Dear Allison: Fencing

Dear Allison,
I don’t understand Fencing !!! How do you do it correctly and WHAT is the Purpose?
Sebrina Holstrom - Bellingham, WA

Great question Sebrina,
In a nutshell, “Fencing” is the practice of perfecting your rundown. At reining or cowhorse shows you will see riders lined up on each long end of the arena running their horses from one end to the other. Sometimes they will stop their horses, much like they will when they are showing, and other times, they will let their horses go all the way to the fence. This is where the term “fencing” comes from. It may seem hard to believe, but one of the most important things to the quality of your horse’s sliding stop, is how well he runs. Even if your horse has a lot of “whoa” to him, he may not stop as well as he could because he is not running straight or true. In a reining stop, it is ideal to have the stride before your horse stops, be the peak of speed in the rundown. If your horse is running true in this way, he is best prepared for a free and easy stop.

It is in the nature of horses to anticipate. In their rundowns they will either get strong and want to run too soon, or want to slow down as they anticipate the stop. Fencing is a great way to teach your horse to run gradually from one fence to the other in a relaxed manner. In addition, it is hard for a horse to perform a square sliding stop if he is running crooked or leaning. Fencing allows you to redirect or address the crooked rundown.

I think there is a lot of misconception that fencing is used to run the horse into the fence, teaching them to stop better. Again, fencing is used to make your horse WANT to run to the fence, straight and true each time. One of the biggest mistakes that can be made is punishing your horse at the destination (fence) and making it a place they do not want to be. Remembering the reason and the desired outcome are key to perfecting a maneuver.

Thanks for your question and I look forward to more!

Allison