Went to cutting clinic on Sunday 22-4-012 as a guest of Garry Cooper the cutting horse trainer. Wow - learnt heaps. The cutting clinic being run by Garry Cooper was at Lac la Biche which is further north than Clandonald, so there was still ice and snow and a lot more trees. The arena, owned by Collette and Albert Bensen was amazing. A huge indoor area complete with cattle yards, stables, cafeteria/bar and more. When I arrived Garry let me ride his horse, Cashew. He was a very nice hoss!! It was the first time I had ever ridden in a cutting saddle and it took a little getting used to - none of that High English trot - thanks for the heads up Paul. It took me a while just to sit low and bounce. My bum was sore for two days afterwards! Here is a few things I learnt: • Cashew liked to flick his tail – to show his enjoyment and excitement. There was nothing malicious or contrary about it but it annoyed Garry - his horses are extremely well disciplined - I never saw him hit one or do anything aggressive – he didn’t have to. • The whole cutting/riding thing is based around sitting low in the saddle -it can't really be done in a stock saddle. These cutting saddles were deep and the horses are trained to feel pressure from the horn - like a joy stick - forward - backward. Being so low in saddle also changes how I ride and where I put my feet = spur positioning. (Not that I had spurs) • Towards the end of the day they had some team penning practice. No horses left for me so I had to watch. There was a lady there who was as good or better than anyone I've seen - She would walk into the herd real slow - body completely relaxed so her horse was relaxed – that kept the calves relaxed. Then she would alternate her attention between the shoulder and hip of the calf to cut it out of the herd. By focusing on the hip and shoulder she could change the direction of the calf - hip turns them inside - shoulder turns them away. Of course she swapped sides according to the herd reaction. Once the calf saw an opening and left the herd she would follow at speed. Once clear she would slide to a stop, roll back and walk back into the herd - She cut three calves from a sticky, sour herd in less than 30 seconds. Her team mates just watched. Pretty amazing! • Another thing that Garry did was what I think he called double tracking. He ran one calf into the arena - and then the rider would chase the calf and stay on the outside, turning the hip and turning the shoulder, keeping the calf running around in a wide circle. Eventually they would change direction - ride to the head- slide stop and roll back. Then they would finish the exercise by running the calf against the fence - ride to the head = ride to the stop. Calf stops -wait - calf turns 'let the cow lead you'- roll back and go again. By using one calf in this way everybody got a lot of goes. At the end when they refused to run they would just swap them for one who would. • Wyatt had a 6 year old $25,000 horse. Wow! It was an eye dog! Head down - legs splayed ready - backing up to relieve pressure - one foot cocked ready to go - just like a dog with the 'eye'. Can't train that. Cashew had the eye but Garry said he rarely backs away he is all go. He likes his horse placid because he said I can always make them go! (Cashew is the best horse I've ever sat on). Flicking his tail occasionally was a sign that he was too restless - too pushy - which is why he would never back off the cow – actually he did a couple of times but not enough for the boss! I guess if you set the bar for correct behaviour that high - as in - be completely placid and sleepy until you're within a meter of a cow - then your expectations for performance become as high as well. It also meant that, when Cashew was used for cutting calves from the herd he was placid and calm - ridden with hands high - it wasn't until he was out of the herd - hands come down - that he was allowed to go! We went for a trail ride. The Bensens have a buffalo rock. A huge rock sitting up out of the field that buffalos would rub themselves against to scratch away their winter coats. The rock was warn smooth! Now I guess cows use it for the same reason. |