Creating a Box

When your horse travels around in frame, he is staying within the boundaries all of your aides. The way I best explain this is as an imaginary box. The front of the box is your bit and he is behind the bit. The sides of the box are you reins and legs; he is between your reins and between your legs. The back of the box is the drive from your seat. Mentally I picture that those aides form a box around my horse. When I am giving no particular cue to my horse, I want an idle position where he is not making contact with any of my aides, a home position, if you will. As I ask him to steer, or stop, or leg yield, I picture that portion of the box shifting accordingly. My goal is to train my horse respond to the pressure in a way that moves him back in a home position where the pressure release comes from him hunting the freedom that being within the box allows. (In the picture I am using my left leg to press Stetson back between my reins.) If there is a place where my horse is resisting, I ask myself, which portion of the box is receiving the pressure. I then break down that piece of the box and lighten up that part of their body.

Keeping it Simple

All training, cues and communication with your horse are based on the concept of pressure and release. Whether it is something as simple as walking a circle or as complicated as sliding stops and lead changes, the philosophy is the same. A horse’s natural instinct is to resist or to push back into pressure. The first time you halter a horse, they pull against the halter. The first time you put a finger to their side to ask them to move over, they will push back into your finger. Our job as our horse’s educator is to teach them that the proper response to pressure is to give to it, and move away from it. You teach a horse to yield because you apply pressure, and escalate the pressure until they move away and then you release. The horse learns to look for the release of pressure as relief. This will be the foundation for all future training. Once they understand moving away from pressure, they will be able to grasp yielding to multiple cues (pressure) at once. At its most complex concept, this results in creating a box that consists of your hands, legs and your seat. This is the box that your horse will learn to stay within: behind and between your hands, between your legs and ahead of your seat.

I know that to a lot of you this seems like a very basic concept. You’ve heard it before. What I have found is that most people forget about this when they move into more complex training. Once there is the task of completing a maneuver such as a spin, or a lead change, people think that the cues must be complex. I am a huge advocate of simplicity in training and in understanding. I have seen time and time again these weird affectations of body position once someone is “maneuvering.” People begin to do things that are completely inconsistent with what they have taught their horse up to this point. They end up going through the motions of what they think they should be doing to initiate the maneuver and lose track of the impact they are having on the horse. Even the most seemingly complex motion is simple in theory. This is where I encourage you to see each maneuver through the eyes of your horse.

A perfect example of this is the turn around. A spin is as simple and steering a horse’s shoulders around its hind end. If your horse is steering properly, it will turn around to the best of its athletic ability. As the horse learns to step around to each time you steer, you begin releasing the pressure and they hunt that turn around and the release of pressure they get when they cross over. People make it so complicated. Push the horse’s hip in, side pass, move one leg forward and one leg back. The most common example of this is someone is “opening the door” with their inside leg. In theory, I understand this idea, but in the application what happens is that people rock back onto their outside hip and kick their inside leg up and in front of the horse’s shoulder. This should be stopping the motion of the horse’s shoulder that direction. For me, if I move my foot forward to my horse’s shoulder, I would be asking it to move its shoulders the opposite direction, away from the pressure, or presence, of my foot. So two things are happening to the door-opening-spinner. At first, they are blocking their horse from turning that direction. Secondly, because a horse learns so quickly, the horse will begin to turn that direction despite the presence of the rider’s foot. This is deadening and diminishing the pressure/release understanding in your horse. You have started to blur the lines, and it will begin to leak into your entire training program.

I know that I preach this regularly to my clients, EVERYTHING IN HORSE TRAINING IS INTERCONNECTED. From the moment you walk into your horse’s pen to catch him, until the moment you turn him back out, you are training or un-training your horse. You must have a holistic approach to your horsemanship and training. Horses do not reason and they do not connect the dots. They are animals that react, and we are able to condition their reactions to a consistent stimulus. This is what horse training is all about. What you do loping circles affects your stops. How you approach turn arounds affects your cow work. It is crucial that you solidly grasp that your cues must be concise, decisive and most of all consistent. A cue must mean the same thing to your horse, without fail. Remember that your cues must always be based firmly on the simple concept of pressure and release.

Willfully Guided: Training through the eyes of your horse.

I have put a lot of thought into the direction that I want this program to go. Willfully Guided is the philosophy of horse/human relationship that I have developed over years of training horses and people. At its core, Willfully Guided is learning to see the world through the eyes of your horse, and utilize that knowledge in a structured and well thought out training regimen. Whether training a performance horse, or simply improving your abilities and relationship with your horse, it all starts with a solid philosophy and the understanding of some absolute truths about horses and the horse/human relationship. With this solid foundation, you are creating a mission statement of sorts. If you have a grasp of the "Why" of what you are doing, you are much more capable of having the desired result and obtaining forward motion in your training. In each moment you spend with your horse, every motion relates back to this belief system. Every drill and technique is designed with these truths in mind. This is true for all levels and disciplines of horsemanship. I believe in the ability of an individual to train their own horse, but with this comes great responsibility. It is not a venture for just anyone, and certainly not for the close minded or weak hearted. If you desire to be the horseman or woman you have always wanted to be, I invite you to come along for the ride with me. Together we can move towards the goal of having a happy, healthy, reliable, well trained horse that is on a path to reaching his full potential. I welcome your comments, questions, stories and experiences.

Investing in our Youth

Many of us started our horse experience as children. I participated in 4-H and Rodeo Events before being exposed to the working cowhorse discipline in college. As a professional, I have developed a strong group of youth clients. These girls ride 5 to 7 days a week and compete in NW and National cowhorse and reining competitions. They are responsible for the majority of the training and maintenance of their horses. With a sport as complex as working cowhorse, this is a tall order. The sport offers growth and education for all ages, but the character building experiences are especially valuable for youth participants. I am so proud of the young women they are becoming and it often causes me to reflect on the important skills and powerful life lessons they are learning through this process.
Responsibility - This is a huge financial commitment that requires hard work and dedication. Kids learn early on that their horse relies on them for everything from feed and basic care to their over all health and well being. As they move into training and competing, they learn that their horse counts on them for leadership. They have to learn to put the needs of the horse before their own.
Perserverance - Competency in performance horse sports does not come easily or quickly. It is a road dotted with disappointments, frustrations, and setbacks. Every well trained horse, or perfectly executed run comes after endless hours of practice and schooling. Thousands of circles are loped. Tears are shed. Mistakes are made, and are made again. Each day the kids learn to saddle up and treat each new ride as an opportunity. They learn that through hard work and a positive attitude they can build something special.
Problem Solving - Horse training in its most simple form is problem solving. Some horses and people come by certain things easily. Other tasks and maneuvers are harder, or more complicated. It is very rarely smooth sailing when you are learning or teaching advanced skills. When things are not going right, the kids learn to stop and assess the situation. They draw on past experiences, and reach out to their mentors to try and figure out a solution to a training problem. Editing and having awareness about what they are doing, both physically and mentally is important for forward progress. They become capable of facing life's adversities with a cool head and a sharp mind.
Humility- Unique to cowhorse competition is the variable of a cow. It is a sport where in the same show you can be a hero and a zero. No matter how talented or prepared you are, often the chips do not fall in your favor. It is important for adolescents to learn to have poise and to be humble in the face of disappointment.
Confidence- Accomplishment is something every person should feel the light of in their youth. I say that competency breeds more competency. This is also true of success. The kids learn that they have greatness in them and that if they set their mind and efforts to something, they can shine.
Perspective - Big picture thinking can be challenging in life. It is hard to mentally remove yourself from a situation enough to see things as they are. Like life, horse training and showing is a process with many ups and downs. Progress can be hard to see when you are simply looking at where you, or your horse, is currently. Appreciating the path you have taken, forgiving your mistakes, understanding where you are now, and having a plan and goals for the future are keys to success in horse training and in life.
I often tell the parents of my youth kids to think of it not as money spent on their horse, but as an well placed investment in the development of their child.

Everything I need to know I learned from my Cowhorse.

In these uncertain times, I have found that my experience training and showing cowhorses parallels life. I have been thinking a lot about happiness and success and every time I try and explain it I can liken it to a lesson learned from my horses. I reached out to my readership for their input and many of these concepts have come from their mouths as well. In the spirit of the New Year with your life and your cowhorse, keep these things in mind.

1. Perspective: Life is like the cow you draw, there are good days, ones you wish you could forget and ones you will never forget. Every time you walk in the pen, remember that you are lucky and thankful to be there, regardless of the score.
2. Timing: A good run, like a good day, is all about how you get started. If you come out of the corner late, it is hell to get caught up. You just end up chasing your cow through the rest of the run. Sometimes you have to just circle up, get out of there and think about your next run.
3. Trust: Your relationship with your horse is a partnership. Like any marriage you need trust, compassion and understanding. Both you and your horse have to trust each other and work together to make a run successful.
3. Practice is everything. If you aren't prepared when you walk in the pen, magic is not going to happen. Your commitment and time spent preparing at home is as important as the show day.
4. Talent is important, but it isn't everything. Hard work, focus and perseverance go a long way towards achieving your goals. If you want to be the best you can, you have eat, breathe and live it.
5. Risk: You have to be willing to take a few calculated risks. No one has ever become famous or successful by playing it safe. Don't be afraid to hang it out there and you may be surprised to find you are greater than you ever thought you could be.
6. Luck: Every once in a while you are gifted. Enjoy it and take advantage of it. It isn't really luck if you were there to receive it. Think of it as a reward for putting yourself out there. The same with bad luck, it happens to everyone and it isn't personal. When you fall off, dust yourself off and get back on your horse.
7. Confidence: Trust your horse, your training, your knowledge and your instinct. Believe in your horse and your ability to handle whatever comes out of the gate.
8. Focus: Never take your eye off the cow. If you keep your eye on your goal, no matter what turns life makes, you will be right there with it.
9.Courage: It is noble in life to try for something great. Whether horse or human this is the greatest of all the virtues. Heart. Sometimes you have to be brave enough to simply put your hand down and RIDE BY!
10. It's all about the ride, don't forget to enjoy it! "You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Mae West