Despite its negative animal welfare implications, very few studies have been done on the welfare of rodeo cattle. Furguson et al. (2013), who studied that effect of transportation and roping on roping calves, concluded that there was no evidence of an increase in stress in calves after transportation or roping events. They measured the calves’ stress by examining blood cortisol levels at the farm before and after (1) no event, (2) transport only, (3) transport and load into chute, and (4) participate in 2 roping events. They found no significant difference in cortisol levels in these groups. However, this study has limitations. Blood samples were only taken at the farm, and there was a minimum of an hour of time between the event and the blood sample. As cortisol levels can peak between 30 and 60 minutes after a stressful event, the researchers may have missed the window of time to obtain a representative sample. In addition, the calves used in this study have been used for roping events in the past. Cortisol levels may not rise during stressful situations if the animal is accustomed to it. More research needs to be done in this area while examining other symptoms of stress such as behaviour.

Li et al. (2012) have developed a wireless pressure monitoring system to measure the pressure created by equipment worn by bucking bulls. I could not find any studies that have used their technology to study the welfare of bulls, but it has the potential to do so in the future.