Cow Work, Starting Horses on Cattle

Q: What does a colt need before cow work?

Per Richard Winters: body control. A colt who can yield head and neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hindquarters on cue can be positioned correctly relative to a cow. Without that vocabulary, cow work becomes a reactive scramble instead of a directed conversation.

Q: How do you start a colt that's afraid of cattle?

Per Richard Winters: "follow the leader" with one cow in a pen, trotting up behind and tracking wherever the cow goes. The cow moves away, the colt becomes braver. Within days, most colts shift from cautious to curious as cow magnetism takes hold.

Q: What's "cow sense" and how do you find it?

Per Richard Winters: it's the bred-in interest in tracking, anticipating, and controlling a cow's movement. Not every horse has equal cow sense, but it shows up early in tracking exercises—you'll feel the cow start to pull the colt along, like a magnetic field. That's the moment to encourage it.

Q: Should every Quarter Horse do cow work?

Per Richard Winters: most benefit from exposure even if cow work isn't their career. Cow work develops responsiveness, athleticism, and confidence. Horses bound for trail, ranch, or general performance gain useful skills from a few months of cattle work.

Q: What's the biggest beginner mistake in cow work?

Per Richard Winters: rushing. Pushing a colt into competition-level cow work before body control is solid creates a scrambling, ducking, motorboat horse who can't hold a cow. Slow tracking work in a controlled pen is the foundation that makes the rest possible.

Want the horse-owner take on Cow Work, Starting Horses on cattle from people who actually live it?

Starting Horses on Cow Work

Down The Fence with Richard Winters This last month started a brand new chapter in Rocky, our two year old Quarter Horse stallion’s life. by Richard Winters Horsemanship

We’ve spent the last thirty days introducing this colt to cow working. There are a few things that are important for my colts to understand before we ever step into the cow pen. What I need most of all is body control. Working a cow is all about position. I’ve spent these last few months developing maneuverability in Rocky’s head and neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hind quarters. With this ability I can show Rocky how to relate to the cows movements using proper body posture and movement. If you can move their body and keep them soft in the face it makes this “extra-curricular” activity much easier.

Following ' Playing Follow the Leader begins to build confidence and create interest in a colts mind.

For the first two or three days of cow work we simply played “follow the leader.” With one cow in the pen I trotted up behind it and tracked it wherever it went. Every horse is different. Some react to the cow in a bold manner while others are timid or scared. Rocky was a little frightened at first. That’s when tracking cattle can be beneficial. Your colt will get braver and bolder as he realizes that the cow constantly moves away.

We’re also trying to generate some interest and curiosity in our colts mind in regard to cattle. This is when you look for signs of that natural cow sense that Quarter Horses are bred for. It doesn’t take long before you feel the cow begin to pull your colt along and he’ll begin to show some expression and interest on a cow.

As Rocky got braver he started to get a little aggressive.

Turning, Rocky is making a good quality turn for a Kindergartner.

Lunging at the cow or biting at the cow is not something I want to encourage or even allow. Point penalties are assessed in competition if a horse strikes at or bites a cow. If this happens in the practice pen I’ll stop, back up, and then start again. They need to understand that this kind of behavior is not part of cow working. As you play this game, direct your horse as much as necessary but try to do as little as possible to keep your colt following. Two much reining won’t allow your colt to “hook up” to the cows. I will also try to follow the exact same flight path as the cow. In other words, not cutting corners.

Look in, Every time I stop, I want Rocky to look in to the cow.

The next step in this progression is to drift out along-side the cow until you are parallel with it and then stop when the cow stops. I’ve just penned the most important sentence in this entire article. Stop When The Cow Stops. This is the paramount concept my colt needs to understand. Sure, he’ll need to learn about turning and going with the cow, but first and foremost he needs to stop every time the cow stops, turns, or moves directly away. Your colt will never learn to turn with a cow correctly if he doesn’t first get stopped.

At this stage of the game, quiet slow cattle are best. Fast, hard running cattle will not allow my colt to learn or gain confidence. They’ll simply get him worried and scared and he’ll dread these cattle working sessions.

As you begin to mirror the cows’ movements and stay parallel to the cow, the type of pen you’re in can make a big difference. A square or round pen between 100 and 150 feet across is ideal for starting young horses on cattle. By keeping the cow between you and the fence, your colt only has to travel half the distance to stay parallel to the cow. At this stage I don’t try to “hold” the cow on one fence line. As the cow drifts around the pen I can use my rein and leg closest to the cow to fade away and still stay even with the cow no matter where it goes. This technique helps a young horse build confidence in working cattle because you can take the pressure off the cow yet never lose your working advantage.

Backing, By backing before the turn I load up his hind end.

During this time I’m beginning to teach Rocky how to stop, back, and then turn with the cow. By backing before the turn I “load up” his hind end and help him prepare to roll over his hocks when he turns. This is when the foundation of body control really begins to pay off. Even if the cow quickly turns and goes the other way, there is no rush for me to turn if it means it would be an improper turn. Since I’m in the middle of the pen it’s always easy for me to catch up. After I’ve helped my colt make the proper turn, I can then get parallel to the cow again.

These first few weeks of cattle work are all about confidence building, proper body position and generating interest in Rocky’s mind toward cows.

Rocky will now work cattle on a regular basis. All the while we’ll be working on his reining as well. The best thing about cow work is that it gives a practical application to all the reining training that we do. Our horses will appreciate it and have better attitudes when they have a practical job for all the principles they’ve been learning.

For more information about Richard Winters Horsemanship please go to wintersranch.com.

Key Article Takeaways

Per Richard Winters: body control is non-negotiable before a colt ever steps into the cow pen.
Maneuverability through head, neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hindquarters drives cow work.
Day 1–3: "follow the leader"—track a single cow, build curiosity, let the horse discover cow magnetism.
Some colts come in bold; others timid—tracking lets them gain bravery as the cow moves away.
Quarter Horses are bred for cow sense; the trainer's job is to surface it gently, not force it.

Questions readers commonly ask:

What does a colt need before cow work?

Per Richard Winters: body control. A colt who can yield head and neck, shoulders, rib cage, and hindquarters on cue can be positioned correctly relative to a cow. Without that vocabulary, cow work becomes a reactive scramble instead of a directed conversation.

How do you start a colt that's afraid of cattle?

Per Richard Winters: "follow the leader" with one cow in a pen, trotting up behind and tracking wherever the cow goes. The cow moves away, the colt becomes braver. Within days, most colts shift from cautious to curious as cow magnetism takes hold.

What's "cow sense" and how do you find it?

Per Richard Winters: it's the bred-in interest in tracking, anticipating, and controlling a cow's movement. Not every horse has equal cow sense, but it shows up early in tracking exercises—you'll feel the cow start to pull the colt along, like a magnetic field. That's the moment to encourage it.

Should every Quarter Horse do cow work?

Per Richard Winters: most benefit from exposure even if cow work isn't their career. Cow work develops responsiveness, athleticism, and confidence. Horses bound for trail, ranch, or general performance gain useful skills from a few months of cattle work.

What's the biggest beginner mistake in cow work?

Per Richard Winters: rushing. Pushing a colt into competition-level cow work before body control is solid creates a scrambling, ducking, motorboat horse who can't hold a cow. Slow tracking work in a controlled pen is the foundation that makes the rest possible.