Getting The Most Out of Slow Cows

Working fresh, feely cows is the ideal situation. Unfortunately, that ideal situation is hard to come by. We work on all the skills that we use in the show pen~ using our dull cows.

There are times when we have a dull cow in the show pen, especially in ranch versatility shows. When I judge shows, I see a lot of riders waiting for the cow to move so they can work it. Then the cow tricks them and outruns them. They are playing defense as if they are in a cutting class. Essentially, the cow is calling the shots and is in control.

In my program for the cow work, we learn to control our cow right when it enters the arena, and set up our run. We spend a lot of time on position and control.

My goals for my clients:

• Learning to rate, turn, read the cow’s intentions.

• Know how to release a cow to stay safe.

• Build skills and feel until they are confident enough to set up their pattern based on reading the cow’s intentions.

• Be able to control their cow and give it zero time to think up tricky ideas.

Neva and Breeze

AJ and Jose. This is their first time working a cow with turns.

I took AJ’s sorry cow and did a practice fence run. This is Tiana’s first fence run.