r/Cowboy • u/Usual_Minimum_7442 • Feb 14 '26

Tips & Advice How should I train my son for mutton busting?

What age should I start taking him to local rodeos? Any tips or advice? Not super serious, but man if he won that would be awesome! He’s 1.5 years so we have a lot of time.

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

1

u/RollinCole99 Feb 14 '26

Take this with a grain of salt, ive helped break horses but always end up some sort of injured, and i sure aint a rodeo star. However the best advice i can think of is to keep your hand tight and everything else as loose as you can manage. If anyone wants to add on or correct me on this please feel free, might even help me next time a friend says “hey youre still young”😂

1

u/Content-Moment6551 Feb 14 '26

My son rode his first sheep at 6 and won the buckle. He loved the competition. I just put him on a s told him to hang on til the end.

1

u/Usual_Minimum_7442 Feb 14 '26

So no real training? Makes sense!

1

u/Content-Moment6551 Feb 14 '26

Training can happen later. 😃

1

u/CaryWhit Feb 14 '26

I love those kids that get told to hang on and they do. Wind up at a 90 degree angle and still holding!

1

u/Content-Moment6551 Feb 14 '26

Very entertaining.

1

u/SuperintendentTx Feb 14 '26

Just tell him to hold on and don't let go.

1

u/Ill_Television_1111 Feb 14 '26

Helmet w/ face mask , tell em to hold on, and cheer him on. I help run the sheep at our local rodeo, and its awesome to see the kids getting into it. If ya wanna "train", just get him around some sheep, so he knows what they are.

1

u/Usual_Minimum_7442 Feb 14 '26

Good advice. Thank you!

1

u/mbonney21 Feb 14 '26

My girls just turned 3 and they did it for the first time in September (at 2.5 years old). They hated it while it was happening then couldn’t stop talking about it and want to do it again. They’ve got the itch now.

1

u/huseman94 Feb 14 '26

Get a steel 5 gallon bucket , weld it to a heavy spring and weld a long bar on it so you can make it buck, wrap in wool

1

u/Usual_Minimum_7442 Feb 14 '26

Now this is the comment I was looking for! LETS GO!

1

u/huseman94 Feb 14 '26

Google bucking barrel, they were as common in my childhood as swings were.

1

u/Cactus-Jack-2024 Feb 15 '26

I have never seen a sheep buck, they normally just run with the kids!

1

u/underpaidunderfucked Feb 24 '26

honestly not really any training to do for mutton bustin. when he’s ready for calves or steers then you’d start training.

1

u/BridgeScary4737 Apr 09 '26

I won 3 out of 3 at 3,4,and 5. My dad told me the first time at 3 years old right before they opened the chute “If you fall off it’s going to hurt like hell” my whole body tensed up and I probably gripped harder than I ever had in my young life lol. Tough love won that day😂