Three-time World Champion Heeler Wesley Thorp shares a detailed, no-frills session bringing a 10-year-old mare back into form after time off. This video shows how he builds a horse’s confidence, balance, and timing from the back end—focusing on collection through the corner, holding position, and setting up for multiple good throws instead of just one.
Thorp explains how to keep a horse framed, soft in the bridle, and responsive through the corner—all while scoring on a loose rein to promote relaxation and timing out of the box. It’s a lesson in patience, feel, and rope placement on your terms, not your horse’s.
If you're seasoning a heel horse, dealing with one that's heavy or fresh, or working on keeping position longer down the arena, this is the kind of solution-driven training content that sticks.
Up Next in Heeling Fundamentals
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Heel Loop Angles
Clay O’Brien Cooper is the master of the heel loop, and in this video, he explains a common problem he sees with lower number heelers who come to his roping schools. Cooper explains how the angle of the heel loop stays consistent throughout the heeler’s delivery.
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On Heeling and Baseball | Loop Placement
American Champion heeler Ryan Motes talks through heeling theory and loop placement in an exclusive clinic to Key Card members at the 2022 US Finals.
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Full Lesson with a Standout Junior Ro...
Two-time World Champion Patrick Smith spends a day fine-tuning a teenage 3 heeler, working on ground-fundamentals, position, timing, delivery and more. Smith addresses the often-overlooked horsemanship aspects of heeling, too, in order to get to the root of any issues.
