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The “Whoa Back”
In this exercise, you stop your horse, ask him to further soften to your hands, then back him up several times in succession in response to “whoa.” In this way, the idea that “whoa” means no forward motion is reinforced, plus he learns to get off the bit the moment...
Fencing Troubleshooting
The most common mistakes people make with this exercise are failing to continue driving the horse all the way up to the fence, and pulling on the reins instead of letting the fence do the work. Troubleshooting Common problems in “fencing,” and how to fix them. If the...
Troubleshooting the Runaround
Common problems in the run-around, and how to fix them. If the horse: Races: If he starts speeding up on his own instead of responding to your cues for speed, break him down to a stop then back up. Then just sit for a minute. If that’s not helpful, make him collect...
Seven Elements of Herdwork
Not too long ago I did an in-depth 5 hours and 20 minutes total time, webinar series on cutting. I thought it would be fun this week to share 8 minutes of one of the sessions. It's all about breaking making the cut down into individual pieces. I identify seven in all....
The Runaround
The quality of a horse’s stop is directly related to the quality of his rundown. This exercise, in which you build to rundown speed, slow and collect instead of stopping, then go around the end of your arena and build to rundown speed again, is perfect for working on...
Reading Cattle as They’re Brushed Off
All who show in cow classes (no matter how much experience we have) want to get better at reading cattle. One way is to watch cattle being settled for fresh cattle herd classes. You watch as they're settled, and then predict how they will act when they're cut during...
The eyes have it
A while back, I did a personal performance clinic in Florida at an English barn. They invited me to ride one of their jumpers over some low jumps at the end of the day. FUN! In the clinic, I discussed the importance of keeping our eyes up. I coached the riders to do...
Collection
When a horse is soft (resistance-free) in the face, you can communicate through his whole body right down to his feet through your reins and seat. I always strive to “connect their lips to their hindquarters” meaning that when I picked up a rein, I could feel them...
Getting a Cow to Turn Away for the Quit
In this video, I discuss five essentials of good herd work and show examples of: Driving forward for the cut Pausing and then moving across the pen with the flow of cattle Using the cow-side leg during the cut Keeping your horse on his haunches as you make the cut...
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