How to Train a Horse to Cut
Cutting is a popular equine sport event. This is where a horse and rider try to separate one animal from the rest of the herd, and keep it separated for a short amount of time. Training your horse to cut depends a great deal on whether your horse has the natural ability to cut.
- Turn your horse out in a ring or indoor arena with a few cattle.
- Watch your horse for his reaction. This will help you gauge his natural ability. Many times the horse will start working the cattle on its own.
- Work your horse on serpentines and circles. This helps to teach the horse how to bend and make tight turns. Working serpentines and circles also exercises the hindquarters to develop muscles and strengthen them.
- Choose another rider to partner with you in the ring or indoor arena. Mirror their movements to get used to tracking movements. Have the other rider, on their own horse, ride around the ring doing random moves. Follow their moves, turning when they turn and changing direction when they do. This will help your horse get the feel of cutting. Do this with different riding partners for variety in training.
- Introduce your horse to cattle again, but this time slowly and with more focus on cutting. Bring two or three cows into the ring or indoor arena. Make sure the ring you are working in is small at first. This helps to limit the area that the cattle will be running in. It will allow you to be more concentrated on cutting rather than chasing the cattle.
- Mount your horse, and select a cow to separate from the others. Work with the natural ability of your horse. The ultimate goal of cutting is to let the horse naturally do the work.