Like many people I am fascinated by the "old West" with real cowboys on horseback herding

and roping cows for a living. While rodeos have made some of these necessary tasks into sports,

there are still a few ranches where cowboys still use only their horses and lariats to herd

cows, separate out one, rope it and hold it down when required such as for branding.

This was photographed on a working ranch near Mariposa, California