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How to Use a Lasso or Lariat

Learning how to use a lasso or a lariat, which is a long rope with a noose, is really helpful if you're a ranch hand who needs to catch uncooperative cattle or horses on a regular basis. Or you might just want to do it for fun. The lasso, romanticized in old American Western movies, is a simple device that takes a while to master. However, you can learn a few simple steps about how to use a lasso and keep practicing them until you can rope a bull in your sleep.

Instructions

- 1
  Use a large loop -- up to 7 feet in diameter -- if you're a beginner.
- 2
  Coil the rope in your left hand if you are right-handed, or your right hand if you are left-handed, leaving about 6 feet of rope in between the noose and the coil.
- 3
  Grab the noose end of the rope with your other hand about a foot from the "ring" of the loop -- where the rope turns into the noose -- and, using the same hand, grab the loop about a foot from the ring.
- 4
  Swing the noose over your head while allowing your wrist to be loose and move easily.
- 5
  Release the noose as your swinging hand starts moving forward while making a quick step. Move your hand forward with palm down at shoulder level and stretch to a full arm's length, and let it go. Don't interrupt the noose's swinging motion.
- 6
  Keep practicing until you've mastered it.

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