Well, it’s settled, this here blog is interactive! One reader responded about the“Formando”. Now, my own knowledge of this wondrous piece of horse taming comes from reading and second-hand reports of cowhands who have done time down in South Texas ranch country. So imagine my surprise when a Florida cracker cowboy responded with a picture of horses in Brazil lined up against a rope! It was slightly different, in that the horses were lined up with their chests on the rope. But it’s the same basic idea. This makes me think that the technique, being that widespread, is a lot older than I thought. Now I’m going to have to engage the sagebrush search – engine to track down more reports of Formando-like behavior!The thing I like about the technique is that, from the point of view of genuinely sorry roper (yours truly) , I’d be all day catching my mount with a “Houlihan” or an “Oregon over-hand”. This way I walk out in the pen, shout, “Forma” hold up a stick, and all my boys line up waiting for a halter. Now I believe in preserving folk art , so I do truly admire the jingle bosses who have the skill to rope out mounts, and I believe it’s a beautiful thing. Either one of these methods involve more “cowboy” than feed sacks, four wheelers, and hydraulic working chutes. Besides, they depend on a relationship of man with animal, which tickles me personally more than man and machine.