Making A Cow Horse Turn

Q: Why must the horse stop before turning on a cow?

Per Richard Winters: without a stop, the horse swings around like a motorboat—wide, slow, and late. By the time he's turned, the cow has gained ground and the rider is pointed at the cow's rear, driving it away rather than holding it. Stop, then turn, puts the horse in position to control the cow.

Q: How do I teach this to a green horse?

Per Richard Winters: create scenarios slow enough for the horse to think through. Walk and trot work on a flag (mechanical cow) lets the horse learn the timing without the chaos of live cattle. Trainers who want it done right spend many hours on slow setups before showing.

Q: Why isn't a team penning a good place to learn this?

Per Richard Winters: live cattle move fast, and the rider's focus shifts from teaching to surviving. Mistakes get rewarded by accidental success, and the horse learns sloppy patterns that show up later when precision matters. Build the foundation in controlled work, then go penning to confirm it.

Q: What tells me my horse is using his hindquarters correctly?

Per Richard Winters: he sits on his hocks during the stop, his front end is light enough to swing through the turn, and he comes out of the turn already balanced and ready to drive. A horse turning on the forehand can't accelerate; a horse turning over the hindquarters can.

Q: Can I do this on any breed of horse?

Per Richard Winters: any well-bred ranch horse with willingness, athleticism, and reasonable cow sense can learn the turn. Quarter Horses with cow breeding are the standard, but Paints, Appaloosas, and many other ranch-bred horses do this work daily. Breed matters less than training and partnership.

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Making A Cow Horse Turn

Working and handling cattle with your horse is exciting, fun and challenging. With Richard Winters

Many riders enjoy cutting, reined cow horses, sorting, penning or simply working cattle out on the ranch. Regardless of the particular activity, your horse needs to make a particular cow horse move when turning with the cow in order to be effective. Let's talk about the particular elements of the cow horse turn that you and your equine partner need to know.

1 You've got to stop before you turn

One of the most common mistakes that a novice horse and rider make is not stopping before they turn. If you are moving across the pen parallel to the cow and suddenly the cow switches directions, your horse must first stop before doing anything else. If you fail to stop, your horse will make a big swinging turn with his whole body like a motorboat out on the lake. Your horse will not be using his hind end and will no doubt be late when coming back to the cow. At this point, the rider is actually pointed towards the cows’ rear end and is driving the cow farther away rather than being in the proper position to hold and stop the cow.

This is why it is important to create scenarios for a green horse that will give him time to think through the process and position his body correctly. It's been my experience that Saturday morning at the local team penning is not the ideal place to teach this maneuver! Trainers who want to teach their horses correctly spend a lot of time in a square or round pan with a single cow where they can take a lot of time and not over pressurize the situation. A mechanical cow or "flag" is also ideal to teach your horse the footwork, cadence and muscle memory necessary for a proper cow horse turn. Without the variable of an unpredictable cow this can really support your horse and accelerate the learning process.

2 Draw back

Initiate the turn with direct rein, neck rein and outside leg.

To properly teach a cow horse turn, a horse needs to "load up" on his hind end before the turn. This is accomplished by backing the horse up a few steps before initiating the turn. This is similar to compressing a steel spring so that it can then expand and release its energy when released. When you back your horse properly, you're compressing his body and putting energy on his hind end. He is then in a position to push off when executing the turn.

By drawing back before you turn will help your horse get off his front end. This is also a good opportunity to make sure that he is soft in his face and is not pulling on you during the stop. As your horse progresses you will not necessarily back up every time you stop with the cow. However through much repetition, your horse will have the muscle memory to rock back on his hind end and turn in one fluid movement.

3 Cue sequence

I am mirroring my riding partner in a right hand turn.

After you have stopped and backed up, it is time to turn with the cow. I cue for the turn in a particular sequence. First I give my horse a direct rein. Then I use my outside rein as a support along his neck. Immediately following, I use my outside leg. Direct rein, neck rein and outside leg, in that order. If I am turning to the left, I want to be sure I can see the corner of my horse’s left eye. Coming in with too much neck rein too soon could cause my horse to tip his nose away from the turn. Then my horse would not have the proper body posture to come through himself and make a good turn. I also want to make sure I have my inside leg away from my horse so I am not blocking the direction that I want to go.

Here are two ways that you can practice the elements of a cow horse turn on any horse. Even without the availability of cattle.

1 Walk your horse down a fence line and then ask your horse to stop and back up

2 You and a friend can also practice together on horseback

There's no substitute for spending time with your horse on cattle. However, the preceding exercises will better prepare you and your horse for the time when you step into the pen with a live cow. Richard Winters Horsemanship WintersRanch.com

Key Article Takeaways

Per Richard Winters: stop before you turn—the most common cow-horse rider mistake.
Without a stop, the horse swings around like a motorboat and arrives late behind the cow.
Set scenarios that give a green horse time to think through the turn correctly.
Saturday-morning team penning is the wrong place to teach a horse to turn on a cow.
Hindquarter engagement is the difference between turning correctly and being driven by the cow.

Questions readers commonly ask:

Why must the horse stop before turning on a cow?

Per Richard Winters: without a stop, the horse swings around like a motorboat—wide, slow, and late. By the time he's turned, the cow has gained ground and the rider is pointed at the cow's rear, driving it away rather than holding it. Stop, then turn, puts the horse in position to control the cow.

How do I teach this to a green horse?

Per Richard Winters: create scenarios slow enough for the horse to think through. Walk and trot work on a flag (mechanical cow) lets the horse learn the timing without the chaos of live cattle. Trainers who want it done right spend many hours on slow setups before showing.

Why isn't a team penning a good place to learn this?

Per Richard Winters: live cattle move fast, and the rider's focus shifts from teaching to surviving. Mistakes get rewarded by accidental success, and the horse learns sloppy patterns that show up later when precision matters. Build the foundation in controlled work, then go penning to confirm it.

What tells me my horse is using his hindquarters correctly?

Per Richard Winters: he sits on his hocks during the stop, his front end is light enough to swing through the turn, and he comes out of the turn already balanced and ready to drive. A horse turning on the forehand can't accelerate; a horse turning over the hindquarters can.

Can I do this on any breed of horse?

Per Richard Winters: any well-bred ranch horse with willingness, athleticism, and reasonable cow sense can learn the turn. Quarter Horses with cow breeding are the standard, but Paints, Appaloosas, and many other ranch-bred horses do this work daily. Breed matters less than training and partnership.