Whether you’re new to cattle work or want to improve your cattle-driving skills, you’ll need to learn how to influence a cow’s movements. How you and your horse approach, track, and drive a cow influences where it will go next. To master driving and turning a cow in the arena, you must know where to position your horse.

“The best way to control a cow is to be closer to the cow,” says trainer Cody Crow. “A lot of people feel it’s safer away from the cow, but if you’re too far away, the cow can move where it wants to go. Make sure to step up and influence where you want the cow to go.”

Here, Crow helps you position your horse so you can drive a cow forward and then change the cow’s direction. He’ll teach you how to visualize where to be.

He also shares his teaching strategy: to take turns acting out the part of cow and rider with another riding friend. Whether you don’t have cattle to practice with or if you just want to boost your confidence, riding and “moving” another horse and rider can help you understand where to be when you’re working cattle.

The Pressure Points in Cattle Work

When he first teaches students to drive and turn cattle, Crow says he has riders follow a cow and learn where to be to get the forward drive. Working in his large arena, riders first follow and track the cow, then learn to drive it forward.

Driving: “If your goal is to drive the cow forward, you want the horse’s shoulder putting pressure on the cow’s hip—between the outside of the hip and the cow’s tailhead,” says Crow.

Only after riders feel comfortable following and pushing a cow forward will he teach them to move up and turn the cow.

Turns: “If I’m going to make the cow turn, I want my horse’s shoulder even with the cow’s eyeball,” says Crow. “You’ll need to change your pace and move faster than the cow to get in position. You’re not merely pushing but moving forward to change the direction. Whether you’re circling the horse or turning, this is the position to keep the cow turning away from you.”

Once you learn where to position your horse, you’ll need to practice so you know which position to be in at the right time.

“Sometimes you’ll have a cow that wants to move off of the fence,” says Crow. “You may have to move quickly between drive and turn, then get back to the drive spot to keep the cow moving. If you linger at the eye during your turn, the cow may stop when you don’t want it to. Make sure to return to the drive line—focusing on the cow’s tailhead.”

Find a Practice Buddy

Most riders don’t have consistent access to cattle, but you can still practice your position when you ride with another horse and rider.

“It’s important for you to see where the cow’s escape routes are and how the horse’s position influences that,” says Crow. “When you’re just riding around a cow, I don’t think most riders are trying to see the cow’s perspective. Where does the cow see the open door? Learning the cow’s perspective can help you know where to be.”

Whether you’re new to cattle work or just want to practice cow work without cattle present, riding with another horse and rider can help you learn while removing some of the fear and speed. Ask a friend to ride with you and take turns being the rider and the cow. Make sure to ride horses that get along well and keep a safe distance as you practice.

Make sure to communicate. Since you’re riding with a friend, talk through your moves and share what you notice. Tell your friend where you’re going and when you’re moving in position to turn. Ask each other what you notice and where you felt you had to move or turn.

Crow suggests starting by driving your friend—who’s acting as the cow—forward along a fence line. To get in the best position, stay slightly behind the other horse, looking at his tail. That’s the point to watch as you push that horse’s hip and drive your friend forward.

Next, make your friend—the cow—turn. You’ll move from the drive position and instead focus to the cow’s eyeball. Move ahead so that your horse’s shoulder is even with the other horse’s eye. You’ll need to speed up your horse to move into position. When you move your position and focus, you’ll influence your friend to turn.

When you move your horse’s shoulder to ride parallel to the other horse’s eye, she’ll feel a shift in pressure and that the forward movement is blocked. There’s nowhere to go but to turn away from the pressure at the eye.

You can practice this drive-then-turn pressure change as you ride down your arena’s long side. This is a great way to practice going down the long side without the fear of too much speed. You’ll drive the “cow” down the fence, then turn when you’re ready.

Use caution and communicate as you ride with your friend. While moving in a trot or lope, you can learn what position to move into without fearing that the cow will move into you.

Cattle Work in Real Time

With lots of practice, you’ll learn how to read and influence cattle because of your positioning. It will feel natural and you won’t have to think so much.

“Now it’s muscle memory for me,” says Crow. “I grew up on a cattle ranch, and I had the opportunity to read cattle and learn how to influence their behavior by my positioning. The more you practice, the more it becomes second nature. You can just get to the spot where you want to be instead of having to stop and process, ‘Where should I be and where do I need to be?’ By the time you process all of that, the moment is lost, and the cow has just dragged you down the arena.”

When you’re confident knowing how to move the cow forward and how to make a turn, you have the basics down. Then there are always tweaks to help you move your horse through the turn and polish your moves. But you’ll need these fundamental driving and turning skills to get started.

Special thanks to Payton Porterfield and her horse, Steps of Perfection (bay), for helping demonstrate these exercises.

Read More: Introducing Your Horses to Cattle

This article about cattle work appeared in the April 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Cattle Work 101 appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

If you haven’t worked cattle before, you may envision the fast moves seen in the movies, like stunt doubles galloping to chase a steer separated from the herd. While the fast-paced rides can be fun, introducing your horse to cattle work shouldn’t include speed or anxiety. Instead, you’ll introduce your horse slowly while both of you remain relaxed.

Trainer Gary Martinez teaches the steps to introducing your horse to cattle without speed and with a calm and relaxed method.

“Take it slow,” he says. “You don’t want to put pressure on the horse or the cattle. Your only goal is to teach your horse to be comfortable and confident in the new cattle-filled environment. It doesn’t matter what work you accomplish in the pen at first. The horse has to have the confidence to know he can stop, control and move the cow around. If your horse lacks confidence, he’ll never be willing to step in front of the cow to stop him. You have to introduce the horse slowly to build his confidence so that you can one day add speed.”

Prep Work Before Introducing Your Horse to Cattle

Before your horse is ready for cow work, he must have a good stop, stand and turn. Take the time necessary to work on these skills before allowing your horse to approach cattle.

Martinez say you should be able to easily stop and back up without pulling excessively on the reins. Your horse should also know how to stand still in any environment. If a cow stops and stands, your horse must be able to stand, too.

Finally, your horse should know how to perform a rollback by shifting his weight back and moving his front legs around to change direction quickly.

Cattle Smarts

Before introducing your horse to cattle, be sure to work with a cattle pro to help make sure you introduce your horse to the right size and type of cattle. Start with only three or four cattle in a pen so that your horse isn’t overwhelmed.

If the cattle haven’t seen horses before, you won’t need to approach them closely to get them to move. If they’ve been used for cow work over and over, you may have to get closer to move them.

A New Rider

If you and your horse are both new to cattle work, consider asking a pro to get on and see how your horse reacts to the cattle. With a calm rider leading the way, your horse will more likely stay slow and quiet.

Take a lesson on a tried-and-true cow horse to learn what it feels like to ride a horse that will stay in control around the cattle. Set yourself up to feel confident and know that you’re in control. This helps you know what is involved in introducing your horse to cattle.

Martinez says that a finished cow horse should be responsive but not overly sensitive.

“He should do what I want when I want it, but he shouldn’t jump to the side if I use leg pressure,” he says. “The cow dictates the movements of the horse. If the cow jumps quickly to the side, a finished cow horse should move quickly, too. However, I don’t want my horse to jump if there’s no need. When I put a leg on a horse, I don’t want him to step off fast; I want him to step off and build up speed. If you get on a finished cow horse, you’ll feel that the horse is willing to stay quiet and relaxed. The misconception of thinking a cow horse will be hot and jittery goes away.”

Working Near the Herd

Make sure your horse is outfitted in a snaffle bit so that you can ride with two hands. You may choose to add a martingale for added control and to help remind your horse to keep his head down and relaxed.

While the cattle wait at one end of the arena, ignore them and warm up as you usually would. You’ll get your horse’s attention on you and show him that you are in control and the one to focus on no matter what else is close by.

Stop, back up, walk, trot and canter in both directions. Work slowly and stay relaxed. You’ll show your horse that he can follow your direction near the cattle.

Walk Up

Walk toward the herd in a slow, relaxed manner. Your only goal is to push the cattle around slowly. If the cattle want to trot a little, you can trot, too. Stop your horse and back up—just to make sure you still have control near the cattle.

if you and your horse are both new to cattle work, consider asking a pro to get on and see how your horse reacts to cattle.

If at any time your horse gets nervous, high-headed or jittery, redirect his attention. Ask him to turn around, walk away, or go work on another maneuver. You don’t have to stay focused on the cattle.

If your horse doesn’t want to get near the cattle at all, ask a friend (with a confident cow horse) to ride with you. When your friend rides with you, your horse will gain confidence and learn that he can approach just like the seasoned horse can.

Make sure your horse stays straight and moves in the straight line you pick out. Don’t allow him to move from right to left without authorization. Keep pushing the cattle around the arena while working at a relaxed, walking pace.

As the cattle settle and your horse gets more used to the new environment, you may be able to move closer to the herd. Approach more closely than you did as you first walked up and notice your horse’s reaction. If you need to stop or move away, that’s OK.

Keep in mind that it’s OK to walk around the herd and push it around for an entire session. If your horse is worried, it’s fine to leave it at that for your first day without moving on to the next step. You may just push the herd around for a half an hour and be done.

If your horse is relaxed and interested in the cattle (and continuously follows your directional cues), you can move on to the next step.

Pick One

Next, you’ll help your horse learn that he can move a cow away from the herd. He’ll gain confidence moving closer to the cows and he’ll learn that he can be between the herd and a single cow.

Ride toward the edge of the herd and see if one cow “peels off” easily. Don’t target one specific cow, you’ll just see which one is ready to leave the herd. Sort one off and ride a circle around the other cows to keep one away. You may work at the walk or trot.

If the cow moves away from the herd and adds speed, stay close to the herd and give the cow some work. When you keep your distance, you can maintain a slow gait without having to chase it. If you get close to the cow, he may move faster and your green horse won’t be ready for the speed.

Take a Break

If your horse gets excited, redirect his attention. Take him away from the cow and canter a few nice, controlled circles. Do something else if you’re getting nervous. Take a break, then return to work as many times as you need to keep your horse relaxed and focused on you.

Remember, there is no pressure. This is about teaching you and your horse to approach a cow. If you have to leave the cow and go lope circles for 10 minutes, that’s OK. Keep your cow work session to 20 to 25 minutes.

That doesn’t mean that your riding session is that short, but you only need to do 10 minutes of warm up, work cows for 10 minutes, work on maneuvers for 10 minutes, then
approach the cattle again.

Remember there is no pressure. this is about teaching you and your horse to approach a cow. If you have to leave the cow and go lope circles for 10 minutes, that’s ok.

“We don’t want to work our horses or our cattle too much,” Martinez says. “For my finished horses, I may go work one cow and be done with cattle work after four minutes and continue our workout doing other maneuvers. If I got the response I wanted, I don’t need to drill. I want to keep my horse interested and calm instead of pushing.”

Thanks to Gary Martinez for demonstrating these moves with a first-time cow horse, 4-year-old Half-Arabian GCA Smart Headlines.

This article on introducing your horse to cattle originally appeared in the August 2019 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

Further Reader

• Box Me In: How to Box a Cow
• Western Lesson: Cutting Challenge
• Test Ride a Cutting Horse

The post Introducing Your Horse to Cattle appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.