Tribute to Doug Williamson

Most of you have heard by now that we have lost a great cowboy, trainer, dear friend and one of the finest horsemen ever. Doug Williamson passed after a long battle with cancer. He will be missed by many but forgotten by none. My 2 favorite quotes from Doug are, “When a horse’s head is high (well above its withers) all its brain dribble out and he can’t think properly!” and “You should never apply more pressure to the bit than it takes to back your horse up.”

I think of Doug every time I quote him and whenever I do the exercise I’m going to share with you below. I smile now thinking all the awesome horses he’s riding out in that great pasture in the sky!!

Circle-Stop-Sweep
I’d like to share one of Doug’s favorite exercises to do on a horse with you. Doug used to say, “The circle-stop-sweep, warms up my horse’s body for any situation. It doesn’t matter if I’m reining, cutting or doing fence work. The drill allows my horse to get his physical and mental game tuned in.” Doug used to begin the drill by loping in easy, relaxed circles, coming to an easy stop, then backing a couple of steps, loading up the horse’s hindquarters for action. With the horse’s feet squarely up under his center of gravity, the horse is ready to sweep, or turn move out in any direction with propulsion. The main cue that Doug would give was just enough direct rein to barely see the eye in the direction the horse was traveling, and using the indirect (outside) rein towards the opposite hip to prevent too much bend. The neck rein laid against the middle of the horse’s neck in line with the opposite hip helps keep the rear end engaged and keeping the front end from getting too much bend. The “sweep” is an approximately 180* turn before loping off on the other lead.

It’s a great exercise for all purposes, but here’s how it works for the cow work. Loping an easy circle, then stop, loading up on the hindquarters and a 180* turn towards the outside (where the cow would be), teaches him to think stop and back up before making any turn. A 180* turn is all we ever need on a cow. It’s important for the rider to balance without squeezing his knees or clamping his legs, as that will cause the horse to go forward towards the cow. That causes the horse to roll up into the cow and get behind it, losing control and chasing it across the arena. Doug also said, “It’s important to keep some weight in the outside stirrup so as not to lose your balance.” He might use the direct rein to hint at directionality, but once the turn is initiated he likes to let the horse have the cow. Because the repetition of this exercise, the horse thinks stop and rock straight back before turning on a cow too and will automatically load up his outside hind leg in preparation for the turn. This puts a slight arc in its body with nose and butt being slightly closer to the cow and rib and shoulder slightly moved away. Without that slight arc, the horse is likely to turn on its inside hind leg, which tends to push the horse towards the cow instead of exiting parallel to it. “When the cow takes him, my bridle reins are loose and the cow draws him through the turn.”

This is how the circle- stop- sweep helps Doug with the cow work. It reminds him to always back up before turning and he’s got to back up straight with the butt towards the direction he’s going to turn. If all goes as planned, the horse will be pushing off on the outside hind leg. He is physically prepared to go with and stay with the cow.

We love you Doug and you’ll be sorely missed by all!