Little is known when or where the first "ropers" began to practice their skills but it is assumed that the history of roping goes back far into ancient times. Greek philosopher Plato described how ropes were used to catch bulls on Atlantis - the submerged continent - as early as 11 000 to 20 000 BC. From a noose most likely lying on the ground to catch the prey, the techniques were further developed to the bola (3-ball hurling weapon of the Inuit and the original inhabitants of South America), the Suopunki (rope of the Sami people and Lapps), the Uurga (a noose attached to a long pole used in Mongolia) and to the Riata, respectively the rope.

What is really surprising though is that this technique to catch prey has been in use for thousands of centuries without any changes - perhaps the users had realized at an early stage that they had a very convenient tool for multiple use at their disposal. Inhabitants from Atlantis, Persia, Mongolia, Arabia (the Moors), Spain or Mexico - they all used a noose or a loop to catch animals and even used it as a weapon against humans. Roping has been a nearly unchanged technique since the 16th century to catch animals with a so-called lasso or rope. Spanish conquerors introduced this tradition to Mexico, passing it on to the Indios.

Today the sensitive and gentle use of the rope is still practiced on large ranches, stations and haziendas. Depending on the need ropes are made of various materials such as hemp, leather, poly etc., one end is equipped with a honda (eye splice at the end of the noose to tighten the rope).