Western Horse Training - Olden Days to Today

Nowadays, trainers concentrate on consistency, repetition and reward. They prefer gentler forms of training, and use round pens and work to form a bond with the horse so that horse and rider can function together as a team in the different competitions, which take place in Western riding events that you can see at rodeos and shows and country fairs.

Conformation
Whatever the competition, judges are always looking at the horse's conformation, or form of the bone structure, the way the muscles move, and the proportion of the horse. A horse needs to have a good conformation to be a cutting horse: an event where the horse separates one cow from a herd of cattle and prevents it from returning to the herd. The horse needs to have incredible agility for this event and be able to turn quickly. Another possibility is for a horse to have the posture and grace to compete in what is called Western dressage, where the rider and horse work together to perform intricate maneuvers.

In all the Western competition events, horses are judged by their temperament as well as their gait, which should have a cadence and a quality of pace whether at a lope (slower pace) or a gallop (faster pace). They are also evaluated on how calm and responsive their disposition appears. Riders need to learn to ride the horse with their legs and their seat. They don't use the bit to control the horse (indeed most riders use a bitless bridle). They teach the horse to move by bumping the sides of the horse with their legs; squeezing the legs against both sides of the horse indicates that the horse should stop; squeezing one leg lets the horse know that he should turn in the opposite direction. Longer stirrups are used for this event, so the rider can keep his legs straight and use the entire leg for commands.

Other Western Competitions
There are a variety of competition that are used to demonstrate the skill of horse and rider. One of these is called pole bending. The point of this event is to have the horse zig zag through seven poles, which are made of white PVC plastic. The seven six foot poles are put in a row and the horse has to go around one and then the other much like a shalom event in skiing. The best time, without knocking down any of the poles, wins the event and any purse that is associated with it. The horse needs a great deal of training to maneuver through the course.

Another very popular event is barrel racing. This event has the rider and horse making a cloverleaf pattern around three 55 gallon drums that are in the shape of a triangle. The tight turns are made at top speed and it is essential for the horse to keep his balance in order to complete the course.