Buckaroo Texan Blog

I was invited to come to the fall branding on the 3G ranch outside of Midland, Texas this past weekend.   Kate and Sam Gooding had a recently weaned group of calves to brand and work.   I arrived Friday night and got settled in for a full day of riding and roping on Saturday.  I took my most experienced horse, Button, so we could do a good job for our host and hostess. 

Saturday morning we started out in the pastures, looking for 6 head of renegade cattle that have been running loose for over a year.   Kate on her trusty steed, Ranger and I, mounted on Button rode out in search of the cattle.   The cattle had been spotted a few times, so we had a good idea where to start our search and gather.  A lot of the fences have been down in west Texas due to the vast ranging fires over the last year.   So it was easy for this group of six to be hard to find roaming in thousands of acres.   Sam sent a text that he saw them north of the windmill in the pasture we were in so off we went at a fast trot and gallop.   We found the cattle, eased up on them and headed them towards the nearest set of pens.  It was a few miles, lots of wind, and they had a big bubble.  We had to drive them from a far distance, like fifty yards or more at first.  We got them penned about noon and headed for the branding pens.

 After a water break, and arrival of the rest of the crew, we set up to brand.  We had three ropers.  Jerry Allison joined us for the branding.  Martha and Josh helped Sam with the branding pot, vaccines and wormer.   We took turns heading a calf, the other ropers would fall in to heel and whoever had not caught heels, helped with the ground work.  We all headed, heeled and worked the ground.   The calves got worked with very little stress. We got lots of good practice roping in the 20 to 30 mph gusty winds.

Sunday morning we spent driving the renegade cattle to another stronger set of pens near the highway, so they could be hauled to another pasture and joined up with another group of cattle.   The cattle were wild enough that having experienced horses that could be maneuvered one foot at a time, backwards or forwards was important to keep from having them run off.   Any pressure from the horses got their heads up looking for a place to run.   We got the cattle moved and penned.  The cattle were starting to settle some, ease around and be driven quietly by the time we made the four mile drive to the next set of pens.   What a great weekend of riding, roping, horsemanship and stockmanship practice.

The other afternoon I was bringing in the fillies.  A three year old, a two year old and a yearling, all sorrels.  I call them the “red ladies”.   The yearling, Summer, saw me coming to call them into their pen for the night from the pasture.  She was the first to come up to me.  We met at the gate and an opportunity presented itself to work on a little confidence between the two of us.   I reached out to pet and scratch her, which she reached for me, to accept.  I needed her to go on through the gate and come with me.  I suggested she rock back on her hind and get balanced by touching her chest and having my hand every so slightly on her nose to discourage forward movement.  As she started to balanced herself and lifted throughout her body to send energy unto her hindquarters, I took my hand from her chest.  I moved my hand from her nose and directed at her eye to cross over a step to her right.   I could see that she was a bit confused so I stepped in front of her and she followed me to the right with the nicest easiest cross over step you could ask for.  I had to smile to myself, for a change I set it up and let the horse find it, just let it happen.   I catch myself supporting and directing a horse entirely through a maneuver.  Forgetting to let go and let it happen, until it has happened.   It is before what happens, happens, as Ray Hunt would say, that makes all the difference to the horse.   You can never really get a feel of a horse until you begin to know why things happened for the good or for the bad.   Release is so important, but that timing makes the release mean something to the horse.  But before a release will mean something, the horse needs to be in balance within himself so that he is prepared to make a step or maneuver that has some quality to it.  It is when you feel the horse about to make a move in the direction you asked that you release.  It may be right, it may be sort of right, or it may not be anything like you had in mind but it was a try.  That timed release allows him do it on his own, search and learn, and it means something to him and helps him to connect with you more and more each time that happens.  You can develop a feel with a foal or yearling, long before you think about riding.  Always keeping in mind balance, timing and feel, in very short sessions with these youngsters, can help them have the confidence to go on their first ride like it was their tenth ride.

 Last spring I aquiredt a 2 year old quarter horse mare with a couple months of riding.   She is considered to be green broke.  She can stand to be saddled, mounted, walks, trots, lopes both ways and will back a straight line.   Bubbles has a good start riding, but I feel like I am stealing rides, due to she is not halter broke.

 What do I mean by halter broke?  She should lead without dragging behind or running off in front of me, stand tied and be able to move around mostly with her hind end and never tighten the rope.   She should operate off a feel from my hand through the halter rope to her mind to move her feet any direction I direct.  Although you could get her to bend her head softly to either side it had no meaning to her feet or rear quarters.

The first  session I worked with her I introduced her to going around me.  This was all new to her.  She showed a lot of concern, not knowing what I was asking.  I gave her lots of time to take a step or indicate with her eyes or leaning of her weight that she was trying.  It did not take her long to figure out to move around me.  I needed to get her to lead by me so she could pick me up off the fence.   I have a bad knee so I mount all my horses from a fence, block, bumper, log or lead the horse by me to a lower spot than me.  This keeps me from pulling the saddle too much, which I feel is unfair to the horse. Yes, I could insist that they stand for me to climb on sloppy, but I do not.  We got this working for us pretty quick for our first ride together.   

After another couple of sessions I brought out my flag.  This was a big eye opener for her and for me to know she could be pretty scared of things flapping around.   She felt scared enough to bring out some bucking.   It took awhile to work through and let her know she was ok.  Getting her sure about it took repeating the flag work at every session.  She would settle down faster each time I picked it up.  I carried it everywhere we went so she could see that it could be anywhere, anytime.   I really didn’t want to have a plastic sack blow up around her legs and me getting a look at it while sitting on the ground.

She also had a lot of trouble changing eyes smoothly.   She was good about it on one side but when it changed to the other side in front of her face, it would make her throw her head  and jump away from it.   This brace made it hard to get her to take her hind away from me and then cross in front of me and go the other way without being troubled.   She would take off bolting around me hoping that was what I wanted.  I broke it down into bending her neck both directions, taking her hind, one step at a time. We worked on this in the barn, in her pen, just anytime I caught her up.  As this got better and better our work under saddle was smoother and softer.  I worked her from my saddle horse to also get her to take her hind and then her front. She was not able to bolt off around me.  This brace was on her left side only, going counter clockwise, changing back to clockwise.  I also, worked on this against the round pen fence to block her from running from the flag. Since she couldn’t bolt around me and she would stop at the fence, until she felt free to bend her hind and then bring her front, she even tried pawing the ground to see if that worked.  I gently waved the flag and let her figure out where to go.  I worked her in the alley of the barn, going in and out of a stall also, with and without a flag.  This work gave her boundaries and a reason to bend and change eyes.  Now that she has some bend, is confident about the rein meaning to bend and move her feet she has very little brace on either side when we ride.

She is a smart little horse who works at new things at her own pace.  She is one that is very graphic on how she feels about something.  It is great fun to watch the cogs turning and her mind accepting and figuring things out.  She will be bolting, pawing the ground one minute and then licking and chewing with bright eyes the next.   When she licks and chews and her eyes get bright,  you really know  that she is on the right track.

I am looking forward to riding her in the Foundation Class at the Buck Brannaman Clinic in March.  We will get lots more groundwork with a group and Buck can help me refine our movements and work on the braces that are still there at times.

Best wishes to all my friends and horsemanship pals across the miles.  May you have a great holiday with your family, friends and horses!!  Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!!!

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.

Join us for what will become an annual celebration continuing the vision of Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt for the next generation of horsemen and women. 

  $75/day, $200 for three days (in advance via the web site)

Schedule:  (New work each day)

9:00 AM- Colt Starting with Buck Brannaman and Martin Black

11:00 AM- Cattle working with Martin Black

1:00 PM -Show Jumping with Melanie Smith Taylor

2:00 PM- Cutting with Doug Jordan

3:00 PM- Reata Roping and Cattle handling with Buck Brannaman and Martin Black

Email: think.rayhunt@gmail.com    website: www.alegacyoflegends.com

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Peter Campbell will be in Texas for a 4 day Clinic- November 13-16, 2010 at Nueces Canyon Ranch, Brenham, Texas.  There will be a horsemanship class and a cow working class.   Contact Deb Bruner at 361-564-8793 or debra.druner@att.net.

There are several ways to box the cow, or get control of a cow when working in an arena.   I will discuss 2 ways of boxing; (1) one is for a trained horse,  the strategy for the show ring and (2) for training a horse to box or hold a cow.

1.  SHOW RING STRAGEGY

Boxing the cow is a term that is common in the Working Ranch Horse event, Stock Horse events, Ranch Horse Versatility Classes and Stock Horse classes in Futurities.  The judge is looking for you and your horse to step up to the cow that has been turned into the arena and for the horse rider to take control of the cow at one end of the arena.   You get control of the cow and hold the cow at one end of the arena before taking the cow to other places in the arena, according to the type of class and the directions given by the Judge.   Ideally, when the cow enters the arena, after you have informed the gateman that you are ready for the cow, you will be at a distance from the gate and have your horse moving towards the cow.  The cow will see your movement and know you are there.  A cow does not always recognize a stationary object as something to be concerned about.  If you are stationary when the cow is turned into the arena the cow may not see you and ignore you when you do go to moving.    The horse rider should approach the cow with confident offense.   You will walk up to the cow and mirror the cow as it moves.  The horses’ head is positioned at the  cows’ shoulder to be in a neutral position.  When the cow takes off you will keep your horse in this position, but then take over the cow, by getting your horses’ head even with the cow’s head.  Most  cows will   duck their head slightly to prepare to turn and go the other way.   By keeping you eye on the cow, you are reading the cow and will be ready for any move the cow makes.  In the show ring you will stay right with the cow.   Point your horses’ head to a stopped cow and walk towards the cow’s head to get the cow to move.   By keeping you eyes on the cow and not your horse, will keep your position in the saddle to move with your horse any direction the cow goes.  Your horse will mirror the cow to show it has control of the cow and will keep the cow at one end of the arena no matter how hard, or how quick the cow moves or changes direction.     When you have shown that your horse has control of the cow, you will then be ready to move your horse behind the cow and follow the cow like a trailer hooked to the cow and push the cow to another area of the arena.   The boxing part of a cow working event lets you read the cow, lets you see how the cow responds to the pressure of your horse, will help you determine how much speed and turn this cow will have for the rest of your class.

2. TRAINNING A HORSE TO BOX THE COW

To train the horse to box a cow, you first have to be sure your horse is comfortable around cattle.  You need to ride your horse quietly around cattle until you feel that the horse is relaxed and attentive.  Depending on the horse, this may take a couple minutes to several sessions over several days to accomplish.

TRACKING CATTLE:  Follow a single cow around a pen or arena to help you and your horse to get used to the movement of a cow.  Follow at a far distance at first and get closer and closer as the cow slows down.  Anytime your horse has his ears forward and is looking at the cow, this is a horse try.  Sit very still in the saddle and go with you horse and be sure you have no pressure on the horse with your hands or legs.   When your horse is hooked on the cow (looking at the cow and following quietly) several times, reward the horse try by stopping and letting your horse rest.   Following cattle is also known as tracking.  The horse gets behind the cow and follows at a set distance as the same speed as the cow. 

TIGHTEN A HERD:  Put a small group of cattle in a round pen or small arena and practice pushing the cattle into a tight herd.  Walking your horse around and around the cattle teaches the cattle to honor your horse and look for the herd as a safe place to rest.   You watch for any cattle looking to walk or trot away from the herd. As you walk behind any cattle looking away from the herd, your goal is to turn them back into the herd.  Two track your horse away from the herd a step or two as you come behind a cow looking out of the herd and then walk towards the head of any of the cattle trying to leave.  This will make them turn and head back into the herd.  Keep your horse walking around the herd until the cattle will stay in a fairly tight group or herd in the center of your working area.  This is a good way to help you learn to “read” cattle.  Watch the body language of the cattle as you go around and around.  When you and horse are comfortable folding cattle into the herd, you can speed up into a trot around the herd.  It helps with the settling of the cattle and builds confidence in your horse.  Be sure to make your circle large enough that trotting does not disturb the cattle.

1. CUTTING OUT A COW:  When the cattle will stay in a herd, you can then enter the herd.  Ride through the cattle to split the herd into halves or thirds.  This splitting the herd will put the horse ride in position to drive a cow out of the herd.   After you have driven a cow out, keep you eye on the cow at all times and watch its movement.   Use your horse to step towards the cow to drive it away from the herd and encourage the cow to stay at a good distance from the herd by keeping you horse parallel to the cow on one side and parallel to the herd on the other side. 

BOXING THE COW:  This is where actual boxing the cow starts to take place.   You will use  two tracking away from the cow to keep your horse parallel and not too close to the cow.  When the cow stops, ride your horse past the cow, one step at a time until the cow turns away from you and looks to find the herd.  Let the cow draw the horse.  It the horse does not respond within a second, use your outside leg and inside rein to bring your horse back towards the cow to catch up with the cow.  After several repetitions of this, the horse will start to turn on his own and will not want to go past the cow.  He will start to develop a stop when the cow stops and wait for the cow to turn. The stop and turn by the horse on his own is what you are looking for to take to the show ring.  To help develop a good turn on your horse, you will back the horse a few steps, rock his weight onto his rear end, and then ask him to roll back over his hind legs so he is in proper position to beat the cow.   Most horses develop and realize how their position can stop and control the cow rather quickly, if the rider is aware of how to let the horse learn this maneuver.  Using a herd will let you cut and box a cow several times in working session.  Whenever you horse gives you a few good horse trys, be sure to reward you horse and take a break.

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.

Out there in the western lands you’ll find a man of great repute.

He runs a thing called Cowboy School; he’s tall of hat and boot.

He takes on dudes and dudettes green, and teaches them to ride,

To rope some, and work cattle, too; he’s always at their side.

He knows just how to phrase a thing so you can comprehend

And lets you learn at your own pace to reach that better end.

At Cowboy School the rule of safety first is number one,

And number two is just behind, and that’s to have some fun!

His patient ways are legendary; he’s never out of time,

And if you need to see a thing again, well, that’s just fine.

He’ll teach you how to sit a horse and how to use your aids.

He’ll help you learn to help your horse, and doesn’t give bad grades!

This professor of  cowboy-ology, his name it is Bob King.

A skilled and sorta bashful guy, his praises I must sing.

For he has hung in there with me when I would ‘bout lose hope

And helped me start to see the light when in the dark I’d grope.

There is no telling where I’d be if not for this good man.

He’s helped me when I doubted if I could, to know: I can!

This journey of the horse we’re on will never reach an end

But I’ll continue traveling with the help of Bob, my friend.

My ponies mean the world to me and they deserve the best.

But I’m the only one they’ve got, so I’ll keep up the quest

To learn and strive to be as good with them as I can be.

So thank you, Bob, my friend and dean of cowboyology.

Summer is blazing here in Texas.  There are precautions you can take to make your weekend rides enjoyable.   If you work in an air-conditioned area most of the time, you might not realize how quick you can dehydrate and just “give out” while riding.  Your horses stay out in all kinds of weather and they are adapted to surviving with Mother Nature.

Here are some horse riding tips to help you survive the heat:

1. Wear the proper clothing:  Cowboys and buckaroos wear cotton clothes that breathe and long sleeve shirts shield you from the sun and can be actually cooler than a sleeveless or short sleeve shirt.  Lightweight light colored cotton is generally best to keep you cool.  Wear a hat that has a wide brim.  This protects a lot of you from the sun, and is almost like having a parasol over you!  Of course if it is extremely windy you will need to tie it down with a yahoo string or opt for a baseball cap.   Wear a cotton bandana soaked in cool water with 3 to 5 ice cubes rolled up in it when the heat is over about 93 degrees.  They melt fast but will keep you pretty comfortable for a while.  The secret is to keep your bandana wet.  I will even wet my head with cool water about every hour or so and then replace my hat.  This keeps me ready to go some more.

2. Saddle up for comfort:   If your horse will be saddled for a long period of time or it is just plain hot when you do saddle up, wet your horses’ back with tepid water before putting on the saddle.  This keeps his back cooler, keeps your saddle blanket or pad cleaner and even the girth will feel more comfortable for the horse.  Because these areas being already wet  your horse will stay cooler.  Plus, not as much sticky sweat will accumulate around the girth and at the corners of the saddle pad, which can irritate and make sores on the horse when ridden for extended periods of time.

3.  Stay Hydrated:  The old southwest Indians would tell you to “drink until you slosh” It is hard to keep enough fluids in your body when the temperatures are near or over 100 degrees.     I like to mix mangosteen juice with my drinking water.   It seems to satisfy my thirst better than straight water.   I will fix up some bottles at home, freeze them and then carry them with me wherever I am riding.  I drink as they thaw.  I have some friends that are horse shoers by trade and they are the ones that got me on to mixing the mangosteen juice and water in frozen bottles.  Be sure to offer your horse tepid water a few times during the day.  A carrot or two during the day for your horse keeps him hydrated and enzymes working in his stomach.

4. Eat right:  To keep up your strength and energy be sure you fill your body full of probiotics and vitamins.  Most of us do not have a good appetite when the temperature soars.  Eat light healthy foods in small amounts. such as carrots, boiled eggs, celery, nuts, dried fruit and nutrition bars. Sugar and caffeine can make a lot of riders ill while competing or out on the trail.  Take a note from your horses.  You may notice they eat slower and seem to want less when the temperatures are high.   If they are big eaters anyway, you may want to cut your horse’s ration a bit for their own sake.   Tough love I call it.  Watching someone riding an extremely fat horse on a hot day is pure torment to watch and an unhealthy experience for the horse.  I will take sea salt and carrots with me just for my horse and feed according to the intensity of the ride and depending on how many days in a row I am asking a lot of my horse.  I may put a bit of salt and carrots in every meal.

5. Pace yourself and your horse:  Depending on your conditioning and the condition of your horse, pace yourself, as the day gets hotter. Lope your horse in the early morning or after a break.   As the temperature gets really hot walking and some trotting will keep both of you from becoming overheated. When you and your horse are hot, slow down and let the sweat dry for a while.  Re-wet your bandana and head.  If your horse seems pretty hot, take a sponge and wipe his shoulder and neck down with tepid water from water in a tough.  Find a few spots during the day with shade for you and your horse to rest for 30 minutes to an hour or more, depending on your activity.  This will let both of you relax, cool your head and body, and revive for another few hours out in the sun.

These tips will keep you and your horse going during a horse clinic or at a competition all day.

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