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One challenge in working a cow, is to get all of the pieces of accuracy, form and rhythm to stay correct … no matter the speed of the cow. This video is a great example of the pretty form and rhythm we all aspire to achieve as we work a cow. Below the video, I explain...

One challenge a rider has in cattle events is being able to predict what a cow will do as he or she approaches it on a horse. That ability to interpret current cow behavior as well as predict future cow behavior is called “reading” a cow. It’s a skill that takes...

Herd work in cutting, reined cow horse, ranch cutting, etc., always involves describing cattle.  There you are, walking your horse up through the cattle. You see cattle moving all around you. You’re trying to make sense of it all in the heat of the moment. Of course,...

It’s easy to wait to hear your name called and then rely on your trainer for a cow plan as you walk to the herd. However, I believe this is the slow road to becoming skilled in the herd. There is so much you can do to set yourself up for herdwork success … as you...

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...

Barb and I have spoken a lot about reading cattle and watching them settle, etc. However, in the reined cowhorse event, we don’t get to choose our cow. So our surveillance techniques become more general, trend seeking vs studying individual cattle traits.I’d rather...

Perhaps you are an amateur or a non-pro who did not grow up around cattle … and now you still don’t have many opportunities to be around them or work them. You’re not alone.  Maybe one of the few times you do get to experience cattle happens during a show run....