Flanks

Flank straps, for those who don't know, are a soft rope that is tied around the bull's flank by the stock contractor just prior to the out.  For those who are really new to the sport, it does not constrict the bull's genitals or hurt him in anyway.  The tightness of the flank depends on the contractor.  Some bulls seem to buck better with a tight flank, others better with a loose one. 

Here is part of a conversation I had with Lance Bloyd, a bull breeder who also has a business making flanks.  Check out his company Bucking Bull Pro to learn more about his business.  Read about his breeding program in an earlier interview on Rank.

How did you get started making flanks?

It started as a way to supplement my income to help pay to feed my cattle and my bulls.  I made a decision here a couple of years ago that I was going to make this business pay for itself.  I opened a separate checking account just for the ranch, for the ranching operations, and I said, either I’m going to be able to fund this completely off of the cattle and the business itself or I’ll have to sell animals to pay for feed because I was using my income to feed animals.

So you’ve stuck to that?

It’s done very well. All of the cattle I’ve bought have been purchased from either selling cattle or from flanks.  All this has been funded by a business that has really turned into a full time job for me.

How many different kinds of flanks are there?

There’s solid cotton rope and there’s a cotton polyester blended rope.  People will use all the way to 7/16 diameter all the way up to ¾ inch diameter rope.  There’s flat nylon braided rope and round nylon braided rope.  There’s just the regular old twisted cotton rope.

Why would someone use one over another?

 You’ll hear people say that they use use a flank with a steel ring in it because it doesn’t give, or the one with the loop and the leather burr in it because it does give.  There’s absolutely no right or wrong in any of it.  It’s all personal preference.  People might use one size because it doesn’t cut into the bull or a bigger rope so the bulls can feel it better or another size because they don’t.  With some guys, you’ll find that that there’s a particular flank that they use on one bull that they’ve found has worked better on that bull, so they use that flank on that bull every time.

On the west coast a lot of guys use the flat nylon 1” braided nylon flank.  A lot of people in the Northwest and Canada use pull flanks.  A lot of it is regional.  It’s what they have seen and what they’ve been brought up.

Pull flanks are the ones where they go out and you see them letting go of the tail of the flank?

They’re holding onto a strap and it’s tightening as they go out. If you‘ve got a bull that starts getting really bad in the chute when you tighten the flank up on them, one of the ways to combat that is to use a pull flank.

What’s your biggest seller?

What I sell most of is a half inch flank with a steel ring in it.

A round flank?

A round, twisted nylon or twisted cotton rope.  My ropes are a fairly soft cotton poly blend.

How much does a flank cost?

The cheapest one is about $12 all the way up to about $23 depending on options.  A white cotton flank with a ring in it is $12.  But hardly anyone buys a white cotton flank with a ring in it.  People want colors, or they want their name on the end of it, or their brand on it.  A lot of people want something customized.   We cater to that.  We customize them and if you know anything about cattle people or horse people, they’re really big into customized.  I’m the same way.  There is isn’t a guy in the bull business that doesn’t have a coat that has their brand on it or their logo, same with any ranch.  I can put your brand on the end of your flanks and it’s a permanent deal.

What’s the biggest seller in colors?

Probably black and white, more than any.  But everyone wants something different.  In fact, I just had a spool of rope custom made for a guy. It’s black and lime green.  It’s a really neat looking rope and I told him that if he promised to buy 64 flanks, I’d pay to have a whole spool made up for him.  So that rope is going to be only for him and he’s probably going to be the only person in America that has that color of flank.  That’s what he wanted, and like I said, that’s part of where we’ve been successful. We cater to people’s needs and we do whatever we need to do to make it work.