Lainie DeBoer builds on flat work exercises to prepare your horse for a fence course.

This ground pole exercise employs all the skills needed for a balanced jump course. Journal photo.

By AQHA Professional Horsewoman Lainie DeBoer in The American Quarter Horse Journal

In Developing Good Balance and Track Work: Part 1, Lainie DeBoer explained a series of flat exercises to build a balanced foundation. In Part 2, Lainie introduces ground poles in preparation for jumping fences.

Ground-pole work – Once you’ve mastered all the exercises on the flat, put one pole on a 20-meter circle and canter over it, both leads. If your horse gets quicker one way or the other, or wants to cut a corner, that might be his weaker side to jump.

Then add a second pole on the opposite side of the circle. When you do that, your horse might get unbalanced and get quick. You have to keep working on maintaining a rhythm through the circle to get over the poles and help your horse get over them at a certain spot.

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Then add a third pole and a fourth pole on the sides and start to count the strides in between the poles. You can make your circle smaller and do the poles three strides in between or push your circle back out and do four strides.

Adjustability of the stride is key to making this exercise work, and it will help you learn to negotiate around a course correctly when you need to make adjustments. If you can do this exercise well, it will give you an idea of where you are, and you’ll be well on your way to putting together a really good course.

Straight-line exercises – For this exercise, set up two poles on a straight line, 72 feet apart, and canter those, middle to middle, in different strides (for example: five strides, six, seven, and back to five).

Work on lengthening and collecting without getting inverted and too quick or too slow and heavy on the forehand, while keeping a soft mouth. Your goal is to make your course look even and the same, regardless of the stride length.

You can do variations of these straight lines with three or four poles – it’s all about getting your horse to go forward and then come back to you quietly, straight as an arrow, right down the middle.

Putting it all together – The illustration shows the exercise I want to build up to doing. It’s the best exercise for putting together balance and track work. You can set it up with ground poles and then move up to low jumps.

I’ll have a rider start out with a circle to the right, starting with the middle pole, going around that circle over all four poles. When she comes back to the middle pole, she’ll track left. Then I’ll have her canter a straight line down an outside line. We’ll do all kinds of variations around these circles, taking them in different stride numbers, lengthening, collecting, etc.

It’s all just playing with your track work. If you can negotiate variations around this and maintain a steady pace and balance, you’ll be fine over your course.

I eventually work my riders up to doing this exercise with 2-foot jumps instead of the ground poles and then without stirrups. If the riders can do that, they’ve got balance.

If you go through all these steps with the flat work and then you add this last exercise, you can put together any jumping course.

Don’t Forget

If at any point, you and your horse seem to fall apart in your communication – you get quick, you miss a pole or a jump, you can’t steer or get erratic – go back to the last exercise you did really well and work from there.

Check yourself – if you’ve set your poles evenly, you should be able to get the same number of strides if your rhythm is good. If you’re getting a three-stride, then a four or a five, you know your pace isn’t even. If you are getting quicker and quicker on your circle, your horse is out of balance.

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If things suddenly start to go wrong, don’t discount a possible soundness issue – lameness, sore back, etc. – and get a professional’s advice, including your veterinarian. These exercises are meant to develop a progression of both balance and conditioning, so don’t go too fast.

At my farm, these exercises never go away: We rotate through them or some version of them, all the time. I also work on squares. We might do circles one day, squares the next, serpentines one day, the next day figure 8s, then a day on this last exercise.

When I warm up my horses, I always do a little stride lengthening and collecting, and that lets me know what kind of day my horse is having, and I’ll decide what flat work to do from there.

Count

In these exercises or on course, sit deep and stay connected and count the rhythm, every step. It’s amazing, but when you count every step, all of a sudden the pace will get slower and more even, and you’ll feel like you have more time to think. If you have a nice, even rhythm, you’re going to feel like you’ve got a lot of time on course. If you’re unbalanced, you’ll feel like two minutes happened in 10 seconds. A good, steady pace gives you time to make good choices. Just counting every stride settles your thinking.

Use these expert tips to calm your young show horse at home and at the show.

Question:

I don’t show personally, but I know a couple of people who show 2-year-olds in halter classes. One particular colt, new to the game, has a really annoying habit of getting hyped up before entering the show ring, and he tries to go into a trot when his handler walks him around. If the handler manages to keep him in a walk, he tosses his head about and tries to pull his head up, trying to get away so he can go gallop around.

How can he be kept calm before his class, and how do we deal with him if he gets jumpy in the show ring?

Answer:

You need to spend a little more time with a horse like that, both at the show and at home.

At home, spend more time with that horse than you maybe have to with your other horses and treat him like a showmanship horse. Practice basic showmanship maneuvers like 180- and 360-degree pivots and backing to get more control over the horse, both mentally and physically.

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Next, haul the horse in the trailer whenever you can. Haul him to the vet, to town and to shows so that he gets used to the routine and doesn’t get excited about what might happen away from home.

When you go to the show, take him the night before and get him in the arena for awhile. This will get him used to the atmosphere and the idea of being in the arena calmly.

If the horse still has problems, change up the routine at home even more. Pony him on trail rides or saddle break him. He might just be bored and need something else to think about.

If he continues to be unruly in the show pen, contact a trainer who can work with the horse in person or offer more advice.

I’ve had horses like that, and it’s no walk in the park. It is frustrating, and it is time consuming, but more time and work will help him turn into a more manageable halter horse.

- AQHA Professional Horseman Ross Roark

These exercises from Lainie DeBoer will perfect your flat work before taking your horse over fences.

Flat work including circles, figure 8s, serpentines and spirals get riders ready for technical horse jumping courses. Journal image.

By AQHA Professional Horseworman Lainie DeBoer in The American Quarter Horse Journal

Balance is important when you’re asking a horse to leave the ground and jump successfully across an obstacle. To jump well, he needs to be straight and in balance from the hind end up to the front end, with enough push from behind to complete the jump.

Your “track” gets you to the jump and prepares you for that take-off. Track work sets up the horse’s balance; it’s what gets him straight and gives him the right approach. And it gives you a destination on the back side of the jump.

Balance and track work enable you to negotiate a course. When they come together as one, the ride over the course should look effortless. To the judge, the transitions over the jumps, stride lengthening and collection, those all become invisible when the balance and track work are on target. Your goal is for your ride to be so smooth it looks like the jumps are just getting in the way as you flow around the ring in a smooth, consistent pace.

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Common Problems

A lot of riders have a hard time maintaining the rhythm and tempo of the canter. You’ll see a rider go slow and then fast and then slow down again. There are so many gear changes, the horse is constantly out of balance. You’ll see the horse lose shape, get heavy on the front end or be inverted and high-headed with a choppy stride – those are all balance issues.

Or a rider might not use the track effectively. She might cut corners or jump crooked, riding a little impatiently and not giving herself time to get organized. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Our courses are based off pre-measured distances, a 12-foot stride. If you jump crooked, you’ve lost the straight line and then you have to change your pace to negotiate that line, and you lose rhythm.

Those things all signal a “disconnect” in the communication between the horse and the rider, and it affects their ability to complete a course well.

What to Do

Really good jumping begins with good flat work. At home, I work on the flat four days out of the week, and I might jump one or two days, depending on the horse.

All of the things that we do in a jumping course are directly related to flat work – collecting and lengthening the stride, making upward and downward transitions, etc. – and if you can’t successfully do them on the flat, there’s no way you’re going to be able to do them over fences.

I’ve listed here the basic flat exercises I work on at home for myself and with my students to establish good balance and track work; I work on them in this rough order.

Transitions – To work on pace and balance, I first start with upward and downward transitions. To come down from a canter to a trot, you have to stay balanced, and it’s a simple test that shows a rider’s ability to communicate with a horse. I like to work on a circle because that makes it more of a controlled exercise.

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Spirals – I’ll go to a circle and work on bending by spiraling in to a tighter circle and then spiraling back out. As I spiral in, I’ll put the horse into a counter-bend to the outside of the circle. Use your aids to sink down into the saddle and collect the trot. The horse’s weight gets distributed onto his hind end. When I spiral the circle back out, I’ll shift the horse’s bend to the inside.

You can do it at the trot or the canter. All of your aids have to work harmoniously for the cantered spiral to the inside with the counter bend to work correctly. If you can get to where you can do it without your horse breaking gait or getting hurried in his pace, you’ve found balance. It’s a very hard thing to do.

The bending in this exercise is what starts your track work.

Serpentine – Once I have my horse balanced and listening to my aids and receptive to the bending, then I go to a serpentine of three loops. It’s all about bending the horse around your leg through the turns and then straightening his body out as you go straight across the middle of the arena.

When you can do a serpentine of three loops at the trot and at the canter with a simple lead change in the middle, and you can do that in addition to maintaining the same pace, it really sets up your course work.

Figure 8s – Figure 8s are probably one of the toughest to do well: two perfectly even 10- to 20-meter circles, with correct bend, impulsion and consistent pace. Serpentines and figure 8s help with your track work because you have to be riding both sides of your horse to do them – you can’t have one rein or one leg overpower the other.

In Balanced Jumping: Part II, Lainie builds on these flat exercises with ground poles and jumps.

Believe it or not, the riders weaving full-tilt through a herd of cattle use extremely technical strategies to slice every second possible off the clock.

Successful team penners need a good horse, good understanding of cattle and a great strategy. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

When Randy Haile was studying at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, he was first and foremost a student of team penning. His research paid off. By his senior year in college, Haile had been the Professional Team Penning Association high-point champion four times in five years.

“I think this game is more mental than physical,” says the team penning guru. “Communication is the key to the whole thing.”

Communication extends beyond getting along with your human partners. You also have to communicate with you horse and an entire group of cattle.

“The best way to learn to read cattle is to work them on foot,” Randy says. “If you’ve got to run 500 yards to get back a mistake, you won’t make that mistake very often.” No matter how well you ride, or how good a horse you have, you are at a distinct disadvantage if you don’t know cattle.

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Randy’s other important strategy gives him a competitive edge.

“We video all our runs, and watch and watch and watch,” he says. “We tape the runs of other people who are winning, and try to figure out why they’re winning. There was a time when I’d watch team penning videos four or five nights a week, two or three hours at a time. It really helped me.”

In rodeo, you hear a lot about “the luck of the draw.” In team penning, it’s the same, not only in relationship to the livestock you draw, but also where you draw in the working order. A herd of team penning cattle consists of 30 animals. There will be three marked with each number – three zeroes, three ones, three twos, etc. Team penning is different from other cattle events because your stock is not announced until you cross the starting line.

If you are last in working order, it should be obvious what your number is going to be. You should know what your assigned cattle look like and how they behaved when previous penners approached the herd.

“The best place to draw depends on the cattle,” Randy says. “If you have cattle that want to take off, drawing later is better. If the cattle are weak to start or people are going at them real hard, your cattle will run down. Then if you draw up late, it can put you out of the whole thing. As far as early in the herd, I would rather be first than second. If you’re first, the herd has never been touched. If you’re second, the guys in front of you may have just scattered the herd. Then you spend more time trying to calm things down before you can go to work.”

Randy developed an excellent memory while trying to figure out new ways to win.

“We do a lot more studying the herd than most people,” he says. “You can pick out variations. Sometimes it’s an ear tag or a spot on their head. Say you’re looking for the whitest animal or the one with an unusual mark on his head. From the end of the arena, you can’t see his number, but you know who he is.”

With as much advance planning as Randy does, you might think he has a firmly set plan for getting his three cows out of the herd and into the pen. “The only thing that’s really decided before we go in the arena is who is going first,” he says. “If you watch this sport, you can see there is no sense in going in with a firm plan because too much can happen.”

Randy says the first team member used to get all three cattle, but that strategy costs too much time. Instead, he says the second team member can keep an eye on the herd and pick out the second animal. Then it’s faster for him to go in instead of explaining its position to the first person. With Randy’s team, the first person usually goes back in to get the third cow, as well.

“People do things differently,” Randy says. “A lot of teams send the first guy in to get the first one, then the second man gets one, then the third man gets the last one. With our team, we ride down the arena in single file – first man, second man, turnback man. If the first man sees a cow to the right, he turns right and the turnback man follows. The second man goes to the left.”

Randy says he’s more likely to ride and cut faster, risking disrupting the herd and his chosen cow, if he’s in a situation where there is only one go-round of competition. “You’ve got to go full tilt in a situation like that. A lot of people don’t seem to realize that where there are two rounds and a short, you can pull in the reins. You’ve got two shots.”

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Of course, getting your chosen three out of the herd is only half the battle. You still have to get them to the opposite end of the arena and into the pen.

When the penners bring the cattle to the end of the arena where the pen is, they change roles. Instead of the first, second and turnback man, Randy now refers to them as the swing man, the wing man and the hole man. The “hole man” stands in the gap between the arena wall and pen, the “wing man” positions himself to create a wing into the pen, and the swing man pushes the cattle through the funnel.

“If I’m in the hole, I want to draw the cattle to me, have them looking. If I’m standing close to the wall side, I only have to make one move to turn a cow around. A lot of people stand in the middle. Then, if a cow comes to one side and you shut him down, you’ve created an out on the other side. He comes back to your other side, and you’ve got to shut him down again.”

Randy has a long list of crafty tactics that may save as little as a fraction of a second or may save the whole run. No detail is too small.

“We were at a penning in Bakersfield where the difference between first and third was three-hundredths of a second after three go-rounds,” he says. “You have to find the little things that give you the advantage.”

Check out AQHA’s video of the 2011 AQHA team penning world champions.

Tips for keeping your cow horse honest on the fence.

Todd suggests not always letting your horse turn the cow. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

If you’ve ever competed in working cow horse or reined cow horse events, you know firsthand the excitement of taking a cow to the fence.

It’s even more fun with an experienced horse that knows exactly how to get fence work done correctly. But some older horses need a little schooling to make them more honest when they go down the fence. After working numerous cattle, veteran cow horses often get hooked on the cow and forget about the rider.

“You want your horse to take care of you on a cow and read the cow,” says Todd Bergen, who has won the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity, three AQHA reining world championship titles and a Superhorse title. “But sometimes some of these horses start dragging you to the cow. They lean their shoulders in, get stiff in the jaw, and you can’t pull them off that cow.”

Todd uses four exercises to make his non-pro and senior horses more honest on the fence. Each reminds the horse to stay hooked on the cow, while reinforcing that you, the rider, have ultimate control.

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The Basics

All the exercises Todd uses have the same basic goal: keeping your horse in position. To complete these drills, you must have a handle on your horse. In other words, your horse has to respond to your hands and body.

“You need to be able to put your horse in position and block that cow or put him somewhere or move him off the cow,” Todd says. “If you don’t have any handle on your horse, he drags you around. If you don’t have the perfect cow, that’s not very much fun – your horse is just taking you for a ride.”

During each exercise, set everything up like you are going to complete the maneuver. Todd says you want your horse’s nose at the cow’s shoulder, and when you go down the fence, stay close to the cow. Keep everything like you would when you’re showing.

Todd warns that you can’t drill your horse all the time. “Periodically, you still have to let your horse go turn a cow,” he says. “You can’t pull him off a cow all the time and then expect him to go turn a cow. You have to let him cow-up sometimes.”

Exercise 1 – Boxing

When you’re boxing a cow on the back fence, Todd says it’s imperative to make your horse find a stop. He says many horses start to make a figure 8 when boxing, rather than setting their hocks and stopping with the cow.

“When you horse starts to figure-8, he drops his shoulder and is just rolling around,” Todd says. “A lot of people follow a cow around, and when he goes the other way, they just turn the other way. Pretty soon, that horse is just rolling around with his shoulders, getting too round on the end, which makes him late.”

Todd’s first exercise will help your horse keep his shoulders straight and his hocks low to the ground when boxing cows at the beginning of your work.

“Make your horse run over to the cow, stop and be straight with the cow,” he says. “When the cow goes back the other way, then let your horse go back the other way and stop. It gets his hocks in the ground. You want his hocks in the ground first, and then he can roll back through himself.”

Exercise 2 – Down the Fence

After you box your cow and head to the corner to continue down the fence, some horses get a little strong, others downright grab the bridle and go. “A lot of horses know they’re going to run up there and turn the cow,” Todd says. “They blow out of that corner, get on the bridle and take you down the fence. They raise their heads up and try to leave, then you lose all your rate.”

When your horse starts to run down the fence without you, your instinct may be to pull him into the ground. Todd says that will cause problems for you in the future, rather than remedy the situation. “Your horse will get defensive every time you get to that corner,” Todd says.

Todd says instead of shutting your horse down in the corner, you should peel off the cow and circle your horse to make him listen to you.

“Peel your horse off and lope some circle until he quiets down, listens and is soft again,” he says. “Then you can go back and hook up with your cow on down the fence.”

Use this exercise anywhere on the fence, not just in the corner. “Even when you’re clear down the fence and you’re going to turn your cow, your horse can drag you over and he’ll lay on the cow. You can peel him off and lope a circle.”

Exercise 3 – Turning the Cow

An older cow horse may anticipate turning the cow on the fence, which according to Todd, allows him to drop his shoulder. In this case, he says you should stop your horse alongside the cow.

“Don’t let him go in there and turn the cow,” Todd says. “If you do, he’ll start thinking about turning too early, and that shoves the cow forward. You have to be able to ride your horse past the cow to stop the cow and let your horse turn it.

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“Stay parallel to the cow, right next to him,” Todd explains. “When the cow makes the turn and goes back the other direction, then let your horse turn and go back with it, rather than letting him go in all the time and turn the cow. This will keep him honest and his shoulder stood up.”

Exercise 4 – Holding the Stop

When you’re working your cow on the fence, it’s important that your horse holds his stop and then goes through the turn. If your horse tries to rush through the turn, Todd suggests stopping your horse with the cow. As the cow makes the turn, back your horse, then let him complete the turn. Todd says this helps keep your horse on his hocks.

AQHA Professional Horsewoman and National Cowgirl Hall of Famer Sharon Camarillo offers barrel-racing advice.

The cone system for visualizing rate. Journal illustration.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

If you have the basics of barrel racing under your belt, you can pick up the pace and figure out how to rate your horse’s speed as you move into the turn.

The “rate” is your horse’s ability to shorten his stride and prepare for the turn. It is also the most misunderstood part of barrel racing. You are basically asking your horse to lengthen, then shorten a stride, while maintaining collection to create an efficient, powerful turn, all within a second or two.

To put things in perspective, the type of collection it takes to get this accomplished is comparative to the athleticism required of upper-level dressage horses. That’s why it is important to master the basics of the training pyramid.

Determining a Rate Point

Selecting the right point and obtaining an effective rate are key to an efficient turn. Running by and shouldering into barrels are byproducts of a rider’s inability to identify where to rate her horse.

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Keep in mind your horse’s ability, the arena size and ground condition when identifying a rate point for the first barrel. Remember to always be consistent. Practice cueing your horse to rate with consistent cues and work on it at different speeds.

Cone System

The cone system is an easy way to help you visualize the pattern and pinpoint each element of the approach, rate and turn. Each cone serves as a marker to remind you where you need to cue your horse for a specific response. Set up the cones around all three barrels to help visualize cue points and adjust your rate points to fit your horse.

Cone No.1 is the first point where you can ask your horse to rate. Depending on your horse’s ability and the arena condition, your rate point can be anywhere between the first and second cone. (See illustration.)

Cone No. 3 is where you begin your turn. Pick up the inside rein and shift your weight to your outside stirrup. Then look and drive your horse to the last cone.

In the Driver’s Seat

Rate is reinforced in two ways: by your seat and by the reins. To make sure you and your horse are in the correct position, introduce the rate at a jog with your horse’s shoulder, rib cage and hips framed and balanced between your reins. Use the first cone as a visual cue to position and ask for the rate. Pay attention to your body position when you begin to rate. The angle of your hips changes from being upright in the saddle to shifting your pelvis and somewhat sitting on your back pockets. When you shift your weight, gently increase your rein pressure back toward your pocket. You should feel your horse respond by shifting his weight to his hindquarters and shortening his stride.

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As he shortens his stride, you may need to apply leg pressure to drive the hindquarters up under him to help shorten his stride and to drive him forward through the turn. Continue to reinforce the mechanics of rating and vary your speeds until you and your horse become comfortable.

The momentum of the approach will carry your horse through a turn. Eventually, the momentum, impulsion and proper positioning will slingshot your horse around each barrel and provide a well-timed and efficient turn.

Common errors in the rate include:

• Poor selection of rate point.
• Failure to keep the horse straight until he rates.
• Rating one-handed.
• Overuse of the inside rein.
• Failure to ask for the rate.
• Ineffective rate cue sequence.
• Loss of impulsion.
• Sitting too early.

To learn more about Sharon’s training methods, pick up a copy of her book, “The A.R.T. of Barrel Racing,” or visit www.sharoncamarillo.com.

You have to know when to use them.

Taking your time is the most important training device there is. Journal photo.

A pleasure horse, either under English or western tack, is supposed to be a pleasure to ride. He’s soft at the trot, flexed at the poll, responsive to the rider, looks straight through the bridle and moves with collection.

A horse that roots his nose, moves trashy, fights the bit, throws his head and is rough in a gait is not a pleasure to ride.

Two of the devices many horsemen use to solve such training problems are martingales and draw reins. Used properly, training devices such as these can improve a horse’s performance.

Tommy, who won his first world title in 1980 junior trail, and Patsy Beever caution that improper use of these artificial aids can quickly destroy a horse’s responsiveness to the rider.

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“You have to know how and when to use them,” Patsy says. “Martingales and draw reins are helpful aids, but they’re neither meant to be used permanently, nor together. Each operates quite differently. A martingale will assist in keeping a horse’s nose down, whereas draw reins will pull the head down and back. Both devices will aid in correcting several head, neck and body problems.

“It has been my experience,” Patsy says, “that in order to train horses properly, using artificial aids or not, it takes 80 percent brains, 10 percent strength and 10 percent horse. By using training devices improperly, no matter how good the horse is, you can absolutely ruin him.”

Patsey continues, “As long as a rider goes about training a horse to do something in a patient and methodical manner, that in itself will help keep him from making mistakes and getting into wrecks. Nothing will last if it is done irregularly. Consistency when giving cues is the key to teaching a horse many maneuvers, whether is it setting his head or moving correctly.”

Patsy explains that when a rider is experiencing a problem with his or her horse, certain elements should be considered before selecting a training aid of any kind.

“The first thing a rider should do when his performance starts sliding downhill is to check himself,” she says. “Check body and hand position and posture in the saddle. Bad habits with riders create bad habits with horses.

“Next, a rider should check his horse. Sometimes a problem can be easily solved by just adding another pad or rubbing a horse down with some liniment after a strenuous workout.”

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When a rider is having trouble locating his or his horse’s problems, Patsy advises going to someone who can help finding a cure. “This doesn’t mean a person has to go to a horse trainer, but it is a good idea to go to someone who knows horses and can intelligently study the problem. Ask the person to watch you ride. Many times, this person can immediately spot the problem and offer some kind of advice.

“Martingales, in addition to draw reins, can be recommended for a horse who will not flex at the poll, will not break at the crest and wither, and will not tuck its nose and carry its head correctly.

“But each of these training aids has different pressure points,” Patsy says. “A running martingale, for instance, is more a basic device than draw reins. Draw reins can be more severe and are used to overhaul a horse’s headset and position. A martingale will help a horse steady his head and bring it down as well as back. The martingale should be set when the horse is standing in a natural position. The rein rings of the martingale should be set at the height of the horse’s chin when pulled up toward the throatlatch. It is important to note that martingales should not be set so short that they interfere with the rein action when the horse’s head is in the normal position.”

Both martingales and draw reins teach a horse to give to the bit. But the severity of the horse’s problem and the experience of the rider will determine which device should be used. Draw reins require a more experienced rider since they are more severe, and a rider can apply twice as much pressure on the horse’s mouth than with normal reins.

How the King Ranch trained its foals in the 1950s.

Gentling horses at a young age can greatly increase their likelihood of becoming good riding horses. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal 

Editor’s Note: This article, reprinted from the April 1950 edition of The American Quarter Horse Journal, was originally excerpted from the booklet “Training Riding Horses,” published by the Horse Association of America.  

Training a young foal requires careful handling and skillful training if the animal is to develop into a horse for ranch work. Robert J. Kleberg Jr., manager of the King Ranch says, “It costs less in time, labor and money to train riding horses by starting their handling at an early age and proceeding. Colts handled in this manner make safer and, on the average, more satisfactory mounts. 

“Several years ago we completely discarded the old method of letting our riding horses go until they were over 3 years of age, at which time they were taken up, roped and after preliminary handling, saddled and ridden. 

“A good many bucking horses were the inevitable result, and only a small percentage were ever gentle and safe. Due to necessity of using force, many were injured and a good many of our men were hurt. We have records to show that we have more good horses, and fewer men injured, under the present system. 

“Foals were handled when young, ridden after cattle until 5 years old and are gentle. 

“The young foals usually are caught by first haltering the dam, then using her to squeeze the foal into a corner where four men – two in front and two behind – catch the foal by hand, locking hands behind and in front to form a cradle of their arms. This prevents the foal from injuring himself. A hackamore is then slipped on, and one man teaches the foal to lead – pulling him gently first to one side, then to the other till he finally leads. 

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“Conditions permitting, all foals are gentled and taught to lead before 3 months old. When they are taken away from the mares, they are fed oats and a little sweet feed for about a month. They are then fairly gentle and do not fear man. They usually have to be caught by roping, and when the rope does fall around a weanling’s neck, enough pull is exerted on the rope to hold the animal’s head toward the vaquero while he quietly works up to the weanling and slips on a hackamore. 

“Actual procedure, whether a foal or weanling is caught by squeezing or roping, after the hackamore is on, is the same: quiet pulling, first on one side, then to the other, giving him a little sweet feed when he responds, until he leads. A non-slip loop then is slipped over the hindquarters to make him lead promptly. Usually the free end is drawn through the hackamore, to make a ‘straight ahead’ pull. 

“The hackamore they used was homemade. Soft rope is untwisted and braided into a flat, six-ply web. Cheek pieces to go over the head are quarter-inch rope, braided in on each side; no pull comes on this. Two pieces of rope, the same size, go over the neck and are tied to the end of the noseband, then to a 20-foot lead rope. 

“Training the foal to lead well on light restraint requires six or eight half-hour lessons. Pull is on the hackamore rope only unless the foal hangs back; then a pull on the rope which goes around his hindquarters will make him step up promptly, for he wants to get away from the pressure on his buttocks. A rope over the hindquarters should not be used until the foal is gentle and leads moderately well: if used too soon, it may frighten the foal and do more harm than good. 

“Vaqueros report that after six half-hour lessons, the foal will lead fairly well. In work with a foal or weanling, they insist that he should be in a pen by himself, away from sight of other horses, so that he has nothing to distract his attention from the vaquero and the lesson he is receiving. Brushing and hand rubbing make the youngster realize that the vaquero will not hurt him, and a little sweet feed or sugar is a big help in building friendship. 

“Well-bred foals and weanlings, after being made gentle by several lessons, are next taught to yield a front foot. The men work quietly, patiently, picking the foot up and letting it down again – first one, then the other front foot – until the foal yields without resistance. No two foals are alike – some become gentle to lead in five lessons and learn in two lessons to yield a front foot and stand quietly; others take more time and many more lessons to become equally docile. 

“The next step in the education of the young foals is to train them to yield the hind legs and stand still while men work on a hoof as though they were trimming and shoeing the youngster. 

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“These good foals become docile fairly soon because their dams are gentle. A quiet dam sets the foal a good example. The gentling of the foal continues until he can be roped out in an open pasture and yields promptly to the rope. Foals are never snubbed to a post or saddle horn. Until thoroughly gentle, they are caught only in small corrals and never choked down – simply restrained gently and allowed to back into a corner, where a hackamore is slipped on with the utmost care not to frighten the foal. 

“All of the foals and weanlings, well trained to lead, are fed a little grain and hay through their first winter. This makes them used to being fed by men, makes them more gentle, and keeps them growing better than if they were on grass alone. But they run on pasture night and day, even in the winter. Sunshine is nature’s greatest builder of sound bone; growing horses never get too much of it. In the fall, when they are yearlings, they are roped for handling and their first saddling.”

Handling a horse scarred by fear and pain.

Dealing with a horse with mental wounds can be stressful and dangerous. Journal photo.

By Dr. Jim and Lynda McCall in The American Quarter Horse Journal

The Problem:
Three weeks ago, I purchased a 5-year-old gelding through an auction. He is very frightened and spooky at any odd noise or object and shows signs of being barn sour. I haven’t taken him more than 200 yards from the barn because he gets very agitated. He once started to rear with someone in the saddle.

Yesterday, when the vet was checking his teeth, the vet discovered an old injury where the tongue appears to have been cut and healed. When we reached for his tongue on the side of the old injury, without warning the horse reared and went over backward. When we tried again, the horse tossed his head as if to warn us he would do it again.

Is this horse too unpredictable and dangerous to make a safe trail horse? Can this pattern of extreme fear ever be changed?
L.D., Niagara Falls, New York

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The McCalls’ answer:
The answer to this question centers around L.D.’s definition of the words “unpredictable,” “dangerous,” and “safe.” Horses are big, powerful athletes that can react faster than humans. This makes them inherently more unsafe to be around than a goldfish.

Each and every one of us that works and lives with horses assumes a certain amount of risk of injury from our horse companions. Deciding which horse presents more of a danger than we are willing to assume is a very personal choice that everyone has to make for themselves.

We believe that unpredictable horses who flip over without warning present too great a risk to be called “safe.” It is hard, however, to tell from the brief description in the question if this horse falls into that category. To assess the risk, more information is needed:

Exactly how did the horse rear? Did he rear up to escape from the man’s reach? Or did he go up in terror to escape the world?

Exactly what happened when the vet reached for the tongue that caused the horse to flip over? Was the horse forced to give his tongue? Or was it pried gently out of his mouth?

What is the length of time between stimulus (reaching for the tongue) and the response (flipping over)? Did he lift off the ground several times before flipping over? Or did he flip over in the blink of an eye?

The answers to these questions should help L.D. assess the relative risk of owning this horse.

Fortunately the second question – “Can this pattern of extreme fear ever be changed?” – is easier to talk about. The answer for such horses is usually a qualified “yes.” Through tender loving care and desensitization techniques, most horses will respond in a positive manner.

The reason for the “qualified yes” is important to understand. A physical wound, like a cut tongue, leaves a scar that is nearly impossible to remove. Likewise, a horse that has undergone severe mental trauma will be mentally scarred. A similar situation may trigger a flashback, causing the horse to express its original escape behavior. This mental wound makes it difficult for the horse to ever completely trust a human again. Knowing this, it is equally as difficult for the rider to ever be completely confident in this horse.

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Time, patience and consistently demonstrating the correct response heals a lot of problems. But the ultimate answer to L.D.’s question centers around her needs and skills.

Our definition of a safe trail horse is one that can be trusted. A horse that the owner can ride without fear while enjoying the companionship of other horsemen. A horse that will, willingly and safely, carry his rider over all kinds of terrain so that the beauty of the outdoors can be experienced.

If L.D. bought this horse because she wanted a challenging training project, our advice would be to assess the risk and decide if you have the skills to fix him. If the horse was bought to be a trail horse, sell the horse and find one that won’t take lots of training before it is ready to “try” and become a trail horse.

AQHA Professional Horseman Matt Mills walks you through AQHA reining Pattern 11.

AQHA Professional Horseman Matt Mills recommends really pushing down on your heels and keeping your legs out of the horse’s side during your stops. Journal photo.

By AQHA Professional Horseman Matt Mills in The American Quarter Horse Journal

In AQHA reining Pattern 11, which is only for novice amateurs, novice youth and youth 13 and under, you will walk to the center of the arena, similar to some of the other patterns.

When walking in, stay on the right side of the arena, looking for the center marker.

It’s important in every pattern to find the center marker but especially in this pattern because novice riders and youth need to really pay attention to where they are in the arena.

When you walk in, find that center cone on the right side of the arena and walk to it. At the cone, make a 90-degree turn to the left and head straight toward the other center cone, which is across the arena. About seven or nine steps into it, look left and right to find the middle of the arena and stop right in the center.

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Depending on the rider, I might or might not have the rider stop. If I have a rider who can do a lead departure well, I’ll have the rider stop and show that off. I think it looks a little better. But if you’re a rider who is not 100 percent confident in your lead departure or you have some troubles with your horse, just go ahead and walk into the lead departure and ask for the lope when you’re in the center. Sometimes when you stop, you might have a hard time getting the horse going forward straight and getting that hip pushed in to take the correct lead.

Either way, when you do the lead departure to start off the circle to the right, it’s very important to pull your outside leg back, pick up slightly on the horse’s face and push the horse’s hip to the inside of the circle to the right to ensure that the horse takes the proper lead. The wrong lead is a common problem for novice amateurs and youth. You don’t want to take the wrong lead because that is a one-point penalty, and then if you break gait to get your lead back, that’s another two points. You’ll be avoiding a lot of major penalties just by taking the time to do that.

After loping off for the large, fast circle, make sure you’re looking up and using the entire half of the arena. Many times, a novice rider will lope off with his or her head down and cut off the first quarter. What you need to do is look up and pay attention to where you are. Novice amateurs and youth shouldn’t be as concerned about speed or degree of difficulty as much as about correctness. Because of the way this pattern is written, those who pay attention to correctness of the pattern are usually the ones who win. So be correct first.

About three-quarters of the way into the large, fast circle to the right, back off the speed just a little bit and slow the horse down some. Go with a little bit shorter rein. Actually, I might have a novice rider start with a little bit shorter rein to begin with.

When you come into the small circle, keep your hand down and steer. I see a lot of novice riders pick up their hand and fight their horses’ mouths. That makes an ugly picture.

When coming into the small circle, relax and steer. Get your hand down and steer with your hand, and use your outside leg to guide your horse through. Try to make it look pretty.

Again, come through, find the middle marker and lope right up to the center and stop. When coming into the middle, look to the right. Most novice amateur and youth horses have been shown a bunch. When the horse gets to the center of the arena in a small slow circle, he wants to change. But if the rider is thinking and looking to the right, the body language is telling the horse he is going to go to the right, therefore he should not change leads.

When the horse stops in the middle, the rider should still be looking to the right. Once stopped, loosen up the reins, take a deep breath, relax and count to five. Start the spin to the right. You’re only doing two spins and when you count, you want to count “One” and at the second one, say “Whoa.” If you count to two, that’s when you can overspin. So “One” and then “Whoa.”

When you finish spinning, loosen the reins and let the horse settle. When you take off into the left lead, push your outside leg back, walk forward a couple of steps to ensure the horse is taking the proper lead for the left. Lope off to the left, do the one fast circle, looking up and making sure you’re using the entire arena, staying fairly close to the rail, going to the center for the slow down. Don’t make it too complicated. Just lope straight through the middle and then come into the small slow.

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Same thing coming out of the slow circle on this pattern: You want to be looking to the left and stay committed to the circle. Get stopped in the middle, loosen the reins, try to relax and take a deep breath. Start the spins to the left. “One” and then “Whoa.” After stopping, loosen up the reins again.

I can’t stress enough to take the time to properly set up before you lope off.

For the third departure, you want to do the same thing, pushing the hip to the inside. Lope off and do the figure eight by loping the pattern the same as you did in the beginning of the pattern. Nothing has changed.

Go through to change leads, make sure to stay nice and straight and find the center cone. After the second lead change, slow the horse down just a little bit, and when you’re past the judge, bridle the horse up a little bit to get his attention and ease him up.

Coming to the top side of the arena, turn your head and look down the arena and find a clean spot to stop in and a target to look at. You don’t want to stop in the same tracks as everyone else.

Turning for the stop, make sure it’s a nice square turn. So many youth and novice riders forget to make a nice square turn, instead rounding that turn so much that they are pointing straight toward the side rail and then can’t run straight. The key to a good stop is running straight, and you can’t run straight if you’re running toward the rail right off the bat.

After making a nice square turn, take your time and wait until you’re halfway between the first and second cone before you start to build speed. And if you can, even though the pattern says to run past the center, try to run past the last cone. It’s a higher degree of difficulty, and it’s better for the longevity of the horse’s show career if you make a habit of getting past the last cone.

Go down and get that stop. Really push down on your heels and keep your legs out of the horse’s side. That’s something I see on a daily basis with amateurs. They run down and stop and actually kind of squeeze with their legs in the horse’s side, mostly to help keep their balance, and actually push the horse out of the stop. Really commit to pushing down on your feet and making the horse stop.

After stopping, relax for a split second. Put your hand down on your horse’s neck and make the complete 180-degree turn for the rollback. Lope out and go around to do the same thing on the left lead: squaring up that turn and making that horse wait, even if you have to bridle him some before you build speed between the first and second marker. Try to get past the end if you can. Get your stop, hesitate, hand down, roll back to the right; do the same thing for the last stop.

The horse is now going to be thinking about setting up a little because you’ve just stopped him twice. On this last rundown, you still should go past the last cone, but if you feel the horse really setting up and you know you’re past the center, go ahead and stop.

A lot of times, riders can’t make a decision on what they want to do, and their horses start to set up. They have an ugly rundown and get an ugly stop. That’s the one spot on the last rundown where I give my amateurs and youth a little leeway and say, “OK, if you know you’re past the center cone and it’s as good as it’s going to get, shut it down and stop them.”

After the last stop, you have your backup, which riders should pay attention to and practice often. The backup can make or break your last stop maneuver.

Try to get the horse to back as fast as he can but obviously without flipping his head up. You want to have a nice, smooth backup. You have to back 10 feet, but if you have a really good backing horse, back all the way up to the center to show off how good your horse backs.

Five basic steps for better barrels and poles.

As seasoned competitors know, a good barrel or pole run is about more than just bursts of speed. It takes a combination of speed and control. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

To the untrained eye, barrel racing and pole bending might look pretty easy.

You just go out there and have your horse run around the obstacles as fast as he can, right?

Well, not really.

As seasoned exhibitors know, a good barrel or pole run is based on more than just bursts of speed. It’s a combination of speed and control.

World champion barrel and pole trainer Brad Wagner of West Harrison, Indiana, outlines five fundamental exercises based on dressage principles that help establish and maintain that control.

1. Establish Collection

In any event that you compete in, it’s important to be able to softly gather your reins and develop a light, collected feel of the horse’s mouth. Your ultimate goal is to elicit a response from your horse with the very lightest touch – almost like power steering.

When your horse breaks at the poll, he can better engage his hindquarters underneath himself, giving you more control through the turn, even as your horse speeds up.

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2. Backing

Backing is an exercise that teaches your horse to get his hindquarters up under himself. I like to see a horse willing to back up as fast or slow as I ask. To back up correctly, he should lightly give to the bit then step backward for as many steps as you ask him to. Your horse should not throw his head up in the air or set his jaw; the motion should be smooth and fluid.

3. Arcing the Body

To best bend around a barrel or pole, your horse should be able to arc his body at the walk, trot, lope or run. To teach your horse to arc, ask him to give his head and neck, then start walking in a circle with his body arced to the inside. The arc should be very slight and should be felt in the horse’s rib cage.

While walking in a circle to the left, pick up your left rein and pull gently until your horse tips his head to the inside, then use your left (inside) foot to push into his ribcage to help maintain the arc. Apply as little pressure as possible with the inside rein and leg in order to keep the body arced. As soon as he gives his head to the inside, release the majority of the pressure, but still hold.

When you master the movement at the walk and in each direction, you can advance to the trot and later the lope.

4. Moving Straight

Although teaching your horse to arc his body is important, it’s also necessary for him to know how to move in straight lines. This is a fairly simple idea, but it’s amazing how many horses don’t know how to travel straight, mostly because we spend so much time working them in circles. When you ride, focus on an object across the field or on the horizon, then ride your horse straight to it – no turning, no wiggling.

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The old law of physics rings true in barrels and poles: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Teach your horse to bend well but also teach him to travel in straight lines between barrels; it will shave tenths of seconds off your time.

5. Sidepassing

Sidepassing is one more step to add to your arsenal of exercises. Sidepassing come in handy when you need your horse to move laterally, say from left to right, but with his body remaining in a straight line.

For example, you’ve just made a tight turn around the first barrel and you’re on your way to the second barrel. But, unfortunately, your horse seems to be dropping his body a little too much to the left, and it looks like you might be cutting into the second barrel – and you might hit the barrel if you’re not careful.

What to do? Move him laterally to the right. Like all suppling exercises, you should teach your horse to move laterally at the walk, then progress to the trot and lope. To move from left to right, pick up your left rein and move your horse from left to right as you push the horse’s ribcage with your left leg. He should move away from the pressure of your left leg and move laterally to the right. His body should remain perfectly straight from head to tail.

By reversing these cues, you can move him from right to left. For example, press with your right leg and pick up the right rein to move the horse from right to left.

When you first start to train your horse to sidepass, reward him even if he only moves slightly from one side to the other.

How one trainer teaches young horses to react and move with cattle.

The rider’s body position is extremely important when it comes to critical timing in cutting. Journal photo.

From The American Quarter Horse Journal

The ideal picture of a cutting horse is one of polished concentration and split-second response to the action of the cow.

The ability to excel in cutting depends on breeding, training and an individual’s desire.

Once he lowers his hand, the rider’s role seems diminished, and it can look like the horse is working completely on his own. In reality, that illusion comes from a harmony of movement and a blending of responses between horse and rider.

It takes time to achieve that level of coordination and timing. That poise you see in a world-class cutting horse begins long before it’s displayed in a show pen.

To Doug Jordan, timing in cutting is the by-product of a careful training process. In Doug’s opinion, for a cutting horse to have critical timing requires that the horse gradually assumes more and more responsibility for the performance. He explains, “When you’re cutting, there’s just not enough time for a horse to wait for a rider’s cue. He has to have the confidence to work on his own. My job as a trainer is to develop that confidence.”

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An early morning session in the cutting pen illustrates the premise of Doug’s training philosophy. He rides each horse thoughtfully, testing a control here, asking the horse to respond correctly to the moves of a cow.

Doug is a National Cutting Horse Association Futurity Hall of Famer, but he’s humble about his show ring accomplishments, preferring to see himself as a work in progress, refining his technique constantly.

A Foundation for Confidence

Building that confidence begins early. Take the horse into the pen and just track or follow the cattle around. At this stage, you want the horse to begin to feel comfortable with moving around the cattle. As soon as the horse relaxes and understands that you’re just going to follow the cow around, he will likely start watching the cattle to see which way they’ll go. You’ll see an ear flick in that direction, and you’ll feel the horse start to anticipate the movement of the cattle. That’s the beginning. Timing will come from learning to watch and adjust.

Responding Together

Throughout the training program, use your body position as an important element in training.

Even in the beginning, at a walk, when the horse doesn’t have any idea of your ultimate goal, you still ride him in the posture you’ll use on a finished horse.

Then, on a slow cow, most of the time you can tell when the cow is getting ready to stop or go, so give a small sign to the horse to prepare by changing your body position. If you are consistent and your timing is good, this will begin to have a lot of meaning to him. He’ll feel you prepare your body for a stop, for example, and he’ll read that as a warning to get his body into position, too. It’s a suggestion you’re giving him to make his job easier.

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Mental Guidelines

Some horses are prone to over-react, a response that can be natural or manmade. Think of defending against another basketball player. If you’re jumping around too much, he’s going to wait until you’re out of position and move past you. Your goal is to have the horse’s moves proportional to the action of the cow – mirroring its movements. You don’t want the horse to overwork the cow.

Throughout training, there will be times when the horse will challenge you or be lazy or just not respond correctly. To have confidence, the horse will have to know exactly what is allowed and what is not, so you must be very definite and consistent with your guidelines.

Confidence gives good timing. In training, you reassure a lot. You’ll push the horse toward the top of his ability. Then, if you need to, go back to a less demanding level.

The ultimate role of the rider is to be the adviser and supporter. In a cutting run, there’s no time to direct. The response has to be spontaneous.

The more the horse takes responsibility for the run, the more instant his reactions become. Critical timing is achieved as the rider and the horse respond together in a harmonious duet that creates cutting perfection.