel good they won’t perform. It gives us no advantage to treat our animals poorly. We give them every opportunity in the world to thrive.”

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A few days before a rodeo, Rhett Beutler rounds up the animals he needs to take. They spend a few days in the dry lots with ample food and water until they are loaded and transported to the rodeo. These animals then spend several more days acclimating to the location of the rodeo, again with all the food and water they could ever want. Photo courtesy of Beutler and Sons Rodeo Company.

Two days before departing for a rodeo, Beutler sorts out the animals he needs for the weekend and brings them up to the corrals close to the house. “Many people don’t realize how tedious the loading process truly is,” Beutler said. “We use a head to tail system when we load our animals. They go in a specific order dependent on how each animal acts while being loaded and during the trip. It is not a small task to say the least.” There is plenty of speculation behind packing trailers like sardines, but Beutler debunks this myth. “Packing a trailer tight is just asking for an injury to happen. We pack loose so the animals can step to either side to keep their balance with the movement of the truck,” Beutler added. “If we packed tight we would have animals fall down and get trampled by the rest. Then we would show up to the rodeo with lame animals, and that is the last thing we want for them.”

As with anything, there will always be bad apples in every industry casting a negative light on those who do things right. “The PRCA cannot really regulate what we do at home as far as taking care of our animals. However, they can keep an animal from performing if they are in poor condition,” Beutler finished.

Though the new Electronic Logging Device mandate has not taken effect, Beutler is expecting it will in the near future. “The government has not figured out all the details yet because we are hauling animals, not freight,” Beutler said. “We cannot just pull over and rest for eight hours with animals on the truck when it is 100 degrees outside.” Beutler and Sons always travels with two drivers to expedite the travel time. All contractors have their own ideas about best practices for taking livestock to an event, some like to break the trip up and rest. While others prefer to make trips in one stretch to get the animals off the truck as soon as possible. “When traveling, animals can get sick if you feed and water them. We usually leave a few days early for a rodeo, so the animals can get over the jet lag of traveling and back to feeling good,” Beutler said. “There are very few places to stop and unload animals and even fewer with enough pens to keep everything separated. Since we are based in Oklahoma, when it gets hot in the summer time we will travel at night to keep the animals cooler. The furthest we typically go is 12 hours, and we do that in one stretch to keep the animals off the road as much as possible. Some people will break that up into two days. We like to get where we are going so they have plenty of time to rest and be ready for the rodeo.”

Prcas Role In Maintaining Welfare Standards

The guiding principles behind the lives of rodeo animals stem from PRCA regulations and the fact that these animals are the livelihood of stock contractors across the nation. “Rodeo is born of the hard-working American ranchers who built the West and helped feed our nation, the sport of professional rodeo directly descends from the everyday ranch work of roping stray cattle and breaking wild horses,” Pugsley said. “The one-on-one competition of cowboys grew in popularity through the years and eventually became organized events. It has evolved into the sport of rodeo we know today.” In 1947, the first rules concerning animal welfare participating in PRCAsanctioned events were implemented. “The sport of professional rodeo is much more than entertainment, it is a culture, a way of life, a heritage, all of which we are proud to be continuing the western way of life today,” Pugsley said.

PRCA rules for animal welfare are used as the standard for other associations, including the International Professional Rodeo Association and many amateur and state rodeo organizations. “Rules of the PRCA are recognized as the most comprehensive in the industry,” Pugsley said. “The PRCA leads the way in creating livestock welfare procedures, rules and standards for American rodeos.” The PRCA works to maintain relationships with other rodeo associations as well as other agricultural entities to continuously improve their standards as needed.

One controversial tool used in rodeo is the electric prod. Powered by flashlight batteries, the prod is often used to move animals through the chute system. “Once animals are loaded into the chute, a prod will only be used when needed for the safety of the livestock, contestant or personnel,” Pugsley explained. Rules state the prod should only be used on the neck or shoulder of a bucking horse and on the rump of roping cattle. “The prod allows for harmless encouragement of animals to move through the chutes,” Pugsley said. “It does not make animal buck, nor does it affect the competition once the animal has exited the chute.” For a prod to be used to help an animal leave a chute, the owner, competitor and judge must all agree on its use.

Performance

According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, doping and flank straps are the reason why roping cattle run and rough stock buck. “PRCA rules mandate that no stimulants or hypnotics may be given to livestock used for contest purposes,” Pugsley said. This applies to the horses used to compete on as well. “Flank straps are used to encourage bucking horses and bulls to buck with proper form, kicking their legs out behind them,” Pugsley explained. “When tightened, the flank strap is in the same position and tightness as a belt on a human. It is used as a signal for that animal that it is time to perform.” Many believe the flank strap is placed specifically on the genitals of the animal to even further enhance their bucking action This is not the case, in fact, many top bucking horses are mares. “Everyone thinks you can make an animal buck, you can’t. When we start these young colts and bulls, some will not kick higher than a pop can,” Beutler said. “It is all in the genetics, you breed them to be an athlete that can buck. A lot of the really good horses don’t even need a flank strap, it just puts an emphasis on getting them to stretch out when they kick, making a prettier ride for the contestant.”

Each animal attends between 12 and 15 rodeos per year. Most only last a weekend, but some rodeos span over several days. “Lots of places our stock only get bucked once per weekend. If we are there four or five days, we might buck one the first and last day,” Beutler said. “It just depends on the animal. Some horses buck harder on their second ride and others can only go once, it all comes down to management of the herd. Most bulls are pretty hardy, so they can buck twice if we need them to.” Ultimately, Beutler does everything he can to give cowboys a good chance to hit the pay window while keeping the needs of his animals at the forefront of his decisions.

Roping Controversy

Saddle bronc riding is the traditional event of rodeo, but roping is easily the most wide-spread of the industry. Steer roping is professional rodeo’s oldest event and one of the more controversial. “Steer roping is held at select rodeos because of its requirement for a larger arena, thus why it is not at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in December,” Pugsley said. Steer roping requires a competitor to rope the steer around the horns and subsequently flip the rope to the other side of the animal and sweep their legs out from under them. This was used out on the range for wild cattle that needed to be doctored and takes an incredible amount of skill to do safely. “Plaster and rebar, as well as horn wraps, are placed around the horns of the steer to protect the animal during competition,” Pugsley said.

Many forget about the equine athletes on the arena floor, the cowboys and cowgirls who ride them certainly do not. More money is spent to keep these animals happy and healthy than on just about anything else in the rodeo industry.

“Further rules mandate the weight and breed of the steers used, qualified catches, and a 30-second competition time limit.”

Many arguments against rodeo cite the number of animal injuries as a good reason to ban the sport. “Livestock injury rates at PRCA-sanctioned rodeos are very low, less than 0.05 percent of all competitions result in an injury,” Pugsley said. “The Livestock Welfare Committee of the PRCA regularly assess and submits recommendations to improve all PRCA events, including steer and calf roping.” With more than 60 rules in the PRCA pertaining to animal welfare, all events are carried out with safety and respect for the animals, contestants and personnel. “For rodeo to continue to be successful and thrive, we must approach livestock welfare with an open mind, facts and experts,” Pugsley said. “We live and operate in a change or be changed world. As long as changes are based on fact while doing what is best for the livestock, we will continue to see rodeo grow and progress.”

Animal Athletes

Out of all the animals in the arena, horses are the most abundant. “Competition and production horses may be an after thought for those sitting in the stands, but that is not the case for those in the arena,” Pugsley said. From treadmills and ice boots to breathing chambers and water workouts, a rodeo athletes’ greatest asset is their partner, whether that is human or horse. “The four-legged athletes of the sport are truly regarded as such,” Pugsley said. “No expenses are spared in caring for horses of rodeo. Livestock in the sport, whether equine or bovine, are purpose bred specifically for the competition of rodeo. They often display feats of speed, agility, strength, athleticism and determination that can only be compared to those of Olympians.”