Cutting Basics
December 16, 2008
Become a cutting horse rider, not just a passenger.
As the cow turns, your horse should draw back over his hocks and then turn with the cow.
Cutting horse trainer and clinician Bill Kirkwood trains amateur cutters out of his facility in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Follow his three-step system on how to become a rider instead of just a passenger the next time you make a deep cut.
Step 1: Stop
What wins in cutting is controlling the cow in the middle of the pen. The horse should maintain his ground and keep the cow from crossing a straight line in front of the herd. The judges are looking for you to control your cow by getting to its head and stopping hard and deep. Then your horse should wait for the cow to move, and when the cow moves, your horse should draw back and turn with the cow. By learning to maintain consistent body position and using your feet to help your horse, you can make the run instead of being controlled by the cow. And that’s what earns a winning score.
The main thing about having a horse trained to your feet and learning how to use your feet is that when a cow releases (loses interest in) the horse or runs up the pen, you can hold the horse straight. You can still get a deep stop and make the horse wait and draw, all with your feet, before he turns, thus maintaining correct form even when the cow doesn’t have hold of your horse.
Amateur riders should use their feet like the accelerator on a car. You want to be able to squeeze your horse and drive him across the arena like an arrow. Like an accelerator, you never really take your foot off unless you need to stop and turn quickly to hold a bad cow. You control the horse by varying the pressure of your feet, and the horse responds to what you’re asking. When you get that, you’re controlling your horse and, more importantly, you’re controlling your run. You ask the horse to stop by keeping your body straight, sitting deep in the saddle and lessening the pressure of your legs. By using your legs, you’re telling your horse to stay straight and wait on that cow until it commits to turning and heading back across the arena.
How do you spot a good cutting horse? Start with good conformation. Learn the basics with AQHA’s FREE American Quarter Horse Conformation Standards report.
Step 2: Draw
To make a good turn, a horse needs to stop deep, draw back on his hocks and then turn with the cow. Most horses don’t want to do any more than they have to do, especially an older, experienced horse that knows you’re not going to school him in the show pen. To compensate for that, when you practice, you need to overemphasize the horse drawing back with the cow before you allow the horse to turn. After you’ve stopped the cow, hold the horse with your feet and ask the horse to wait on that cow. When the cow turns, back the horse two or three steps before letting the horse turn around.
With your hand down during competition, your horse isn’t going to back three steps. He is going to hit that stop, draw back and turn around. And that’s exactly what you want.
Step 3: Turn
Once your horse is stopping with the cow and drawing back on his hocks, it’s the rider’s job to make sure the horse makes the kind of turn that keeps him in position and holds the cow away from the herd. When you have your feet on the horse, he needs to learn to wait. When you take your cow-side foot away, the horse can come on through that turn.
As the cow stops, I teach my amateurs to hold the horse with both legs. You hold the horse’s shoulder up with your cow-side foot, and you hold his hip in with your herd-side leg. As the cow turns, release the cow-side foot. The pressure stays about the same with your herd-side leg, and three-quarters of the way through the turn, you need to let the horse find your released leg, which is now on the herd side. Then, using both feet, make sure you maintain a straight line across the arena.
Putting It Together
At its core, cutting is very simple: separate one cow from a herd, drive it to the middle of the arena and hold it there. A lot of people enjoy the adrenaline rush of having the horse jump back and forth so much that they forget to get deep in the stop, draw and then go with the cow. By learning your horse and teaching him to respond to your feet, you can turn a good run into a winning run and keep a mediocre run from turning into a disaster.
Understand the basics of horse conformation. AQHA’s helpful, FREE American Quarter Horse Conformation Standards report is perfect for any horse enthusiast who’s shopping for a new horse, interested in judging or simply wanting to learn more about their favorite animal.
Body Position
You can help your horse by maintaining a straight, correct body position throughout your run. Many riders cause a whole new set of problems by leaning or by being too far forward or too far back. Try to relax, keep your shoulders square and sit deep in the saddle. If you’re having trouble staying square, cut with your rein hand on the pommel alongside the horn instead of putting it down on the horse’s neck.
Or when you are schooling at home, try putting both hands down on the horse’s neck. In that position, your shoulders are even, and you take a lot of unconscious tension from your body that might be making it more difficult for your horse to maintain correct form. Switching the reins to your opposite hand can also help solve a lot of problems, particularly when your horse is not the same on both ends. Work on your body position and your riding so that you help your horse instead of making it more difficult for him.
Comments
14 Comments on “Cutting Basics”
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December 24th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
What is the best way to keep your horse from wanting to advance on the cow and press towards it? How can I help my horse stay back and work the cow from a distance?
January 4th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Hi Brooke,
All horses that are “cowy” want to go toward the cow. While training we make sure our horses fully stop before they turn. That keeps the horse’s axis centered so th3y don’t roll toward a cow when they turn. I do a lot of what we call “driving off,” where I drive my horse toward the cow and break off to a parallel line with the cow when the cow moves. This keeps the horse on a line and reinforces the proper axis of the turn.
We always want our cutting horses to have what we call “draw.” That means when the cow stops, the horse stops and draws backwards before beginning the turn. This allows the horse to use his hocks properly and not push toward the cow while working.
A good cutting horse works a cow at any distance, but more importantly holds its line. My suggestion is for you to ride toward the cow. When the cow moves, go parallel with it, and stop with the cow. When the cow begins to turn, don’t immediately turn. Instead, draw your horse straight back, allowing the cow to pull your horse through the turn. Always practice form.
My best,
AQHA Professional Horseman Al Dunning
March 8th, 2010 at 11:30 am
I’ve recently purchased a much more advanced horse than the one I was riding to teach me. This horse is much faster through his turns. I’m not having trouble stoping or turning it’s when the horse makes multiple moves with the cow and then accelerates much faster than what I’m prepared for and slides me back out of the saddle before I can react. Should I be pulling on the horn? Please help.
Thanks.
March 17th, 2010 at 6:02 am
[...] learn the hunters. Then I went to work for the legendary Dale Wilkinson to learn about reining and cutting horses. It took me three years to get him to hire me. I was the first woman he [...]
March 18th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
PUSH PUSH ~~~always push on that horn !!!
March 31st, 2010 at 8:26 am
[...] of his mama (Poco Lena). He works just like she did. I don’t believe I have ever ridden a better cutting horse, let alone a [...]
May 17th, 2010 at 6:02 am
[...] asked if I would help with this cutting (in Brooks, Alberta) to turn back,” Bill said. “A group from Edmonton that was down got [...]
May 21st, 2010 at 6:03 am
[...] is so neat that a horse can be so good-minded and so versatile for his owners. He did reining and cow horse as a 3- and 4-year-old, then learned the roping as a late 4-year-old, qualifying for the World Show [...]
August 15th, 2010 at 11:59 am
I just started cutting and have a great older finished cutter whose been there done that. I have a terrible problem leaning forward in my saddle instead of “sitting deep”. What does sitting deep mean? What is the cutters slump? Everytime I try to mimic what I see, I’m all over in the saddle. It frustrates me so and I’ve tried rolling my pelvis, etc. etc. but it doesn’t seem to work. Pushing on the horn to press my fanny back in the seat seems to be a disaster and relaxing my shoulders makes me look like a sack of potatoes. I’m a great rider and can ride just about anything but this is confounding me. Help!!
December 17th, 2010 at 4:02 am
[...] up with a sorrel mare born in 1954 named Chickasha Ann, then you get the gold star for knowing your cutting horse [...]
December 28th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Hi there!
I have a 2 and 1/2 year old Hollywood Dun It colt with old cutting blood in his background, top and bottom. I compete in cutting on an older Freckles Playboy gelding and someday will retire him. My goal is to put my colt in cutting training. However, he is a pretty tall guy and his growing has been phenomenal. He was very leggy for quite awhile and I didn’t want to start him too early; I was afraid of blowing knees and hocks. He is also a little immature in the head but really coming around. He is saddle broke, I have been on him and doing a lot of bending and teaching him to move off of leg with great success. My question is, is he too old to put into cutting training? Have I missed his time? He will officially be 3 at the end of May 2011. He has filled out nicely and thickened in the leg and I believe that he can handle it not to mention he really needs a job. My trainer, a great one, who has done wonders for me in the cutting arena ultimately starts colts at 2. He is a successful, wonderful trainer and a success in the cutting arena. I will appreciate any input you have to offer
February 10th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
[...] to ride. I’m 58 years old and often have to have a little Advil in order to comfortably ride my cutting [...]
June 10th, 2011 at 10:31 am
[...] on his Whitman, Nebraska, cattle ranch to create a work horse that could also rodeo or show in cutting and reining. In 1982, he purchased CC Jet Smooth as a yearling in hopes the colt would be a good [...]
August 14th, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Have you ever heard of cutting horses losing bone mass due to the transfer of their large bodies on their front legs, if so, is there a cure for them if they go lame?