Ropes come in several different sizes and colors and can be made of several materials, including poly, nylon, cotton, and leather. Team roping ropes are made of nylon or a blend of nylon and polyester and range in length from 30-36 feet. Calf roping and breakaway ropes are made of polyester or polypropylene, because they do not stretch as much a nylon rope, and range in length from 25-28 feet. You'll choose the type of rope and size of your rope based on your needs, skill level and discipline. 

Team ropes, generally, come in two sizes, a regular and a lite. Calf ropes come in a variety of sizes, varying from 8.0 –11.0. Calf and team roping ropes are either 3-strand, 4-strand, or 5-strand rope. The number of strands does not determine the size of the rope, as each diameter can come in each number of strands. Whether a person uses a 3, 4, or 5-strand is based on personal preference, as each one has a different feel. A 3-strand rope will have bigger crowns throughout the body of the rope. This causes the roper to feel more drag when feeding rope into the loop, for a slower feel. A 4-strand rope will have smaller crowns, for a smoother feed, and a faster, snappier feel, but packs more material into the same diameter, giving the rope more tip weight. Most 4-strand ropes are built around a core to provide a consistent feel and to give the rope a more balanced feel of tip and body. 5-strand ropes have the smallest crowns creating very little drag when you feed into the loop, pack the most material in the body of the rope, and give the rope a fast, snappy feel. (Youtube vid about 4 and 5-strand ropes

How long your rope lasts and how much it breaks down, initially, will depend on how you break it in. To start, you would normally stretch the rope on a solid, round post. You will want to place the loop around the post the way it will go on either the horns or around the legs, depending on if it’s a head or heel rope. Then wrap the tail of your rope around your waist and lean into it a few times to put a slight stretch on the rope.

Once you’ve put a couple light stretches on the rope, then run 2-4 steers with it and put if away. If you’d like the rope to let off in stiffness, just run a couple more steers. After you’ve run some steers with your new rope, you’ll want to coil it up, at least as big as it was coiled when fresh out of the ties, and put it in your rope bag, hang it up, or lay it on the tack room floor to rest and be ready to use the following day.

As a final step, you can coat your rope in baby powder by shaking it in your rope bag or powdering it on the ground. This will help it maintain a smooth, snappy feel for much longer.

There are several factors that determine where your target will be when roping.

Tie-Down/ Breakaway Roping: The most effective target when roping calves is where the neck ties into the shoulders of the calf.

Heading: Your target when heading steers will depend on your style of roping. There are two styles of roping horns, right to left or both horns at the same time. If you rope from right to left, your target is the tip of the right horn. If you rope both horns at the same time, your target is the base of the left horn.

Heeling: The focal point varies from one heeler to the next, as some heelers watch the tail head, some watch the right hock, some watch the feet, others watch the left hock because it helps them finish their throw correctly. No matter the target, the object is to place your loop in front of the hind legs, with your top strand making initial contact above the right hock, with the loop sweeping through and placing the bottom strand of the loop on the ground.

Ranch Roping: Ranch Roping is much different than your typical rodeo-style roping. Ranch roping does not have a consistent position or delivery because it is often not in the confines of an arena. This style of roping is used in the branding pen and in the pasture for everyday ranch work. Therefore, ranch roping is more about the placement of the loop in a position for the desired catch, depending on the roper’s position in relation to the animal and which direction the animal may be traveling.