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Riding Smarter
Training horses is not supposed to be stressful for them or for us. We only need to be smarter than they are to stay ahead of them. (If the reverse were true, they would be "riding" us, right?) Ideally, we use our bigger brains to make learning seem do-able and feel...
How to Find the Courage
It’s a common thing to love what we do, but settle for less than what we really want to achieve. By that I mean we allow our past results to dictate how we see our future potential. If you see yourself in terms of past mistakes and disappointments, most of the time...
Turns
In the last boxing/fence article, I wrote about the importance of leaving the corner well and rating the cow down the fence. These two components can make or break your run. If you leave late and have to catch up, you’ll be going too fast when you turn your cow, which...
How to Stop Leaning
Have you ever struggled with a pesky upper body that insists on leaning before and through the turn? Do your shoulders and torso have minds of their own?Try these ideas to sit (and stay (-:) square, still and deep in the saddle: 1. Let go of trying not to lean. Our...
Essential #2: Walking a Perfect Circle
In a previous article, I covered Reining Essential 1 (giving his face). When your horse is responding well to that, begin work on Essential #2, walking a perfect circle. This one sounds easy, but it isn’t! Once you achieve it, you’ll understand the basics of...
When to Quit!
If you cut, or do herd work in reined cow horse, or do ranch horse cutting, the nature of those classes is that you have to make moment-t0- moment decisions. There are no pre-set patterns or courses. You hold the reins. You have to make on-the-spot choices. This...
The Soul of Competition
If you’re a competitor, chances are from time to time you might feel anything from anxiety to intimidation. What if I fail? What will they think? What if I let me trainer/spouse/friends down? What if I’ll never be good enough? What if I don’t make it? It can be nerve...
Control Leaving the Box and Rating Down the Fence
In the last boxing/fence article, I talked about control being the most important ingredient in the cow work. I covered the purpose of boxing and preparing to start down the fence. In this article, I’ll cover the transition from boxing to starting down the fence and...
Break It Down
It’s easy to lump an entire run together as really good, or really awful, and not think another thing about it. (Well, maybe you ponder it a bit longer if you experience the low end of the totem pole.) I once had a friend suggest that I should make a decision about...
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