rope
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Also known as: lariat
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
lasso, a rope 60 to 100 feet (18 to 30 metres) in length with a slip noose at one end, used in the Spanish and Portuguese parts of the Americas and in the western United States and Canada for catching wild horses and cattle. It is now less employed in South America than in the vast grazing country west of the Mississippi river, where the herders, called locally cowboys or cowpunchers, are provided with it. When not in use, the lasso, also called a rope or lariat, is coiled at the right of the saddle in front of the rider. When an animal is to be caught, the herder, galloping after it, twirls the coiled lasso and casts it straight forward in such a manner that the noose settles over the head or around the legs of the quarry, which is speedily brought into submission. The lasso is also used in the rodeo event of calf roping, a sport which is derived from the working skills of the cowboy.
