THE MAGIC IN THE MOVE
To the only header in the world with eight gold buckles, the most crucial function of a head horse is setting up the corner for the heeler.
Hall-of-Famer Speed Williams—who notably started out heeling—appreciated his two iconic horses, Bob and Viper, so much in part because of their moves in the corner. “The move” of a head horse happens between the pulling of your slack and the towing of the steer. It’s much more convoluted than just “going left,” and tricky to describe in words. The perfect move treads a fine line.
If your horse uses too much front end in his move, your heeler will have to wait out some whiplash in the corner because, if there’s any “hit” at all, you’ll whip the steer. But if your horse doesn’t make the right move immediately, it takes forever to provide a heel shot.
Keeping the right tension on that tow rope is the name of the game, and it’s dictated by your head horse’s footwork. For instance, if the head horse doesn’t “cow down” to the same speed the steer is running, it makes a great corner very difficult, Williams explained.
“I’ve had a lot of horses that could score, run and face, but did not provide a good corner,” Williams said. “That makes them hard
