Starting Your Horse on Cows

by Mark Goss

Part One - Getting Started

First, a disclaimer. This article is only my personal opinion on how to get your horse started on cows in the least dangerous and least stressful way. I do not claim to be a professional horse trainer, however, I have started a bunch of young and old horses with this method and they seem to have worked out okay.

Equipment: I always use a snaffle bit while starting horses on cows. Many times as we get excited with our horses around the cow we tend to get a little “heavy-handed”, the snaffle keeps us from being too hard on the horse’s mouth.

I also use “Mecate” reins and slobber leathers. I feel that this arrangement allows me more control over my reins; I can’t lose them very easily. The slobber leathers give the horse quicker and better signals.

It goes without saying that my preferred saddle is a western saddle with horn. Better to grab on to if things get western. I also have a rope (lariat) tied onto the saddle to use as a night-latch, but a dog collar through the gullet is just as effective. It gives you something to grab onto if you feel insecure during quick movements of the horse.

I wear spurs, but if you are not familiar with their PROPER use, then I would suggest that you do not wear them. Spurs are not to get your horse to go faster or to punish your horse, they are to make your cues more subtle. Many times in the heat of the cow work a rider will tend to grab the horse with their heels and having spurs on does not make the horse happy.

Safety: The most important consideration in any type of riding is safety. One of the things I consider when riding any time, but most importantly when we get a horse among cows for the first time, is proper apparel.

First, boots. Only wear boots that have slick soles and are pull-on. Do not wear lace up packer style boots or the cool Ariat ankle high riding shoe, and never, never wear walking or running shoes. If you ever come unglued from your saddle and your foot is caught in the stirrup you will definitely want your boot to slip out or slip off. Running shoes and the Ariats are designed to grip the ground and they will grip the stirrup. Lace up boots and shoes will not pull off with your foot stuck tight, pull-ons will.

Hats. Well, I sure do suggest that you wear an approved riding helmet. It is up to you, but, it is better to be safe than fashionable.

How about clothes? I am a slave to fashion. Looking “punchy” is a big part of the cow horse deal in my opinion. So, no short sleeves, no loose garments. Vests and scarves should be tight to the body and your vest should be snapped if possible. The concern here is that if the horse acts up you do not want your clothes to catch on the saddle horn. Pants should be good old Wranglers or Levis, sissy riding pants or tights need not apply.

I always wear chinks. For those who don’t know them, they are short chaps, coming down just below the knee. I highly suggest that you wear some chaps or chinks. They make like Velcro with the saddle. They also keep your Wranglers clean and their cool factor is high. Big batwing chaps just get in your way and you can’t walk in them, so avoid them. An aside, chaps is pronounced “shaps”, saying “chaps” marks one as a dude.

I also always have a knife on me (me, not my saddle) that is readily available and quick to get into action. You never can tell when the horse will get wrapped up in a rope or lead rope and a knife might save both of you.

Never, repeat, Never, do this deal alone. Always have someone else with you, preferably someone experienced and with an experienced horse. One time I thought I would put a horse on cows for the first time by myself while the rest of the group went off for lunch. No problem, I have done this before. Well, I should have thought the deal out because when I turned that horse toward the calf and asked him to move forward he charged off wanting to eat the cow. Good deal. The bad deal was that the cinch was not tight enough for 10g turns and on the first full speed turn the saddle spun and I did a face plant in the sand. Fortunately, I did not get hurt, but if I had been hurt I would have been in a bad place.

Horse Preparation: Now that we are properly turned out in our buckaroo gear, we need to be sure our horse is ready to get in the pen with that cow.

Your horse needs to be broke. That sounds pretty elementary, huh? But, many times I have seen horses that people said were broke that when faced with this cow work proved otherwise. You should have control of your horse’s feet and mind.

That means that you should be able to have your horse move in a straight line while arced. Shoulder out, nose tipped in, and moving forward. The horse should also be able to two-track or move at the diagonal while the body is straight, feet crossing ahead.

Your horse should also be able to turn on the rear without moving the rear feet in a circle. No coke bottle turns allowed. Of course the horse has to back and back with power.

But your horse does not have to operate like Smart Little Lena to work cows. And for the introduction they just have to be pretty handy with their feet. You will be surprised to see how much handier they get once they start to work the cows and understand their job.

Where we gonna do this? You need to be sure the introduction is done in a safe enclosed area. I suggest nothing smaller than a 60 foot round pen and nothing bigger than 100 ft round pen. It is best to not have 90 degree corners. If you are using an arena that has square corners you can fix it up by placing panels in the corners to round them out. Be sure to get them secure. Round corners do not allow the cow or the horse to get trapped. Round corners keep the cow moving.

Another consideration is footing. Be sure that your footing is not slippery or rocky. Horses tend to make some quick moves when they get around cows and you don’t want to go down and hurt either of you.

Cows: You will need only one cow for this deal. The cow should have no horns, be under 500 lbs, and preferably not been around a lot of horses. A spoiled cow that will not move away from a horse will be a waste of time. The cow has to be able to be moved easily for this lesson to be effective.

One thing to consider is whether the cow is stressed at being alone. If so, put another in the pen with it. Sometimes they are like horses that way, they are more settled when there is a friend.

First Time: There aren’t many rules for this game, but there are three “laws” that I go by. The first law says, at no time do I let my horse turn his tail to the cow, unless I have pulled him off the cow. The horse NEVER gets to turn his tail to the cow. The second law says I must be focused on the cow if I expect the horse to focus on the cow, so I am always looking at the cow when asking the horse to focus, even if it means looking over my shoulder and behind my horse. The third rule says the horse always turns on the rear when in the cow pen. He is never allowed to turn on the front or make a coke bottle turn, EVER. An example of these three laws - If the cow moves off to your right and your horse doesn’t move quickly enough to stay up with the cow and the cow ends up on your left; you must look to your right, ask the horse to turn on the rear and to the right and follow the cow around to the right, even if the cow is next to you on the left.

Okay, we are ready to show the horse a cow. My preferred way is to place the cow in the pen and have the horse watch it for a little while from the other side of the fence. Maybe a couple minutes while we get ready.

I ask an experienced person on an experienced horse to go in the pen first, but not to move the cow, just stand there. I bring my horse in and we just stand there. While we are standing in the pen I ask the horse to face the cow and watch it. If the horse looks away, I use my legs and reins to ask him to look at the cow. Any time the horse is facing and looking at the cow I have a slack rein and sit calmly. If he looks away, I make the correction and give him slack as soon as he looks at the cow. I also pet him on the mane. (I don’t like to pat, but prefer to stroke, just me, but watch horses together and you don’t see friendly pats. You do see friendly strokes or licks.)

As soon as the horse settles into watching the cow, I ask the other rider to approach the cow very slowly and from the rear. As his horse moves off I fall in behind. This gives my horse confidence and a buffer between himself and that mean old cow. As the other horse closes in on the cow, the rider should go as slowly as possible. We do not want the cow to spurt away. We want the cow to turn and walk slowly away.

Here is a good place to mention the “bubble”. Most cows have a bubble around them that they won’t let a horse into. Some are a quarter mile across and some are a quarter inch. Hopefully, your cow has one about ten to fifteen feet across. When the horse bumps into the edge of the bubble the cow moves until the horse is out of the bubble. The cow will move faster to get the horse out of the bubble if the horse is moving fast to get into the bubble. Think about sticking your finger into a rubber ball. If you do it slowly the ball moves away slowly. If you do it fast the ball bounces away with force. When we ask the cow to move, the direction it moves is determined, to a great degree, by where we push on it. For this lesson we want to push on the rear end. So we aim the horse’s nose and energy and our attention to the rear quarter and from the rear.

We want the cow to move away slowly so we approach them slowly. As the other rider starts to move the cow I want him to move it around the pen fairly close to the fence. I don’t want the cow cutting across the pen at angles, just screws up the lesson. As the cow starts to move away from the other rider, I move my horse to the side, but still behind, so that he can watch the cow move away. We make a couple of trips around the pen slowly moving the cow with the other horse. All during this trip I am constantly making sure he is watching the cow and giving him strokes and walking on a loose rein. Now we stop and let the horse think about this deal a little. He has seen the cow and he has seen that the other horse can move it. He has not been threatened by the cow and he has been praised for moving along with the other horse, so he is feeling pretty good about this whole thing right now. And while we rest and he thinks it over, we continue to ask him to focus on the cow. The cow should stand pretty quiet.

After a couple minutes I ask the other rider to move the cow again. This time I ask my horse for a bit more go. I ask him to walk along side the other horse with his nose about even with the stirrup. Then when my horse shows that he is not afraid of the cow, I ask the other rider to fall back slowly. I want my horse to be in front of the other but have the other for confidence. I make a couple rounds like this and then ask the horse to stop and take a break. I move him out of the pen for a while.

It is very important that at this time when you ask your horse to quit the cow you ask him to stop while the cow is moving and watch the cow. Then pet the horse and tell him he is a good boy. As soon as the cow looks away from the horse, ask the horse to back a couple steps, then turn and walk away. That way the horse believes the cow has shown the proper respect and deferred to the horse’s obvious superior position in life.

Let the horse soak on his accomplishment for a while or you could put him up for the day now if you like. However, if he just sits there for fifteen or twenty minutes, he can go back in fresh and knowing what he wants to do.

When we go back in I ask the other rider to enter first again. I bring in my horse and focus him on the cow again. Here is a good time to talk about that focus. Watch your horse’s ears, they tell you where his mind is. If one is toward the cow and one toward you, hey, we are getting somewhere. If both ears are pointed at the cow, he is focused. If they are pointed toward the other horse or somewhere else, he needs help, work with your legs and reins to get his ears pointed at the cow. Be patient, and don’t be harsh. Often a little jiggle of your legs will bring him back to the cow, no need to harpoon him with a spur.

Okay, now we are back in the pen and focused on the cow. I ask the other rider to stay put and ask my horse to go toward the cow’s rear. I do what it takes to keep his nose pointed where I am looking and him moving straight between my legs and hands and straight at the cow. If your horse is very hesitant at this point just let the other rider start the cow moving again and let your horse take over again. Remember: to go slow is to go fast.

When my horse moves willingly toward the cow I quit pushing and just ride. At this point if he is locked onto the cow the best thing to do is let him do his thing. If he rushes the cow you have to let it happen, hold on and pet him profusely. Do not try to slow him down or jerk on his mouth. That action will tell him going after that cow is not right. You want him to be enthusiastic about this cow business. We can clean up the speed later, let’s let him want that cow right now. So, you have to have a good seat and not get in his way. Sit centered and if necessary, just hold onto the saddle cantle and ride it out, it will be fun. But, please whatever you do, do not stop that horse unless you are going to suffer imminent death.

After the horse has moved the cow around for a couple turns of the pen, ask him to slow just a bit and then ask him to stop, but be easy, he has just discovered a new toy and he won’t want to quit. Again let him soak for a couple minutes then ask the other rider to leave the pen and do it over again.

If your horse has moved slowly, but stayed focused on the cow that is good. If, however, he has tried to turn away from, or walks by the cow, you need to “hang him on the rein”, that is, just hold the rein up and out to the side toward the cow so that the horse feels pressure to turn toward the cow. Do not pull on the rein to turn the horse, just hold pressure on the rein until he is facing the cow, then release the pressure and pet him. Continue to use this method to keep the horse’s attention on the cow.

Most all the horses I have observed doing this method have been willing to engage the cow right off. There are horses that are afraid of cows and will take a bit longer to get the confidence necessary to push the cow. And to the other extreme there are horses that will charge off on the first opportunity and try to bite the cow.

Once you have the horse willingly moving the cow, you have to regulate the speed at which you allow the horse to work. Initially, let the cow dictate the speed. That is, if the cow moves off at a trot ask your horse to trot, if the cow picks up a lope ask your horse to lope. Don’t force the cow to move faster right now. Get the horse used to reacting to the cow’s change in speed by matching that speed. During this phase, give the horse some short rest periods to think about this deal. When the horse moves with the cow readily, then you can ask the horse to move the cow at different speeds that you dictate.

I usually stop my first day’s work right here. The horse has learned the cow is afraid of him and knows he is the boss, so I let him think about that overnight.

The Second Day: Go back and repeat your last exercise. Make it only a couple turns around the pen, but be sure the horse is still willing and focused. You will be surprised at how much better he is the second day after a night to think about what he did.

Now I ask my horse to move specific parts of the cow. I ask the horse to step into the eye, then shoulder, then ribs, then rear quarter, and then tail. This will tell me that he is not afraid and it will tell him that there is more to this cow business than chasing it around in circles.

The cow has the same type of drive line as the horse. If you push on the eye the head will turn, so we need to play with that. I ask my horse to approach the cow from different angles and at different parts of the body to understand those drive lines. Once we have that concept down we need to try to use that drive line and the angles to get the cow to move where we want at the speed we want.

And speaking of speed of movement, I am a firm believer in moving the cow at a slow speed. No need to run him around all the time, nothing gets accomplished if you are chasing the cow. He will never go through a gate at 30 mph, he’ll only turn away. Cattle handling is an art. You have to think like the cow’s owner. How do you want your cows handled? Like team ropers or nice and slow. The faster that cow runs, the more weight they lose and pounds equals dollars in the cow business. So, we move the cow slow, the horse doesn’t have to work as hard, you don’t get sweaty, and life is good.

You might be wondering why I said earlier that your horse should be able to move forward while arced. Well, here it is. My next step is to ask the horse to move the cow forward from behind, then ask him to walk up on the inside of the cow and stop the cow. To do this correctly, the horse has to be arced away from the cow with his nose tipped in toward the cow. As the horse walks forward it will be your job to determine if you are far enough away to not push more speed into the cow. If your cow speeds up you need to yield away from the cow. To do this keep your horse arced and apply “cow side leg” and push your horse at a diagonal away from the cow. This relieves the pressure on the cow and should slow him down. So right here we just used our shoulder out and two track, cool.

When you ask the horse to move ahead of the cow you must be sure to keep his nose tipped toward the cow. When the cow stops, you stop. Don’t go one step further. If you do, the cow will turn and go back the other way and you will have lost your cow.

Now when I have the cow stopped, I ask the horse to turn on his rear toward the cow’s eye. He should finish up pointed at the cow’s eye. There is a good chance that right here the cow will turn and move away from the horse. That is okay, but if not, just ask the horse to step toward the eye and then move the cow as you did coming the other way. By the way, did that last turn look a little like a roll-back? And can you see that if your horse does a coke bottle turn here the cow will be way ahead of you and out of your control?

Do this exercise until you are confident the horse understands what the deal is. It could take a few sessions.

Once you have the ability to move the cow where you want using your focus and your horse’s energy toward the cow; and you can stop the cow with your horse, you are pretty well done with the introductory lessons. You should now be able to go out and do a job with cows.

There are a few things to remember:

• Be safe, you can always go back and start over
• Go Slow to go Fast
• Be sure you and your horse have every move down pat before you go to the next move
• Stay out of your horse's mouth, be soft handed and soft minded
• Stay centered in the saddle, keep you feet under you, stay our of your horse's way
• When the horse does it right, or even tries to do it right, reward him with praise
• The horse often doesn't know exactly what you want, don't get too big with him, let him figure it our, and he will learn quicker

I feel confident that once you try this method, your horse will be a confident cow horse and you will find out there is a much more enjoyable way to ride your horse than in circles and straight lines.