Cosca Livestock Barrel Horses

On The Back Side of a Long Career

Today with all the technological advancements horse trainer’s can use, I still find that most horses still respond best when they are taught the key fundamentals that have been making successful competitors excel for generations. Basic mistakes keep some cowgirls from achieving their best runs. In most cases, successful rides have to start out with correct training fundamentals from the start, to make a successful competition horse.

The tried and true basics that have been proven over time still work with most colts today. We have video and slow motion, safety gear and so forth so you might think that today’s competitor might be progressing at a faster pace. I find that most trainer's have skipped the fundamentals that make a successful rodeo horse.

Rather than fixing a mistake after it becomes a problem, it would be better if the horse trainer would teach more fundamentals before taking his horse to the next level. Remember we are working with an athletic four legged animal that weighs over a thousand pounds and one flaw can manifest itself into a big problem. I hope that the legacy I leave behind will demonstrate that my passion for the ranching lifestyle and the foresight of the previous generations of rodeo cowgirls have instilled in me over the years will continue building great barrel horses and a strong training program.

I teach structure to my futurity colts with actions outside the arena. "Good old ranch work,"including steep hills, cattle drives, corral work and calf brandings at two and three years of age. These practices cement all the basic fundamental training techniques that help train barrel racing and rope horses. Therefore I have also taught the horse to use his mind, using correct body position and careful use and control of the horse's body. The horse is then learning how to use his hips, rib cage, shoulder and leg placement. This knowledge will also be entrenched when he is then asked to react while in motion and then how to react when asked to step up their speed.

The fundamentals that I teach my barrel racing colts and older horses make them competent to respond to my hand, leg and body cues that help to develop our partnership. The partnership between your horse’s alliances will be made both stronger when we collaborate in a team effort to form our secure relationship. More than that, I appreciate the fact that my colts listen, soften for my cues and collect themselves.

This is a partnership and often time’s horsemen do not respond to the warning signs that indicate there is a problem. Our four legged friend often give us sign, hints, that it is time to go back-off and practice your fundamentals again. I make the most progress when I give them a job that they love to do. Then listen to them, soon they are saying, "I got this" and you just let them perform and get out of their way.

Not all my trained horses are going to be able to perform at the elite Pro-Rodeo Barrel Racing level. The perfect solution is to make sure my trained horses have no problems, they understand and have a good start to become the best that they can be. I prefer knowing that my horses can adjust to a second career and become great rope, sorting and ranch horses.