365 Days in Horse Country – Steer Daubing
If you like chasing cows, you’ll love steer daubing, the
sport of marking a steer on its side with a stick dipped in chalk.
In this sport, horse and rider break from a gate the same time the steer is released next to them. The horse and rider chase the steer and try to daub the animal with chalk (or sometimes flour) on the side. The event is timed and the horse and rider that daubs the steer in the shortest amount of time is the winner.
Like many cattle events, steer daubing comes from real ranch work. Cattle sometimes needed to be market to distinguish them from the rest of the herd for “doctoring” or other purposed; the easiest way to do this was to chase them down on horseback.
Western horse shows and rodeos often offer steer daubing classes Before you can try this event, your horse has to have experience working cattle. You can obtain this experience by working with a trainer who specializes in training horses for cattle work or by buying a horse who has already worked with them. It takes considerable skill to get close enough to the cow and accurately mark it in the designated spot. You and your horse will have to practice a lot before you are ready for competition.
Michael