To compete in reining or working cow horse competitions, your horse will need to turn quickly in response to your cues. In reining, the move is a “turnaround,” or spin—the horse moves forward around a pivot foot and continues the move until directed to stop.

For cow horse classes, your horse will also need to turn with precision. However, he’ll turn with his weight shifted back so he can move on to follow the cow in any new direction.

Trainer Aaron Ralston explains that all moves for reining or working cow horse events mirror—or were inspired by—horses on cattle ranches.

“Historically, riders wanted to show off their best-trained, most obedient horses,” he says. “While there’s little structure to working cattle in a natural environment, training your horse to do complex maneuvers shows skill and athleticism. The reining turnaround became that signature move that could be judged on a point system. Then when working cattle, your horse needs to be ready to turn sharply in any direction and to change directions often.”

A reining turn forces the horse’s weight to the inside.

“If the horse needed to stop and change directions quickly, he’d have to take a shuffle step before being able to leave in a new direction,” Ralston continues. “The ‘cow turn’ allows him to shift his weight back so that he can change directions without shuffling or regaining balance.”

Use the Clock

Horses should turn precisely—no matter which type of turn is requested. Ralston says he’s often asked about how to cue for the different turns needed in reining and cow horse events.

To explain how to cue for each turn, he teaches riders to envision a clock face over the top of the horse. Everything straight in front of you and the horse’s poll is 12 o’clock. Straight behind you toward the tail is 6 o’clock. Three and 9 o’clock are positioned at your right and left legs. Knowing these positions will help you know where to move your feet, rein and chin positions to cue for the different turns.

Reining Turns

In reining, you want forward motion into the turn. The outside foot is to cross over the inside front foot. The inside hind leg is the predominant pivot foot that bears most of the weight. The outside hind foot helps the horse balance and propels him around.

When being judged, the inside hind foot can move within a small area, but you don’t want that leg to displace into a new area. If the foot stays in the same area throughout the turn, you won’t incur a deduction.

The inside hind hoof moves underneath the center of the horse, right below the rider. That’s the pivot point. The more the horse contracts together over the pivot point, the faster he can move.

Imagine a figure skater who spins faster when pulling her arms into her center. The horse will also spin most quickly when his body is tucked and his pivot hoof reaches far under his body.

When you’re ready to start the reining turn to the right, you want your horse’s inside front hoof to step to 3 o’clock continuously to produce the balance point for the optimum turn. To achieve this, use three body cues: Move your inside foot off the horse and point it to 3 o’clock while your outside leg supports the horse without constant cueing.

Lastly, move your chin to 3 o’clock. When you move your chin, other body cues (including your shoulders and hips) naturally follow. Riding one-handed, move your hand above the saddle horn and toward 3 o’clock.

“I like to sit very neutrally with my shoulder, hip and heel alignment in place,” Ralston says. “The cues with the three body parts will tell the horse the destination I expect.”

Ralston says he makes sure to cue the horse once and expect perpetual motion. He doesn’t want to constantly kick the horse, but to teach the horse to keep going until he cues for something different.

If the horse needs encouragement, he will use his outside leg until the horse returns to the speed he wants. He says that if he always pushes with his outside leg, he finds that horses hunt for a change in leg pressure so that they can be done.

“If I’m always pushing with my outside leg, then he’s thinking, ‘When does that outside leg come off, when do I get to quit?’” Ralston says. “That creates a horse that takes smaller steps and is waiting to be done.”

When it’s time to stop the turn, take both legs off the horse and shift your weight to your legs. Return your reining hand to the middle of the horse’s neck and say “whoa.”

Working Cow Horse Turns

“A horse needs to be able to turn in any manner necessary that affects a cow’s flight zone in relation to the destination you want the cow to go,” Ralston says. “Typically, you won’t be making a cow go somewhere. Instead, you shut the door on all the options and open the door to the direction you’d like her to go. It’s pressure and release. The cow releases herself from the pressure the horse puts on and goes where she feels free.”

Ralston says if a cow goes somewhere, she’s going to look there before she takes a step. If you want a cow to go straight ahead but she looks to the right, you need to be able to get to the right side of the cow’s vision to block that move.

If a cow is looking at you and wanting to move toward you, you won’t want to do a reining turn. That type of turn with a forward swing would get into the cow’s flight zone and chase her around you. Instead, you’ll turn the hands of the clock past 3 o’clock, shifting your horse’s weight back.

To initiate the cow turn, move your foot, chin, and hands to 5 o’clock. When the horse’s front hoof turns to that increased turn directive, he has to shift his weight backward. The inside hind foot becomes the pivot foot. With the horse’s weight shifted back, you’ll be ready to go wherever you need to work the cow. The horse will be ready to drive off or turn.

“You could compare this movement in the horse to an athlete,” Ralston says. “Think of a basketball player or volleyball player with a wide stance, ready to move in any direction at any moment, depending on where the ball goes. In this position, you’re always ready.”

Will you ever use a reining turn while working a cow? Ralston says he uses the initial cue of the turn (without the constant spinning) when he wants to send a cow away from him in a defensive move. Once the cow is moving away, he’ll most likely cue the cow turn in the next move.

This article about turns in reining and working cow horse events appeared in the October 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Perfect Your Reining and Working Cow Horse Turns appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

In reining or working cow horse competitions, you’ll need to show that your horse can change leads on command while keeping a steady loping cadence. To score well in these western classes, you’ll need to perform lead changes as you lope to the center of the arena. Your body position will tell your horse when to pick up the opposite lead.

Here, trainer Aaron Ralston helps you plan for your lead changes using a five-stride pattern. You’ll position your horse to move straight ahead, change your body cues to change leads, then move straight ahead.

To make this move smooth in the show pen, you’ll practice anywhere except the center of the arena during practice. He’ll also help you practice the counter-canter so that your horse waits for your direction before changing leads or directions. Your cues and the location where you practice your changes will keep your horse listening instead of anticipating the switch.

“The perfect reining lead change is when you have to look twice to see if it actually happened,” Ralston says. “In a show, the judge wants to see an even cadence and the rhythm maintained. The horse’s head shouldn’t go up and his tail shouldn’t switch. His hip shouldn’t hop to get quickly into the new lead. The horse changes leads and continues on the same path as he came into the center of the arena.”

Getting the Lead Change

Before attempting a lead change, warm up your horse by working through the western gaits. Next, lope down the long centerline of the arena. Ralston suggests changing leads when you’re riding straight ahead, and not practicing continuously after loping circles at the center of the arena.

To get the longest line, ride straight through the middle of the arena or from one corner to another, creating a diagonal line. Give yourself space to cue your horse as he moves ahead five strides. “I establish a five-stride straight line in the middle of the arena,” Ralston says. “I want to get my horse balanced and straight first. I don’t want him leaning one way or the other. The first and second stride, I keep my legs in position to maintain a left lead. I change leads on stride three, then hold my legs in position for the new lead as I ride straight ahead for strides four and five.”

When it’s time to cue on stride three, Ralston shifts his weight—moving from one back pocket to the other—and allows his legs to move naturally in response to the shift.

“It’s the shift from one pocket to the other that presses one leg against the horse and releases the other,” he says. “Initially, my front leg will be by the front cinch to get the horse’s shoulder up and straight. When I weight my outside pocket, my leg will naturally move toward the back cinch. I rock back toward the outside hip so that I can drive the horse’s outside leg up through the inside front leg of the new lead.

“The whole time, my hand, chin, and eyes should point straight ahead,” Ralston continues. “That gives the horse the confidence to know where we’re going. The cue comes from the cadence and rhythm in my body and how my legs and my weighted pockets tell him to adjust his body.”

He reminds you not to move quickly or “jab” your horse for a lead change at a specific point.

“With the five-stride plan, you give him three strides of a window to figure out when he’s ready to change,” says Ralston. “When I release my leg and the other leg is coming, that tells the horse, ‘Find your lead change.’ I’m letting him find the right place.”

Ralston says that only after he has completed the five-stride change will he guide his horse to the left or right to turn by cuing with his reins. Then he will decide whether to round the corner and keep the horse on the correct lead, or to ride in a counter-canter (purposely moving in a circle with the horse’s leading leg on the outside).

Avoiding Anticipation of the Lead Change

Ralston says if you always change leads in the middle of the arena and then ride on the correct lead, your horse will quickly anticipate the change and the new direction.

“The most important thing for me in lead changes is that a horse doesn’t associate changing leads with changing direction,” the western trainer says. “I rarely change leads by circling, then changing leads, and then circling in the other direction. Instead, I change leads somewhere on the long line, then I change directions at the short end of the arena and stay in a counter-canter.”

Why does it matter? If a horse begins to change directions into a new circle before he changes leads, he won’t move with balance. His shoulder will drop, and he’ll work hard to counter-balance his body.

“If the horse is mentally ahead of me and turns before I cue him, then his shoulders will lean to where he’s ready to go,” Ralston says. “If that shoulder is leaning, then I won’t be able to move his hip and change leads smoothly. I don’t want the association of changing directions with changing leads. Once I change the lead and establish that for a few strides, then I can change directions.”

Counter-Canter

Avoid your horse anticipating the new direction by riding him in a counter-canter often. Practice your five-stride lead change, ride straight at the end of the pattern, then direct him to the left or right. No matter what lead your horse is on, he should follow your direction cue without changing leads again.

“Before I go to a horse show, I will lope circles and then establish the five-stride pattern in the center,” Ralston says. “I’ll change leads, but after stride five, I continue in the counter-canter. I don’t change directions but follow the same loping circle I just completed. That’s high-level and difficult, but if that tool is established in the horse, then I’ll be able to keep my horse’s attention. If I don’t practice this way, my horse will think ‘change directions, change leads.’”

Ralston says you must keep your legs active to keep your horse working in the counter-canter.

“Once I change leads, my new leg comes on and establishes the new lead,” he says. “If I’m loping left to right, my left leg comes on and changes into the right lead. Then I balance the horse’s chin and keep my left leg on slightly and my hand directs him to a left circle, into the counter-canter. Keeping that leg on tells him not to change back into the left lead and to maintain his hip to the outside of his shoulders.”

If you practice your timing, allow your horse space to change his leads, and work your counter-canter, you’ll help your horse listen to every cue.

“This teaches him to be patient and only change leads when asked,” Ralston says.

This article about perfecting your western lead change appeared in the June 2022 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Perfect Your Western Lead Change appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.