Steer riding
Encyclopedia
Riding steers in contrast to using cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 for ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...

en has an equally long history, although not as well known. Steers were ridden by American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 such as Blue Duck
Blue Duck (outlaw)
Blue Duck, sometimes referred to as Bluford Duck, was an outlaw of the Old West, probably best known for a photograph taken of him around the mid-1880's, in which he posed with Belle Starr, a famous Old West female outlaw and prostitute....

, who choose to raid farmsteads on a steer knowing that loose cattle around the ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

es would help hide his tracks. He would ride off to exchange his steer for a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 and a faster get away. Many pioneer
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 school children would ride the family cow rather than the horse to school. While a horse could be used all day for plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...

ing, the family cow wasn't needed again for milking until after the children returned home from school.

Today, riding steers and cattle in general is seeing a new popularity. Steers are being shown alongside horses in areas where members of the International Riding Steer Association live. Riding steers are being used in hunt seat
Hunt seat
Hunt seat is terminology used in the United States and Canada to refer to a style of forward seat riding commonly found at American horse shows. Along with Dressage, it is one of the two classic forms of English riding. The Hunt seat is based on the tradition of fox hunting...

, jumping, reining, cutting, roping, team penning
Team penning
Team penning is a western equestrian sport that evolved from the common ranch work of separating cattle into pens for branding, doctoring, or transport....

, and even endurance riding
Endurance riding
Endurance riding is an equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the FEI. There are endurance rides worldwide....

.

External links

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