Keeping the Herd Together
Short Answer: Holding pens used to keep cattle and other livestock organized and controlled at events like the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo use engineering concepts found in materials engineering and structural engineering to ensure their fences are able to withstand the weight and forces these animals can exert at any given time.
Image 1: Cattle being organized and controlled in a holding pen with a shoot at the end (Image Courtesy of Creamer Media)
If you are from or live in Houston, Texas, you are more likely to be familiar with one major event that comes around early on in the year: The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It draws in over 2 million visitors annually and is considered to be the largest rodeo in the world. With all of these people, how are the livestock involved organized and secured from the public? An answer to this question is the use of holding pens at the Houston Rodeo.
Although they appear simple in their construction, they use materials that are strong enough to withstand the forces these animals create. The main material used in creating holding pens is steel. Steel can withstand high tension and compression loads and can be formed to make various shapes. This is important when creating a holding system for cattle which needs to be specific for the environment the cattle are being placed in.
Furthermore, the holding pens must be structurally sound as well, meaning the welds, bolts and rivets that may be used to hold together the pen must also be strong. Welds especially can create weak points in a structure, so ensuring that the right weld bead is being used is of utmost importance.
Image 2: Cattle being contained in a steel-framed holding pen
Without holding pens, there would be more risk associated with public safety and livestock management. Strong, durable holding pens allow visitors to safely see and evaluate livestock while allowing the livestock to safely roam about an enclosure and limit areas exposed to animal waste products such as stool or urine. This points to other reasons why holding pens are important to events like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: containing waste and controlling sanitation.
Image 3: Holding pens like this one can be used as a means to control animal waste and improve sanitation
Bottom Line: Holding pens like those used at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo use materials and structural engineering to maintain the safety and efficiency in a rodeo’s operations and logistics.
Image 4: Cowboys control a cow in a holding pen
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