Buckaroo Texan Blog

 This year at the Belton, Texas,  Buck Brannaman Clinic,  I rode Button in the Horsemanship 2 Class.   It is always fun to work on the advanced manuvers and learn new skills in getting these better.  The roping and cow work are just more ways to advance your skill level and give your horse real jobs to do.  It’s a real test on how well you and your horse are working together.   We spent a lot of time over the four days working on the soft feel at all gaits.  I was working in a hackamore.  I felt I had advanced to a ½ inch hackamore  with the idea of getting ready to more on to the two rein.  As the work in the class advanced with more loping, Buck pointed out to me that Button was really pushing back on me, so I changed back into our 5/8ths hackamore.   I had a better communication with him then and we were able to get some better feel between us.   I realized from the discussions in the morning,foundation class, on the flexions and soft feel, that these were not as good as they needed to be at the level Button was at in the advanced class.   The flexions and soft feel are ways of working to get the horses to engage his hind end and to be more balanced on all four corners.   These last few weeks after the class, Button and I have really gotten more balance between us,  I am being more assertive in asking for him to move in balance at all gaits, forward and backwards,  two tracking, side passing and during haunches in.  I am constantly thinking about my position in relation to where all four feet are of my horse.  Its getting to be a true feel between us so that when I ask for a change we change together, most every time, as it should be.   Photo by:  Jenny Hasz

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 I took my 2 year old filly, Bubbles to the Buck Brannaman Clinic in March.   I rode her in the Foundation Class.   This class is for young horses, green horses, horses with problems needing a restart with the snaffle bit and green riders.   This class never ceases to amaze me on the holes my horsemanship has.  It all starts with the fundamentals.  You can never get these too good.  Revisiting this class from time to time can really help you improve on all those advanced manuvers you have been working on.   You will always find an area in foundation, that needs some polish.

 The first day involved working on flexions from the ground.  Correctly bending the horse with his neck and head even or slightly higher than the withers, depending on the natural conformation of each horse.   With Bubbles, I needed to lift slightly as I asked for a bend to get her to bring her head around with a proper bend in her neck but keeping her head vertical and her ears horizontal.    Without the proper bend, the horse is stuck in the shoulders and out of balance.   Without really feeling of your horse, you are either building a brace just by bending and or setting your horse up to be out of balance before you even take a step.    Flexions also include asking the horse to slightly lift its neck and then roll over into a soft feel off the bit.   The neck should be slightly raised above the withers and the face of the horse vertical.   This is what you are looking for and may take some work and patience to get it.   Once you understand this, you can get the horse working in balance just at a standstill.  You ask the horse for these flexions, you cannot force a horse to do them and get the balance and softness you are looking for.  You give the horse time to figure this out on their own by holding not pulling until they make a gesture in the right direction and you build from there.   You have a really good feel going on between you and your horse when you both find this together.

Over the next three days we added more riding each day, more ground exercises that built on the use of the flexions and flexions in the saddle. With the proper flexions in mind, we progressed to asking the hind end to step over and then the front, backing straight and backing circles.  With out the proper flexions the horse would be out of balance and have trouble moving its feet.  Really feeling the horse try to understand what you were asking is a great feeling and makes the manuvers easy.  After all, we were getting the horses to make moves they do all the time, without a rider.

 Bubble got to really chopping her bit one of the days and I asked Buck about this.   She was processing the information I was asking of her.   I just ignored it, as suggested, it would go away as she felt more comfortable and more confident.  Buck also reminded me to be sure and feel of her and be very aware when she was chopping the bit during a time I was asking for a maneuver and to be sure and not release until her mouth got quite so she would know without a doubt that was what I was asking for.   Releasing while her mouth was real busy could very easy give her the idea to chop her bit every time I asked anything of her.   The chopping was gone by the end of the clinic. 

Photo by: Kathleen Morris

The weekend of December 3, 4 and 5^th,    was an exciting, educational and entertaining packed three days.  Buck Brannaman, Martin Black, Doug Jordon and Melanie Taylor all did a terrific job of tying proper horsemanship, that is fitting to the horse, together in their different areas of horse handling expertise.

Buck and Martin started each day with working with 2 colts to get them started over the 3 days.   Buck and Martin each have a different style but you could see how the approach was fitting for the horse they each worked with.  All the horseman repeated many times over the weekend, how there are so many ways to approach the horse and you are not wrong, but it is in your presence, feel and understanding of the horse, if you are to be effective and fitting.  Buck and Martin took turns commenting on what was happening with each colt as they worked along. It was amazing what the colts were doing by day 3.  Again, for a lot of us, this work would take a few weeks or months, depending on our skill level and quality of time spent with the colt. Buck and Martin both commented on how that is all right.  Time is not an issue to the horse, but quality is.

Mid morning,  Martin worked a colt with high energy in a cow working situation he calls the A-pen.  The colt had 6 to 7 rides before this clinic.  Over the 3 days Martin, introduced this colt to a cow and used a little pressure and a lot of relief to teach the horse to look up the cow.  Martin explained about the flight zone and balance point of the cow and horse positions.   The quality of the overall movements and transitions of the colt  really changed over the 3 days as the colt learned the 3 basics in a situation that also taught him to think.  These basics being going, stopping and turning.

First session of the afternoon was jumping with Melaine Taylor.   Melaine had Mindy Bower commenting with her and they had two ladies on jumping horses working jumps as Melaine directed.     Melanie stressed how no matter your specialty, the basic training is the same.  Melaine had the riders remove the martingales, even though they are part of the dress code for show.  She  had the riders warm up with lateral work, then moved on to work over ground poles and jumps.  Over the 3 days the horses improved   in their quality, height and difficulty in the jumps.  It was amazing to see this progress.  Buck restarted the Red dun on day three then switched to the jumping saddle and got the red horse a lot more confident and jumping the jumps a lot more correct, without the need to refuse jumps and balk.   Doug Jordan and Martin Black joined in the fun of jumping their cutting horses and bridle horses as Melanie directed.  It was great fun for the horses to do something challenging and different and really entertaining and heartwarming to see the different disciplines jumping together.

 Doug Jordan had the next session over the 3 days working different levels of horses in training working the herd and cutting.   Doug was letting the horses build  confidence and develop their own thinking to work the cattle.

 The last session of each day,  Buck and Martin, did cattle work with a herd.  They showed different approaches to working the cattle for green horses and starting green horses roping.  They increased the difficulty level of the herd work and roping each day and Martin rode the last calf they tied down, up.   You had to be there to see that, what great fun.  Something the ground crew does in the Great Basin.

Do you having trouble staying  with your horse as you go thru transistions?  Do you feel stiff in your legs, knees or ankles? Does your horse feel awkward or stiff in different areas when you ask for say a sidepass?

Alot of stiffness in the horse and rider can stem from you riding the saddle and not the horse.  It took me years to get this figured out.   At times you seem to be with your horse and other times you almost feel like you are being thrown around in the saddle like a rag doll or even worse you feel like you will catapult out into the air off one side or the other of your horse.

1.  Check your stirrup length.   The stirups are there to steady you if you need them.  There should not be pounds of pressure going down your leg thru your knee and ankles, and after a time of riding have your feet feel numb.  Cowboys riding long days, will get off occassionally and adjust their stirrup length to give their legs a rest.  If your saddle wears sores on your legs anywhere, you need a better made saddle or someone help you with your position in the saddle and stirrup lengths.

2. If there is stiffness in you or your horse anywhere, stop and think- Am I riding my horse or am I riding the saddle.   Riding the saddle you will not get good responses from your horse.  Even well trained horses will loose  their softness to ques if you ride the saddle.   

3.  Relax down into your saddle, let your legs hang normally down from your hips and you should be able to wrap your legs around the barrel of your horse, conform to him when you drive him forward.  You should be able to take your leg off one side of the horse at a time withour losing your center in the saddle and you should be able to take both legs at once off of your horse without loosing your center  on the horse.  Your horse will give you lots of good horse trys when he can feel confident comunication coming from your seat and legs.

4. Really practice getting with your horse and counting cadence.  This is counting out loud when a front foot or a hind foot leaves the ground.  This will help you to get with your horse, feel each step and become one with your horse so you can influence his stride.  In time just the position of your seat and the rhythm of your legs around the barrel of your horse will direct him from a walk to a trot to a lope, back to a trot and then to a walk.  You will also be able to direct the horse to stop from any gait at any time and with quality. This is the beginning and the essence of getting softness between you and your horse and to be able to get him collected, gathered up, flexion or whatever you want to call this soft communication between you and your horse so that he is poised for any maneuver.

In the horse world you will hear people talking about “presence”.  This is something every human and every horse has.   To portray a positive “presence” that is confident and at peace with oneself, is not always easy.  

How do I portray a good “presence’?   A person who believes in himself, and his   abilities, is humble, is confident, is at peace with himself and the world around him, will have this good presence just flow off of him.   This is usually gained through lots of experience.  Experience can not be taught, it is lived. Experience is all the times that things went right and when things went wrong.   The combination of all these experiences helps you build confidence in many situations and to be able to make the split second decisions that help the moment turn out good.  Presence is something you earn as you learn.  Presence develops overtime and is a combination of your life experiences, not just the time around horses.   You need to be open to observe, remember and compare. 

Horses will react good and bad to your presence.   The better your presence portrays leadership, authority, respect and humility, the better a horse will respond to you, in other words, the horse will have a good presence.   Your presence must be an ability to adjust your actions and outlook to fit a given situation.  Now we are back to looking at your experiences.   To develop your relationship with your horse or any horse you are around you need to gather lots of experience and it does take effort on your part to observe, remember and compare. 

Study books and videos of riders you admire and get a sense of their presence and how it flows to the horses they work with. Also, study the presence of the horses you see and how their presence changes.  Go to as many events that you can to observe the masters in their fields of horsemanship, to get the presence of their relationships in person.  Now compare  your presence, the presence of your horse and the presence of your friends and acquaintances you come in contact with.   You can get an idea of how your presence influences your horses for good or bad and see where you need to make changes to improve your flow.  Getting lessons, participating in clinics and asking questions about presence will help you see yourself as you are now and help you adjust at a faster rate to make all your relationships with horses grow into a calm, healthy, self confident ability.

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.                    Jeannie

The turnaround or spin was a real mystery to me for many years.   I tried to teach several of my horses how to turn around and was told by a cowhorse trainer that I had a nice coke bottle turn.  Imagine spinning a cola bottle around and that is how my horses’ turn looked.   The front end was going one direction and his hind end another.  Swapping ends is what the trainer called it.   I told him I guess I did not know what a proper turnaround felt like so I was having trouble knowing how to ask, train and ride one.

He put me on a horse named Joe who  knew how to spin in spite of the rider.   Once I felt how the footfalls felt under me,  I now had the idea  and I would know by feel if any horse I rode in the future was actually turning around properly. 

Two Kinds of Turnarounds

1.  Turnaround one:  the cowhorse turn.  This turn involves the horse  pivoting off the outside hind leg.  For example, a turn to the right, his outside hind leg, his left will be the pivot foot.  The horse will cross his leg front over his right front as he turns to the right.  The right foot will have to reach out and back each stride and the left follows over and in front of the right.  Some horses are just built or even trained that the horse kinda rocks back some in this turn and will step to the right and step behind the right front with his left front.   This is a type of turn cowhorses generally do to keep them in position just with or to beat a cow.  If you do lots of cow work with your horse this is a turn that is very advantageous for your horse. This turn is generally for one half of a turn up to a full turn.  If you do this turn really fast, most horses will appear to be hopping about every 1/3rd of the turn due to the large reach of the legs.  This turn allows the horse to be in good position at any point to jump right back with a cow in the opposite direction.

2. Turnaround two:  the reining horse turn.   This  turn around is generally the type of turn you see in horses that are strictly reining horses.  This type of turn looks a bit different than the cow horse turn when you study the footfalls and over all movement of the horse.   On a turn to the right,  the horse will step over and back with his right front foot and then bring the left across and in front of the right.  The inside hind foot, in this case, the right.  is the pivot foot.  This makes a very fluid turn that can become very fast, the footfalls are very even.  The horse develops with time and practice a very fluid rhythm and cadence.

When you start to train your horse to do a spin or turnaround, you need to know what type of spin you are training for.  You need to be able to feel where every foot is being placed and how to time your asking for the turn.  It is developed one or two steps at a time over several weeks or even months. Recognize the horse trys and reward them the moment they happen.

A common problem is having a horse suck back in his turns.   This is generally rider error of letting the horse do this early in his training.  It is not all bad if you just work cattle, but a horse that sucks back to much is actually backing up with his hind feet in a circle  and crossing over, back and behind with his opposite front leg.   A hind leg needs to be fairly stationary, for the horse to make a proper turn.  If you feel a horse backing instead of turning on a pivot foot, generally sending them forward and starting over is the answer.  Reposition the horse and ask for a step or two of turn.   For a horse that has made it a habit or his style to suck back in his turns and has a tendency to drop his shoulder into the turn, you might can remedy this by trotting very small circles in one direction until your horse feels rhythmic.  If he kinda drops his shoulder into the turn, that is a good time to ask him to stop and turn back to the left.  He should be able to set a pivot foot, step over smartly to the left and slightly back with his left foot and follow thru with his right front over his left front.  Ideally he should have his left hind as the pivot foot for this exercise.

Some people are handy enough to teach their horses both types of turns.  Not every horse or every rider is at the level to do this and to be able to ask for either turn at any particular time.   Having one of these types of turns in your bag of manuvers can come in handy.

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.  

 Honoring the horse and horsemanship through the western buckaroo way.

 Do you every get bogged down with your horsemanship and feel like you are just sitting in the saddle?   Maybe you want your horsemanship to move forward but you seem stuck.  You are not able to get your horse to “do” anything.

 It may be as simple as a mental block on your part.   It is very seldom a horse problem, but rather a rider problem.   Take the hard part out of horsemanship and just ride.  That,  sounds simple and it is.  A lot of the time we are thinking to hard, asking the horse too hard, demanding too hard of ourselves and our horse.   Just take a slow breath, look ahead and just ride.   Enjoy your ride!

A process to help get your horsemanship moving is to think out a plan.  

 1.  Think about what you would like to happen, for example- a nice round circle.

2.  Picture you and your horse moving in a circle.

3.  Make a decision that you want this and just flow with the idea. Start at the walk, get it good before moving to the trot and lope. Look for those horse trys.  This may take a few days to several weeks, depending onyour skill and how often you ride.

4.  If you are having trouble with circles, go slow and envision the circle and let your seat and legs follow the horse in a circle.   Your intention will set your seat and legs for a circle and let your horse follow your form.  It your horse does not follow your form, guide the horse using the reins, to enforce your seat and legs then release by moving your hands slightly forward when you feel your horse form the thought of getting in the right position.  

Do some research on setting a horse up for circles or whatever maneuver you want, then think it through in your mind, then add your horse.   Get coaching if you need too.  That can shorten the time to teach your horse if you are not real sure or real consistent.

 Add a little at a time with your horse, let the horse soak, or get the idea, then just ride on.   Doing small bits of maneuvers at a time and changing up what you are asking and then leaving the horse alone will advance your communication with your horse by leaps and bounds.  This may mean doing half of a circle and then riding on, repeating to build  to a full circle.  It may seem very little today, but the horse has a tremendous capability to learn.    You will be surprised in the advancement in a week or two.   That is a short time to develop something that will last a lifetime between you and your horse and be solid between you.

Remember, to train for tomorrow, do a little bit today.  Just ride!

The following tells about a session with a yearling filly getting haltered.  Each colt can be handled differently and should be handled as the situation presents itself.  You will be able to pick up ideas on halter training your baby!

This is the 3rd day to work Sassafras with the halter!  I just got in from work and I am ready to head to the pens.   I go to the barn first and saddle Rojo, a 3 year old gelding.  I get the ranch rope, the long lead rope and halter, and bucket of brushes and a flag and head to the pens.   I tie Rojo in the round pen and head over to Sassafras’s pen.  I set the brushes, flag and halter down in our small work pen.  I open the gate and approach her in her big pen.  She comes over, a little suspicious but looking for a pet, I walk towards the little pen but she is not interested in coming today.  I try to guide her slightly with my lass rope and she turns the wrong way.  I go get just her halter, then approach her, pet her on the neck and shoulder, touch her with the halter all around so that  she remembers the sight, sound and feel.  I touch her on the face and around the nose and ears a couple of times.

She feels ready to put the halter on.   I open the halter and hold it in my left hand.  I pet her with my right hand and arm and pass my arm over her neck.  I bring my left hand up under her throatlatch so I can reach the tail of the halter in my right hand.  I then slide the noseband over her nose.  This is where we see if I was thorough with my handling of her face the last 2 days.   She lifts her head slightly I stop and give her a moment to realize the halter
is not out to GRAB her.   She relaxes and I slide it on, like we have done it dozens of times. Big Horse Try!   

 I go get the lead rope and walk towards her, pet her, attach the lead rope to the halter and pet her some more.  I rub her with the lead to refresh the feel and sight of it.  I step out to the side of her and take the slack out of the rope and ask her to follow.  After a moment of thought she takes one step to me.   I step to the other side of her and ask her to step with me, and a hind foot comes then a front foot.   I have my long lead in case I need to put it over her rump for encouragement and security.   I ask for another step and she thinks for about 10 seconds this time and then just comes to me, I give her a slight pet on forehead and keep moving to the pen and she just comes along like an old hand!  Big horse try!

 In the pen, I shut the gate, have her step around me and proceed to brush her.  She really likes this and is real let down.  I can tell she doesn’t feel 100% today, her stomach is rumbling some, the paste wormer from yesterday is probably working on her.  I will go get her a pack of essentials after our session is complete.  After some grooming I pick up my flag and she immediately gets alert.  I approach her very slowly and let her see it without much movement.  She smells it and I touch her on the right shoulder.  She moves and shuffles some.   I only block her from running off.  She decides real quick it is ok.  I rub her all over her right side with it and down her legs and across her tummy.  I change sides carefully keeping an eye on her response.  She just watches and seems ok about the change to the other side.   I hold the lead rope in my left hand and slowly approach her on the right side with the flag.  I touch her shoulder gently and she explodes straight up in the air.  She has decided it shouldn’t touch her this time, but I have to laugh at the expression on her face.  No pressure on the lead rope.  She does not try to leave just had to move her feet! I go right back to the spot and gently touch her and she is ok.  I move it gently all over her right side, cross over her back and down the left side again but don’t stay long.  I let her smell the flag again then set in down.

I lead her out some, reminding her she can move her feet and come with me.  I take the long lead rope and work on picking up her feet again.   I handle her feet a bit longer today and let her work at finding her balance and stand on three legs a bit longer.  These little hooves need a trim and maybe in a few days she will be ready for it.  A few more friendly rubs on the face, eyes, nose and ears and we lead out to her big pen.  We make several nice small circles with her head bent on the arc of the circle, stop and take out time taking the halter off and back on a few times, then I walk away and we are done.  Another nice day with some good horse trys.  We could do more, but we have lots of tomorrows and Rojo is waiting for his groundwork session before that black cloud in the south chases us back to the barn!!

 The following tells about a session with a yearling filly getting haltered.  Each colt can be handled differently and should be handled as the situation presents itself.  You will be able to pick up ideas on halter training your baby!

I am looking forward to seeing Sassafras today.  I have 3 horses I need to work with tied up in the round pen, near her pen.  I will go work with her first while the others wait for me.

 I take my bucket of brushes, rope and a halter with long soft lead and head over to her pen.  She sees me coming and nickers.  That’s a good sign.   I open her gate to let her into the small pen where I have set down the brush bucket and laid down my ropes.   She comes right in, this is where she gets fed so it is a comfortable place for her.  

She starts walking the pen and I don’t waste time, I pick up my rope and at the first opportunity, I throw a side arm loop on her.  She wheels away but the rope stays on,  it is not on her neck, and with a flip of the rope the wrong way, it comes off.  No worries, I just recoil calmly and throw a side arm loop again as she comes by me, left to right.  It settles nicely over her neck, she bolts to the other side of the pen, and then as I apply a little pressure, she stops and faces me.

Now she is ready for the fun stuff.  No getting sweaty today.  She remembers, hey that person turned out to be good yesterday!!   I approach and start to rub her, she stays put and really lets down.  I rub her face, put the coil over her face,  rub some more, block as she attempts  to pull her head away a time or two. She settles and stays with me.  Great she is ready for the halter!  I  back away from her, let out a couple of coils and reach for the halter on the fence.  She actually takes a step with me.    I reward her big time.  I go slow here.  Let her sniff the  halter and rub it on her neck first, then alternate rubbing  with  my hand then the halter and still holding the coils of my rope in the left hand.  I slip the halter on with no fuss and no resistance from her.  No big deal she says as she  licks and chews.  I clip the lead rope on and slide the coil of rope over her head and off.   I spend a few moments just rubbing her all over again.  

I brought some worm paste with me and I don’t waste time,  I handle her mouth some more and in goes the wormer, no big deal.  She said it did taste funny, but she forgave me  as I keep rubbing and making a big fuss over her.  I step back and get a brush and get to work.  Its’ a sea of horse  hair flying around in the wind, and she says it does feel so good!!!

I brush a few strokes and encourage her to move a  step my way.  Then I switch sides and encourage her to move towards me again.  In a few moments we have a pile of horsehair on the ground and she is moving a few steps at a time towards me.  She will give her head to either side with a hint of suggestion from the rope.  The rope touching her hindquarters is now getting some meaning to step over with her front and step under with her hind, on around towards me for a rub.   As I work round her with the brush, I pick up each leg a couple of times after rubbing it. 

Well done,  I end this session with her wanting more rubbing.  I take off the halter  and walk off.  I open the gate and she comes right through with a confident aire.  She looks my way with pride.   She knows she did good.   I smile and think “we are on our way, baby.!”

  My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider. 
 Honoring the horse and horsemanship through the western buckaroo way- Jeannie

 The following tells about a session with a yearling filly getting haltered.  Each colt can be handled differently and should be handled as the situation presents itself.  You will be able to pick up ideas on halter training your baby!
Sassafras was recently weaned.  She was raised with her mom out on pasture, and although she has been around people and touched a little, even had her feet picked up a time or two, she has not seen a rope until now.  

I brought her into a smaller pen from her large pen with shed and room to run.   She was suspicious of the bucket with brushes and the rope in my hand.  She paced the pen wondering if there was an escape somewhere to go find mom.
No luck there.  She paused a brief moment or two, to look at me, then continued walking the perimeter of the small pen to find something better elsewhere.   To keep her from learning to just avoid me, I shook out a loop and threw a hoolihan on her.   She was startled and took off around the pen.  I didn’t let it get tight on her and just let her wear it.
The feel of the rope made her spin around but this gave me opportunity to throw in over her back a few times, let it drape around her legs and sides.  In a couple of minutes she settled down and was starting to look my way again.  Another horse try.

I started to apply a little pressure to get her to face me.  Timing and feel and watching her for a horse try, pretty soon she was ready to let me walk up and pet her, without her just running off, or walking off with no regard for me.

 She was beginning to see me as someone of importance.   Maybe I could be trusted after all, the rubbing sure felt good to her.   My goal was to halter her.  Maybe today, maybe not.   I shortened up the rope and held the coils in
my left hand.  I worked at touching her face.  When she would try to duck I would block her with my right hand or the coils of the rope in the left.  Pretty soon she could stay with me and get rubbed on the face.  I didn’t stay any
one place long, just until she gave me a horse try, then I would rub her elsewhere.   I brushed her all over, that felt good to a hairy, itchy, sweaty baby.   Aahhh she remembered some of this from last summer.  

I got to where I could lift a coil of the rope over her nose and over her face.  Then I worked at putting if all the way up her face and over her ears.  All the time going slow and looking for a  horse try.  If she got worried I slowed
down.  Just let her work at it and see that it would not hurt her.    About this time the stallion and mares showed up in the big pen next to where we were working.  Big distraction.  She had to leave; I gave her some rope, and
then worked at bringing her attention back to me a couple of times.  When she was really looking at me good, I slipped the rope off her head and walked away. 

 Enough for today, a good start.   I opened the gate to her pen and she followed me through and then went and found the water trough with not a look at me!!

My training is in the Buckaroo Way and I offer consultation services to those who believe in partnership of horse and rider.  

 Honoring the horse and horsemanship through the western buckaroo way- Jeannie