The spin is the maneuver specific to reining. The stylized movement shows your horse’s willingness to move on cue with speed and agility. It’s also the move most associated with riders’ concerns. Will I stop on time? Will I get too dizzy? Will I lose count?

Trainer Cody Crow rides reining patterns in working cow horse competitions. There, one of the requirements is to perform a reining pattern before calling for a cow. When in a reining class, you’ll be asked to do four or four-and-a-quarter turns in one direction.

In a reined cow horse competition, you’ll need to do two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half spins. Whether you’re preparing for a reining event or working cow horse, the move is the same.

Crow describes how he prepares for turnarounds (also called spins) in a reining show.

“I let my horse get settled, I take a breath, make sure my horse’s head and neck are straight, then I’ll open my inside leg, look in the direction of the spin and lay my rein on the horse’s neck. That starts the spin and my count. I count out loud as I go, saying the number as soon as I start that revolution.”

With practice and patience, the spin can look smooth and effortless. But that doesn’t mean it starts off that way for every rider.

“A lot of riders panic when they get to the spin,” says Crow. “They run down and think that the horse immediately has to step into the spin. Instead, let your horse settle. Count to five and allow your horse to pause, then spin on your cue. The judge will appreciate that your horse is relaxed and settled. That sets the tone and builds eye appeal before you even start the maneuver.”

Perfect Start

Crow suggests breathing and taking your time.

“Many riders forget that horses have to have time to get balanced. You have to be patient and allow your horse to transition from standing straight and square to rocking back and moving his shoulders laterally in the spin. He has to have a few steps to figure out where his feet are before maintaining a consistent turnaround with some speed.”

Once you stop your horse from the previous maneuver and allow him to stand still, it’s time to find your landmark to help you count your rotations. You’ll pick a spot to look at so you know where to ask your horse to stop at the end of the spins. The spot you’ll choose to look at depends on your horse and how you learn to practice at home.

Start the spin by squaring your shoulders and facing the same direction as your horse. Make sure his head and neck are in a straight line, and take time to correct his nose if needed by picking up and directing his nose.

Then your horse should keep spinning once cued and until you tell him to whoa.

“When I’m ready to turn, I move my chin and rotate my shoulders just slightly into the turn,” says Crow. “Then I rotate my shoulders slightly in the direction of the turn, which also rotates my pelvis. That helps my inside leg open and closes my outside leg and thigh against the horse. I will point my inside toe toward the direction we’re going. That reminds me to open up my leg.”

Count it Out

Counting your spins is crucial to knowing when to stop. The “shut-off,” as Crow calls it, is important because you don’t want a penalty.

“If you over- or under-spin by a quarter, it’s a one-point deduction,” he says. “If you spin much more than is requested, it’s considered being off pattern. You don’t want to lose out because you haven’t practiced counting or planned how to stop.”

Crow says some riders have different counting methods, but his pattern is consistent and helps him keep his spot—even if the horse falters.

“I start by counting out loud as soon as I start spinning,” he says. “Then as I finish that first revolution, I say ‘two’ and continue counting out loud. Only when I finish that revolution will I say the next number. Some riders will count the revolution then say the number, but if your horse sidesteps or stumbles, it’s easy to lose count. If you have the number three in your mind, you may forget if you are on three or just finished three. However you choose to count, keep it consistent.”

Once the horse is moving, he should maintain the speed you request and keep going steadily through all the spins. If a judge sees a horse start slowly, build up, then slow down and anticipate a stop, that spin won’t score well.

The Finish

Crow says every horse has a little different timing in the shut-off.

“When I’ve finished my four revolutions but need to do another quarter, I say whoa and pick my hand straight up. In that time, the horse will take another quarter-turn step. I shut off my horse at the four mark, and by the time he can actually stop, he is at the four-and-a-quarter mark—just as we want. As I finish the fourth spin, I know I need to look at the center marker of the arena. I make sure to look up at the marker I need. I look in the direction of the spin, but up above the horse so I’m not looking at the ground. If I look at the ground, I’ll get dizzy.”

When it comes to knowing where to stop, Crow says some horses will stop their spin as soon as you pick up your hand. Other horses will need a few steps to stop completely. You’ll need to practice this at home to find out where your horse needs to get the cue so that he’ll consistently shut off at the point where you need it.

“When I ask a horse to stop, I move my legs off and lift my reining hand up and say ‘whoa,’” says Crow. “If I have a horse that is a little sloppy, I will say ‘whoa,’ then may use my inside leg to support that horse in the stop.”

Reining Spin Practice Tips

Crow says that most horses don’t get dizzy after turning just four times. He has found that horses get dizzy if you practice too many spins in one direction during practice at home. How do you avoid this? Don’t require your horses to spin his best during every practice. Keep your horse relaxed.

Crow recommends practicing at home with half the speed your horse could go. You’ll keep your horse turning on your cue and keep a consistent pace until the cue to stop. If you don’t cluck or kiss to your horse to ask for more speed, he should just go in a nice slow speed.

When it’s closer to a show and you want to practice just as you’ll perform at a show, kiss or cluck and ask for the show speed. Remember, once you cue your horse to spin, he should stay in the turnaround until you tell him to whoa.

When working with students, Crow has his riders practice their cues, then work on the horse’s performance.

“I want to know that the rider can count correctly and get the correct number of spins for the show. Once I know that the rider is trained, I also want to make sure the horse is ready and doesn’t learn to anticipate. I’ll mix up the number of spins we do. I don’t want my riders to constantly spin four times. I don’t want the horses to anticipate and shut off at four. Instead, I like riders to practice spinning six revolutions. That’s just enough to not get dizzy while keeping them from anticipating and learning to stop the spin too soon.”

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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.

Watching reining horses as they execute precise patterns and slides in competition is breathtaking, but there’s nothing as dazzling as the lightning-fast spins they perform. The main goals in the spin are speed, precision and keeping the hind foot in place as the horse pivots around it, but to train a horse to master these, you have to start with the basics.

“No matter what you’re training the horse to do, it all begins with the basics,” says reining and cutting world champion and National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame inductee Dick Pieper.

The three basics of Pieper’s program are lateral flexion, simple collection, and the two-track. “Everyone can achieve success if they get these three basics really solid,” he says. “Our goal in establishing these basics is to have every horse become enjoyable, useful and safe, whether he’s a recreational trail horse or a reining horse. These basics are appropriate for the young colt in training and for the aged saddle horse that may be resistant or dull.”

Reining Horse Spin: Lateral Flexion

Start by riding two-handed with a loose rein in a large circle, keeping the size consistent. To ask for basic lateral flexion as you’re circling to the left, sit on your right hip. This brings your right leg closer to the horse’s ribcage and your left leg away from his body. Essentially, you’re “opening the door” for the horse to move to the left.

Move your left hand outward slowly in the direction you want the horse to tip his nose. It’s important that every time you ask for lateral flexion, your hand moves directly across the top of your hip bone. The soft “ask” then consistently comes from the same direction every time. If you pick your hand up high, drop your hand down, or change the speed of your hand movement, those variances make a difference to the horse; what you’re asking for becomes confusing. The more consistent you are with your hands, the more consistent the lateral flexion response from the horse.

Complete lateral flexibility begins when you move your hand, taking the slack out of the rein, and the horse softly and easily follows. It’s not a pull. When you pull, it becomes confrontational.

Pieper draws the line on one point. “I never ask the horse to flex laterally from a standstill,” he says. “It drives me crazy to see someone sitting on a horse with the horse’s feet not moving and the rider pulling the horse’s nose around to their left knee and then pulling it around to their right knee. Then it’s left, right, left, right over and over. The horse hasn’t learned anything and now has a sore neck. We want the horse to be soft from side to side, but lateral flexion has to be connected to movement.”

When asked for lateral flexion, the horse should walk forward, tip his nose and bend his neck, and start to move his shoulders and ribcage. His whole body should move in one direction.

For left flexion, walk the horse forward and make a little contact with the corners of his mouth. If he pulls, don’t pull back. Keep moving and simply put your left elbow against your ribcage so your arm doesn’t move. The horse will pull against it, but continue to hold without pulling back. Pretty soon, he’ll soften his chin. “When he relaxes his jaw, quits pulling and softens, give him full slack in the reins,” says Pieper. “By dropping your hand down and giving him a release, you’re saying, ‘That’s what I want you to do.’ Then rub on him and pet him.”

Pieper believes in positive rewards. Let the horse know that he did the right thing: release, pet, rub. Continue to walk on the circle with a loose rein and then repeat the exercise.

Initially, if the horse has given a couple of releases, then everything is going along properly. Remember, every time he pulls and then gives a soft response with his nose and neck, he’s rewarded with a release. Do this in both directions until you get four or five releases to the left and the right.

“I’ll continue with this practice until every time I ride the colt—whether the horse is fresh, scared, or is exhibiting high emotions—his response is so automatic that when I take a hold of the corner of his mouth, make a little contact and get him to soften with his nose and then release, it’s almost like his comfort zone,” says Pieper. “He’s learned that no matter what happens, when he’s given a release, everything is going to be fine. This may take from two weeks to two months; the time frame doesn’t really matter. This complete lateral flexion is the first basic building block with the horse. Take whatever time it takes for both you and the horse to get this right.”

Simple Collection of a Spin

Pieper moves on to teaching collection only when a horse doesn’t resist flexing on both sides and is soft, responsive and supple every time. He gives his nose willingly and flexes without hesitation or stiffness at the slightest request.

Collection occurs when a horse carries more weight on the hind end than on the front legs, and the back and forehand are raised. Collection allows the horse to move more easily, gracefully and athletically, and to make sudden changes in direction smoothly.

“In collecting a horse, I begin by asking him to move forward at a walk and by setting a barrier with my hands by holding my elbows against my ribcage so that my upper body and arms are immovable,” says Pieper. “That posture removes the temptation to pull back on the reins.

“I push the horse forward into the bridle with my leg aids while maintaining a steady contact with my hands; it’s up to him whether the contact is heavy or light at first,” continues Pieper. “If I take my legs off him, he’ll stop. The impulsion is gone, but the barrier is still there with my hands.”

When riding the horse forward into that barrier, he will probably try to push through it and lean on the bridle, and may even shake his head. He’s now pushing against himself. When he arches his neck and becomes even a little soft, give a release by putting slack in the reins. Offer that release for 15 to 20 seconds, then repeat the same lesson until the horse learns that when he’s ridden up to that barrier, he’ll be rewarded with a release when he gets soft and gives.

The more consistent you are with following these guidelines for collection, the quicker the horse will achieve this goal.

“When that initial barrier response gets fairly good, I hold him in that position for a little longer—two or three strides, then five strides, then 10 strides,” says Pieper. “After he meets that barrier created by my hands, I’ll ask him to lift his back and shoulders, and make him reach up under his body with his hind feet a little bit more. This puts him in a position to perform advanced maneuvers. Eventually, we’ll do this lesson at a trot and then a canter until the horse is soft with no resistance. If he’s beginning to panic, give him a release.

“In the process of teaching the horse mentally to be collected, I’m also physically developing his topline from his poll down through his neck, across the withers, across his back, down through the hips, to the hocks,” adds Pieper. “By strengthening the topline and developing those muscles, the horse will come into a collected position whenever I want him to.” After a period of time, staying in a collected frame will be more comfortable than not being collected.

It’s critical that the horse’s muscles develop slowly during this collection training, or he could become sore.

Reining Horse Spin: Two-Tracks

Once the horse can move in a collected frame, release the pressure of one leg and push harder with the other to ask him to two-track. For a two-track to the right, release your right leg and push with your left leg.

“At a walk or trot, the horse moves forward in a straight line as I continue to release one leg and press with the other,” explains Pieper. “The hindquarters move over and the horse is in a true two-track position: His head and neck point straight forward in the direction he’s traveling, and his hindquarters move over so that he’s actually making two tracks.

“I develop this two-track to the point where the horse does it at just a suggestion; he’s not worried about maintaining the two-track and isn’t concerned when he’s asked to perform it,” adds Pieper. “The horse simply knows that when I release one leg and press a little harder with the other that his hindquarters have to move over.”

When the horse gets the three basics down, he can be taught to do anything, says Pieper. “These basics don’t require any particular skill, and you don’t have to have magic in your fingertips,” he says. “You just have to thoroughly understand the basics. The better you ride and the more you stay consistent while executing the basics, the quicker the horse will learn.”

By using the three basics in different combinations, you can teach a horse to spin, stop, roll back, change leads, circle, back up—just about anything. “The confusion that many people have, even professionals, is that they don’t take enough time to get those basics so well-seated in the horse’s mind that he’s uncomfortable doing it any other way except the way you want,” says Pieper.

Steps to the Reining Horse Spin

Once your horse is solid in the three basics, here’s a test to determine when he’s ready for the lateral step, a building block for the spin:

“When I walk the horse in a circle and he’s no longer resistant, doesn’t lean on my hand, gives me his nose, automatically drops into the circle, and follows my hand, then he’s ready,” says Pieper. “Horses can look behind them very well, so the horse can actually see my hand and follow it. The goal is for the horse to give a soft lateral flexion the minute your hand goes out to the side.”

In taking a lateral step, the horse moves the inside front foot backward to make room for the front outside foot to step across. He should never interfere, bump his knees together, or step on the coronet band, so spend the time necessary for the horse to get skilled at moving the inside foot backward.

“It’s important to note that I won’t give the horse a release for being soft; I’ll release for taking a lateral step,” says Pieper. “This will be my focus for several weeks. After he takes a lateral step from the circle, I’ll give a release by letting him go out of the circle and forward. Having the horse soft to my hand, tip his nose, bend his neck and take a lateral step is the most important part of teaching him to turn around and eventually spin.”

Begin the Reining Horse Spin

“When I’m getting a horse ready to spin and I lay a rein against his neck, the first thing I want is for the horse’s nose to tip toward the inside,” says Pieper. “The second thing I want is for the inside foot to step back and make room for the outside leg to step across.

“Initially I’ll ask the horse to simply walk circles while I cross my reins, with four fingers between the reins,” continues Pieper. “I don’t want him to wander; I want him to walk with rhythm and cadence and follow the same-size circle with purpose. Then I lift the slack from the reins and ask the horse to tip his nose and shape his body to the circle. Walk circles for a while until the horse understands what you want him to do. You want the horse to almost follow the circle on his own.”

Next, hold the horse’s nose with your hands as a barrier and make the circle smaller and smaller while still moving forward until he takes a lateral step rather than a forward-reaching step.

As soon as the horse takes a lateral step, give him a reward by releasing your hands and taking all the pressure off. After you walk around on a loose rein, start on another circle and gradually make it smaller again. Soon you’ll notice that the horse will take less time to make the lateral step, and that he understands how to achieve the release. Eventually he’ll get to the point that as soon as the slack comes out of the reins, he’ll take a lateral step.

When he’s accomplished the lateral step, now instead of releasing him, hold him in place and ask for a second lateral step; then release him. Add an additional lateral step each time until you make a full circle. By the time he’s consistent at taking a lateral step followed by a forward-reaching step to complete a full circle, you’ll be able to hold him and he’ll take as many lateral steps as you want. Build up to that point gradually. It’s all about teaching him to make the correct move before he gets a release. As soon as he figures out what that is, he’ll do it for as long as you ask him to.

After accomplishing the lateral step, you can start adding speed and precision to the spin.

MEET THE TRAINER: Dick Pieper has earned numerous national championships in reining, cutting, reined cow horse, and American Quarter Horse Association competitions. He is a National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Champion and was inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame. www.pieperranch.com.

KATE RIORDAN has spent her entire life around horses, doing everything from ranch work to distance riding.

This article originally appeared in the July 2014 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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