In this video, Dean Tuftin shows why they rope the dummy in a circle on young horses and what their focus is for each horse.

At DT Horses, the focus is on what's best for the horse, not a timeline. In this video, Dean Tuftin heels the dummy in a snaffle at a trot.

Even when heading, instilling circles is important. Dean Tuftin explains how following the dummy in a circle when heading reinforces a horse's left lead and keep them left at a good width from a steer.

Cesar de la Cruz and his brother developed a special dummy for the cattle at the National Finals Rodeo, where the steers’ legs come out more wide-legged than at a normal rodeo. In this video, de la Cruz describes how he heels his “Clifford Franklin” dummy to master his coverage and timing on the ...

 Cesar de la Cruz believes the heel loop is never thrown; instead, he says it’s placed in position. He talks about how to finesse his heel loop to the ground with his fingertips without even swinging the rope.

Dean Tuftin explains why it's important for horses to want to be soft and respond to you in the way you need, without being scared of you.

At DT Horses, ground zero for heel horses revolves around circle drills. Dean Tuftin explains how and why he uses circle drills on the dummy and live cattle to train young horses and help them gain confidence.

Curvature in a heel horse can help make them easier to catch on. Dean Tuftin explains how a little bit of curve in horses in the turn makes them softer and allows a rider to move a horse's ribcages and hips over better.

It might seem simple, but focusing on circles when warming up on the dummy teaches a horse to go to work without anxiety. Dean Tuftin explains how the circle drill keeps a horse soft instead of bracing.

Junior Nogueira breaks down some common mistakes in heeling fundamentals and explains his style of throwing his rope. He even matches characteristics of his roping alongside students of the Smarty Young Pro clinic to compare their swings.

Matt Sherwood is a two-time World Champion Header, as well as an American finalist in the heeling behind Derrick Begay. In this video, he explains position on the ground on the heeling dummy. 

Angles and positioning are just as important on the dummy as they are on your heel horse. Patrick Smith explains these topics, and feeding your rope for maximum efficiency on the heel side in this video. Watch this clip from the Legend film.

Joseph Harrison demonstrates a drill he uses on the Smarty sled to keep his heel horses in position and latched onto the cow. 

Heeling the sawhorse has been a part of Clay O'Brien Cooper's regime for years. In this video, Clay explains how to rope the sawhorse and why it's so important.

Joseph Harrison demonstrates how he uses the Smarty sled to insure his rodeo horses stay sharp and responsive. 

Erich Rogers might be a World Champion header, but he's an all-around hand who competes in the Cinch Timed Event Championship year after year. He can heel with the best of them, and in this video he works with Navajo Nation Veterans on the HeelOMatic Hox. 

“Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” In this video brought to you by Lone Star Ropes, Patrick Smith explains some of the most common mistakes ropers make when roping the Smarty Pipes—and how to fix them. “I think it’s really important that you rope the dummy on the gro...

Joseph Harrison demonstrates a drill he uses on the Smarty sled to maximize respect and control in a heel horse. 

Joseph Harrison explains how critical consistent cues are for heel horses—whether it's on the Smarty sled or live cattle. 

This is a must-do dummy drill from Matt Sherwood on controlling your tip. Watch an entire dummy-roping session from one of Sherwood's clinics here. 

Training your horse and yourself to stay in good position starts on the sled. This controlled environment can help you get the reps needed to become a positioning pro.

Rhen Richard demonstrates what good position means when roping the Smarty Sidekick.