Humbleness Of A Champion

There are people out there that you'd never guess that they won some big event, were incredibly talented or had the rightfully earned bragging list a mile long. They walk humbly, ready to give a lending hand at any moment's notice. These people are quick to bring up your accomplishments and slow to tell their own. I've been around some that walk humbly, but there is one man that I've been blessed to know that really embodies the word humble.

Growing up in a non horse family, I had to rely on others to learn all I could. Many kids have their parents to teach them, be their coach, and provide them the horse power they need to succeed, mine took me to the best people they could find to nurture my love for horses and rodeo. It might have been a blessing in disguise that I had to rely on others because in doing so, I had the opportunity to learn from some of whom I consider to this day - the best. As I entered high school rodeos my freshman year, I had always wanted to breakaway rope. It was then that Lowell Faris took me under his wing. Lowell, who is a very accomplished calf roper and trainer has more titles to his name than some can count, but you'd never know it by talking to him.

Lowell invited me to his and his wife Jan's home and we spent countless evenings in his arena roping calves. He helped me not only learn how to rope but to work with the horses that I was riding. With his quiet demeanor, I always thought he was a master at teaching these horses to do their job but to love it as well. I loved getting to opportunity to watch him work with a young horse and seeing those young calf horses grow in confidence with each run. When I would be struggling with something, we would go to the loft of his barn and rope the bale. Over and over, Lowell would critique each swing, the throw and the catch. I was never a natural and many would have given up trying to teach me. However, Lowell would stay and work with me as long as I needed, many times until long after the sun had went down.

The horse I started roping on, although a nice horse, did some things that were making me develop some bad habits. One night in the practice pen, Lowell offered to let me rope off his trusty backup, Duster. For once I didn't have to worry about my horse doing his job and I could focus solely on my roping. Never asking for anything, Lowell just said take him home and ride him. It was a gesture that I will never forget and allowed me to gain so much confidence in my roping game. Later when I was college rodeoing for Montana State University I called Lowell after my first rodeo and told him about the trouble I had that weekend in the roping with my horse. His response was come and get his good calf horse Doc; who would have anyone drooling and jumping at the chance to ride. He never thought twice about sending a horse that he could have sold time and again to NFR calf ropers with some piddly college girl that just hoped she could make the short go at a college rodeo. He just wanted to help and knew Doc would be the answer to my trouble. I was just one of the many kids that he helped over the years.

Lowell always looked out for the kids that he helped. I don't know how many times he came to my rescue in changing a tire or fixing lights on my trailer or even making sure that I made it safely home. In high school I got the itch to rodeo at the amateur rodeos. My parents with 4 other kids and businesses of their own, weren't always able to take me or be gone for the weekend so once again, Lowell took me under his wing and let me travel with him, his daughter Ali and son-in-law Chad to the rodeos. The time spent traveling with Lowell and his family, I was able to see even more into what an amazing man he is. He was always there to pick you up after a bad run. Telling you to shake it off and giving you the encouragement for the next run. He'd make a run to lead the rodeo and turn around and be quick to aide anyone else that needed a helping hand as others congratulated him on a good run. He'd say a quick "Thank you." and continue helping whoever was in need. You never knew by his demeanor that he just won the rodeo. I always admired his humbleness. A true champion in every sense of the word, you'd never guess with his humble and gracious manner.

Lowell has been such a huge mentor in my life. He taught me many lessons inside the arena and out and became a second father to me. I will never forget my time spent at his place roping and his teachings beyond the arena. He took me in as one of his own and for that I'll always be thankful. He taught me a true champion is humble and ready to give the next person a leg up to become a champion themselves. It's one of the many lessons from Lowell that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I hope that I am able to give someone else that leg up that he so graciously gave me!

Soft As A Post

A few years ago I had the great fortune and pleasure to attend a horsemanship clinic with Doug Jordan.  I had a horse at the time that when I was running, I had a hard time picking up the shoulder and moving over.  There was always a hesitation, a resistance if you will.  I remember telling Doug my issue.  He watched me ride my horse who really was well broke and you could place him anywhere doing slow work.  It was the fast work that I would get in trouble with.  I was expecting some sort of high powered drill.  Something that involved a lot more pressure mentally and physically than what I received.  Instead, I received a post.  Yes a post.... 

 Doug had me position my horse at an angle to this post (about a 45 degree angle) that when I put pressure on my leg that the horse could go forward (avoiding the pressure) or turning into the post (giving into the pressure).  Doug put me and my horse in position next to the post (and fence) and told me to put a little pressure (and by little, I mean slight, barely readable) as if you set a post right there, and just leave that pressure on until my horse responded.  You didn't increase the pressure, you just left it the same. Then he left me! Like, literally left me to make his rounds to the rest of the clinic participants.  I thought, well what in the world am I to do now?  There is no way that this horse knows I'm asking it to do something with this little of pressure.  

So I kept the pressure the same as when he left and watched him as he made his round to the rest of the clinic. Probably 5 minutes later my horse finally moved.  He didn't move just to move, he moved away from that pressure and turned into the post, giving to pressure.  I let him basically do a walking roll back and walk out.  Bringing him back to our original position I thought he was bored and that's why he did what he did.  Heck, by that point I was bored myself! I was prepared to sit there again for awhile.  Much to my surprise as soon as I put that slight pressure on my leg, he turn and gave way to the pressure.  I'm talking as light of a pressure as a fly would put on him if it landed there.  So slight I didn't know if I was putting pressure there or not. Doug didn't care how long it took to get a results, that's why he left me and gave me but most importantly my horse time to get uncomfortable with that pressure and move away from it.  I needed time, patience, and a steady pressure.  As Doug said, I was like a post.  

Sometimes we can get in a hurry.  We think we have patience but really we expect results right away when we ask a horse to do something.  We don't give the horse time to figure out the answer by itself. I've found that if we give the horse the option and opportunity to put the pieces of the puzzle together by itself, that that lessons sticks much better than if we force it.  We make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy but not always do we give the horse the time to make that decision for itself.  

My husband is an excellent horseman and his forte is starting colts.  The colts he starts have a confidence about them that is undeniable.  They are soft in the mouth and their sides and they have little if any resistance, working under willing submission. He can have those colts trotting backwards on a loose rein.  Something that I am NOT good at doing.  I have a tendency of getting my colts stuck.  When they get sticky in their feet, it's easy to start pulling on them, even ever so slightly.  As I'm riding a colt by Philip and struggling to get this colt to back the way I want, he reminds me of the lesson that Doug had showed me before.  Leaving my hands still and giving those colts time to figure it out, it took nothing before my colt who was sticky in her feet started driving from her hindend, picking up her feet and backing up on a loose rein. 

September seems to be the month of weaning colts and of course halter breaking them.  Every year we bring the colts home from the ranch and go through the process of gentling them down, halter breaking , picking up their feet and getting them accustomed to life without their dams.  Some take it harder than others, but most are halter broke within the day.  One critical item I use in halter breaking training is a tie post.  A regular sturdy post buried into the ground with nothing else is invaluable to me.   Much like the lessons mentioned above, the post gives those colts the opportunity to sort things out themselves.  The post never takes slack away from the colt if it pulls back, it's pressure stays steady, the same.  Sometimes that post can be the best teacher in halter breaking a colt as it learns for itself that when it gives to pressure, it gets a reward, a release.  

I think often to how much the lesson Doug and Philip gave me has helped in my riding and everyday working with a horse. When people have fairly soft hands but have a tendency to pull on one as we all can get, I think of being soft as a post.  There is a pressure there that doesn't change.  It doesn't pull harder, it doesn't snatch or take a horse by surprise.  It literally gives the horse two options - give to pressure or pull against pressure.  There is only one release and that's when they fully give themselves into the pressure. They can't lean and get the release. They are not pressured to give the release.  The post gives them the time to figure it out for themselves. They learn the right thing is to give to pressure, and they crave that release, that reward.  Sometimes to get the best response you don't need to pull harder or put more pressure on them; you just need to be as soft as a post.

Champions Don't Always Wear Gold Buckles

On my daily scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed I came across a post that caught my eye.  It read something to the extent that thanks to Facebook and social media that anyone can make themselves a world champion and trainer.  This person mentioned that they missed the days of having to prove yourself with a gold buckle to show your worth.  I'm of course paraphrasing but that was the jist that I received from it.  I agree - to a point.  

Today the people that you can interact with and "follow" thanks to social media is astounding!  Getting to know these people through the net we get the opportunity to see into their lives.  The people we have access to range from the next door neighbor to the world champion barrel racer, celebrities, and well beyond.  There's a thing about social media though that many over look.  Many who post their lives on social media only post (or mostly post at least) about the good in their lives.  We don't see those that have fallen and gotten back up.  We can't see those that are riding the high under false pretenses.  It's a take what you see with a grain of salt kind of world on the net.  You don't see those with all the talent of the world but choose to stay home for various reasons, are injured, etc. You need to be the judge of who is worthy of "following". 

Here's what rubbed me a little off on that post.  That the only true champions and ones worth paying attention to are those with the buckles to prove it.  Let me be the first to tell you, if you think that only those that are worthy of learning from or listening to are those with a "gold" buckle adorning their belt, then you are sorely missing out.  Having had the opportunity to ride and train with many who have not won the gold and a few that have, I have learned far more from those missing that bragging right than those that have it.  A champion doesn't always wear the buckle to prove they are a champion.   

A champion can be many things.  I know many who have just as much talent as anyone around that instead of chasing those lines on the road are busy tending to a ranch, getting a college degree, taking care of their children, running the family business, etc.  Their priorities weren't on the gold buckle and the bragging right that comes with it although they could give those going down the road a run for their money on any given day. If a "champion" is the only one worthy of learning from then a champion to me is someone who works hard, has a level of grit and determination, a master at their craft, humble, and always willing to lend a helping hand among other things. 

If we judge someone by their accomplishments and not by their talent, we are missing out on a huge opportunity to learn and better ourselves.  I've always said that you can always learn something from everyone; whether it's something to do or something not to do.  You see the real champions don't always wear gold buckles.  They could be your parents in the stand, your spouse, your grandparents, a family friend, someone that showed you the ropes and took you under their wing; each one helping, supporting and rooting you on as you work to reach your full potential. If you feel that only a champion with a gold buckle to prove it is worthy of learning from, your losing out on a huge education and opportunity. 

I'm so thankful for the "champions" that have been involved in my life and journey.  I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for them! 

Musical Bits

We've all played the game "musical chairs" when we were younger.  You never know when the music stops what chair you're going to get.  You need to be prepared for when that music stops that you have a chair within your reach.  I never put much thought of how this would relate with horses until I was warming up at a rodeo.

I had just came back to my trailer, to boot up and stretch.  There were about 20 girls left before I was to go and two tractor drags so I "thought" I'd have plenty of time. In fact, I thought it would be about perfect timing for my mare who was also a little gate sour but would walk into the gate at the first pass (at this point in her situation, going by the gate beyond pass 1, you were in for a fight but that's a whole new blog post). Being lazy, I left the bridle on while I threw the halter over top of it to tie up my horse while I retrieved the leg boots from the trailer.  My normally non-itchy mare decided the skin below her eye was being attacked by ants as she inched over to the ledge on the trailer and proceeded to relieve her itch like a mad woman.  However, with her itch relieved and all well with her world she realized that she had gotten the edge of the chicago screw stuck on the trailer.  I saw it all in slow motion as she threw up her head, breaking the headstall beyond repair.  

By this time I only had about 10 girls left to go and the tractor had already drug once.  I was in a panic.  I couldn't do anything in a pinch to fix the headstall.  Although I had other bridles in the trailer, I wasn't comfortable riding her in any of them because she only had "her" bit and it'd been a struggle to find a bit that you could call "hers" in the first place. In a fury I ripped apart a headstall to put on her "Highness'" bit.  I made it to the gate just as they were saying last call.  

I don't remember much about that run.  I remember it wasn't good.  After that I vowed that I would ride that mare and any horse in any and every bit that I had and I'd be comfortable throwing anything on them.  It would have been easier for me if  I'd been able to throw on a spare bridle on my mare and continue on our merry way.  As it was, my mare was panicked as we loped from our trailer to the gate and I sure didn't have my mind where it needed to be after that fiasco.

There will be bits better suited for each individual horse but most of all the riders hands.  However, it's really important, as I learned on that July day that it's best not to just stick to ONE bit.   Being the bitoholic that I am, I have a lot of variety to chose from in the bit department. Although I have my favorites, I still change things up almost every ride.  I've heard the argument that you're to never ride you horse in your competition bit.  I don't necessarily agree with that, but I do believe that you need to keep them fresh; keep them guessing.  They need to learn how to "pack" different styles of bits but also they need to learn to rely more on YOU than a given bit.

That particular day was the start of a different journey for me and the gray mare you've heard me talk so often about, Holly.  We'd already been on a wild roller coaster journey previously, but this was the start of something special.  We learned to work together.  Our partnership wasn't based on tack in the end, it was based on just that - each other.  

Because of that important lesson back at that rodeo years ago, I learned how "musical chairs" played into horses but also just how important horsemanship is to achieving success as well! 

Mae Holly Fire returned to that same rodeo that this fiasco took place several years later to redeem ourselves by placing with a tough group of horses.
Photo by Tina Graham.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

For the first time in a very long time, I'm sitting at home without a horse ready to run.  After selling my rodeo horse this fall and my futurity colt being injured earlier, I'm left with plenty of horses to ride but nothing to run.  Thankfully it's the middle of winter and there's not much to go to as far as jackpots or rodeos in our area.  However, watching the NFR will get anyone's blood pumping and wanting to hit the road.  

Although you could call me "horse poor" in the riding department, (there's plenty of colts here that need to be rode), I've decided to focus my attention on my 4 year old. Since the Futurity Holiday of December 1st has past, she's also officially my new futurity colt as well.  As everyone was posting on Facebook about how excited they were to run for their 2016 futurity hopefuls that week, I was thinking to myself, "Well, I'm excited that we just started to lope the pattern!" Needless to say, we're a little ways off the mark to make any sort of futurity or jackpot debut. 

This filly is maybe one of the most talented colts I've ever rode. With that comes some challenges. She has a big big engine and she's starting to figure out the gas pedal on her own.  My husband when he first started her said that we'd have to keep her pretty slow for awhile. I knew what he was saying but it wasn't until I rode her myself that I really understood his point.  She was almost on the lazy side for most of her two and three year old year.  But she was quiet and she was sure of herself. Confidence will decrease as we speed things up, so it's important to remember the foundation and have it pretty well set.

Last week as I was working her on the barrels here at home I let her pick her pace.  Which may I remind you we have only slow loped at this point.  Loping to the 1st barrel (which has been her nemesis), everything was coming together. She listened to me and allowed me to shape her, the timing just right, she wrapped around it and pushed out like a finished horse heading to 2nd.  I couldn't help myself and although I didnt' let her gain speed, I let her carry that momentum to 2nd. The 2nd and 3rd were such a rush that I can't say that I remember much about them.   Coming home I could feel her wanting to step on the gas pedal even more.   

It would be easy to keep up this pace. Keep letting her cruise through like she did. She's broke enough that she could probably handle it - for awhile.  However, as her trainer I need to recognize what she's ready for.  She has a good foundation but the foundation hasn't been allowed to "set" enough for her to fall back on if things start to crumble.  She needs time. Her in particular, is going to need a lot of it! 

It's a challenge when a colt is all you have and you're wanting to run, to not just let them go. Significantly more so after you've felt the talent behind them. It's easy to get caught up on what big barrel race is coming up and needing to get ready for it.  It's especially easy to get caught up on the futurity trail hype and think about how far behind your colt is and the need to speed up this process.  However, this isn't a cookie cutter process.  Each horse is different. This particular mare hasn't had the time on her like most of my horses do at this point. She's also one that is going need a lot of time letting the foundation "set" aka keeping it slow.  

I have to look at the big picture.  Do I want a futurity horse or do I want a horse for the future? Of course my answer is for the future. I'm reminded of the story of the tortoise and the hare. We all know how that story played out. I could let this mare roll as she's shown me that she's capable of doing, or I'm reminded of the tortoise - slow and steady wins the race!  I don't know if we will make it to the futurities, and that's OK by me.  For now, we'll be keep it slow, gaining confidence and trying to make every experience a good one!  

PA Ivyafrenchiepie checking cows. She'll spend the rest of the year seeing as much saddle time behind cows as possible as well as getting her fair share of "barrel" time. 

Letting Her Shine

October 22nd has been a day to remember for me.  October 22, 2000 was the day that I had the opportunity to buy Smoky - the horse who helped me achieve more than I could have ever imagined.  The impact he made on my life is felt every day.  Through the years I remember how great Smoky was, especially on this day.  The partnership we had was special to say the least.  We bought him from Connie Soderholm, who had trained him and qualified him to the Rough Rider Finals. She was ready to see him go on with a high school girl and I'm so thankful that I was the one that had the opportunity to do that!  At the time, I couldn't imagine the pain that she must have felt seeing Smoky load up into our '85 Shelby 3 Horse trailer, (which by the way, I thought was the coolest trailer ever at the time).  Connie had spent years and countless hours in the saddle, training and hauling Smoky, preparing him for the rodeo road.  You don't spend that kind of time and dedication to an animal and not be attached in some shape or form.  Once again while writing this, I am so thankful that she let that wonderful horse come into my life. Now, 15 years later; I know the pain that Connie must have felt.  

Vandy winning her first ever rodeo.
Photo courtesy of Tina Graham. 

Vandy. What can I say about Vandy? If you've read my blog, chances are that you've read about Vandy somewhere. She was my dream horse even though she didn't start out quite like a dream.  Always talented, always an athlete, she's also always had a mind of her own.  She was a natural on barrels but had the "hang on woman" mentality instead of a "let's do this together" mindset.  Sure, she was quick and could turn a barrel faster than I'd ever felt on a finished horse let alone a 4 year old, she did not want any help or any type of suggestions from her rider.  We had to change that! It was one of the most trying times ever in my barrel racing career.  I almost gave up.  Philip encouraged me on.  I have never learned so much or learned so much outside of the box than I did at that time.  Slowly we started making headway.  It was quite the team effort. 

As a five year old, Vandy surprised me as she climbed up the Ds.  In February for her first run she was the top of the 3D with mistakes galore.  She ran in the 2D at a huge barrel race by April and in June, she won her first 1D check, which also happened to be her first jackpot win.  I had never had a horse be that "on" and always show up to make a run like her.  By August, her very first rodeo, which also happened to be during the performance, she won.  She blew me away.

Vandy making a 1D run out of 300+ entries as a 6 year old.
Photo Courtesy of Brenda Rettinger.

Through all of our successes, we've had our troubles too.  Sure we had growing pains, we still had to work on the "lets work together" partnership mindset but no matter what, Vandy went to work every time you saddled her up.  She was a joy to ride on the ranch. An absolute favorite of mine to sort cattle.  Her grittiness on barrels is nothing to what she is on a cow.  With her quick feet and her natural cow sense, she probably should have went to the cutting pen first.  I spent a lot of time and put a lot of miles in the saddle on her those first few years.  

During our time together, I've had our three little boys as well as she had some time off to raise a colt of her own.  Life happens and not always do we get to do everything we want to do. There are only so many hours in the day! Finally this year, we got to spend the year together.  We finally got to hit the road and officially season Vandy to rodeos.  Needless to say, just like her first rodeo performance, she ran the same no matter what.  She always gave me her all and took a lot of the hassle and worry out of being on the rodeo road.  Didn't get into the arena before the rodeo? Are there banners and flags by second barrel? Is it a side gate? Is it muddy? Oh look the ground is bad!  Those worries as well as many others were never an issue with Vandy.  She made life fun. I knew when I cinched up and headed for the gate that I had just as good of a chance to win as anyone there that day.  Vandy always showed up for work.

Life isn't always about rodeo and barrel racing though.  As I was out on the road more than I had been in the last ten years I missed out on a lot of things at home - my husband and my kids.  I had unbelievable support from my husband and both of our parents. I couldn't have done it without them all.  However, I couldn't handle being away from my kids as they grow.  Missing out on their stories and fun during the 4th of July was about more than I could take.   

As the summer rolled on, not only was I missing out on my family but I was missing out on my colts.  My futurity colt had only a handful of runs on her and we were paid up into futurities.  I don't like showing up unprepared and I was really unprepared with my futurity colt this year.  I had to take some time off if I was going to get somewhat caught up with my colts.  By August I hit a few more rodeos close to home and as I came home from one of them I decided this was it.  At this time in my life, I can't rodeo pro, ride my colts, dedicate my time to our breeding program and have time with my family.  There were too many irons in the fire and I had to decide which one(s) I was going to pull out.  

Vandy and her 2013 foal, King waiting outside my front door.

Rodeo obviously took me away from home more than most.  I knew that I couldn't be on the road like I was this summer.  But where did that leave Vandy?  She has so much talent and heart and if you've ever been around Vandy, you know she LOVES to run barrels.  I wanted to be selfish and just retire her to be a broodmare but I knew how much she craved the barrels when she was out on maternity leave with her first colt.  I decided that it wouldn't be right to just have her sit in the pasture and it wouldn't be fair to her to just hit a jackpot while I'm seasoning and preparing my colts.  She has too much to offer to go down that route.  I knew at this point in my life that I had taken her as far as I could go.  She deserved more, she deserved to shine.  

There was a lot of prayers.  I had some good conversations with our Lord over this.  In my heart I knew it was right but my selfishness still had a hard time with the decision to sell her.  Vandy was my girl.  She was my dream horse.  She was everything I had ever imagined.  I knew though, I owed her this chance to showcase what she could do.  I prayed that God would provide the perfect fit for her.  And on October 20th, he did.

Tammy spent three days with me and Vandy.  Getting to know us and getting to see and feel Vandy inside and out.  It was a match from the get go.  As I told my husband, it was like I was riding her.  It was such a rewarding feeling to see Vandy, who I've poured so much of myself into go on and ride like she did for someone else.  

October 22nd was the day that Tammy asked me if she could buy her.  Although I knew it was a possibility, I was not prepared for that moment.  It would have felt wrong to have said no.  She rode and treated her as if it were me there.  It was Vandys opportunity to shine.  There were tears when she loaded up into the trailer.  There were flashbacks to our times of success as well as our times of trials.  My selfish heart broke knowing that she wouldn't be waiting for me at the gate in the morning like she always did.  However, through it all. I thought of Connie.  A growing family of her own, she chose to let Smoky go to continue his barrel racing career and helping a little girl achieve her dreams, me.  I hope we did her proud and I hope she knows how thankful I am for him.  I also hope, that I too can see Vandy shine as Smoky did with his new rider.  I know Vandy can help Tammy achieve her dreams.  My heart will be full knowing that I didn't hold her back.

This is how she would always greet me. Ears up and always happy to see me. The feeling was mutual. 

Some day I may be in a position to go down the rodeo road. Until then, I will get to be close to home, with my husband and our boys.  I will get to spend time with our colts from our own program and have the joy of helping them reach their potential.  As a friend told me; "You have stars all over in your pasture.  Just polish them until they shine just like Vandy. "

Let your greatness SHINE Vandy!

Tammy, Myself and Vandy. 

The Foundation - Part IV - Shoulder Control

Finally I am on the last post of The Foundation series.  I tried not to write a novel but well, if you haven't noticed this is something I'm very passionate about and sometimes I can have a hard time condensing things. As I'm putting the first months riding on a two year old and starting my four year old on barrels, this topic hits home in a big way.  Let's finish things up by talking about Shoulder Control.  

SHOULDER CONTROL

I think barrel racing goes through fads just like everything in life. I used to hear all about picking up that shoulder when coming to a barrel and now I've heard more about tipping in that hip more than the other way around.  I believe both are equally important although it's easier to control the shoulder if you have a good grasp of the hip.  

The reverse arc is something that used to be pounded into my head when I was listening to other barrel racers when trouble shooting.  I actually don't use it that much when working my horses on barrels but it's very vital in helping a horse learn to pick up and move away from that pressure while keeping their shoulder lifted and here's the key, while in forward motion.  If I have a horse coming into the barrel too close and too flat, I want to be able bump (pulse on the reins slightly) with the inside rein straight to my hip and have them essentially do a similar move as a reverse arc to give them enough room to turn the barrel but also get their body in the right position.  Sue Smith has an excellent exercise using tires and the reverse arc that she described in a Barrel Horse News article in March 2012. In addition to that drill, I also will put three cones or even barrels in a small version of a barrel pattern with about 15 feet between each cone or barrel.  I like to take them through and make sorta like a barrel pattern but instead of one right and two lefts, make it all rights or all lefts.  I like being about to keep a horse framed like you'd normally want a horse to turn but I also want to have them be able to do it all in a reverse arc easily and fluidly.  As with anything, it takes time to get them to understand the job you ask of them but I strive to be able to do this basically with one hand and never I repeat never move my hand across the center of the horses neck.  

We always hear about how we need to "lift" a horse's shoulders but one thing I think people really over look is a horse pulling or reaching with their shoulders.  We love to see those horses run up in there to a barrel and drop their butt come around it, but what do you think keeps that forward motion? The shoulders play a vital part in that style to work properly and efficiently.  When I turn a barrel or even if I'm just trotting in a circle, I want to be able to feel that inside shoulder reaching forward and out, pulling itself forward.  There is a fine line between reaching and a dropping shoulder though. 

If you remember from the last post I broke down Direction into two stages.  Well I've added another stage - stage 3. Stage 3 is all about putting the first two stages together while finishing a turn.  I still look for that eye to be soft and brown, I still will have them collected and drive them between my hands, but here's where I add the next challenge.  Basically I will be riding my horse like Stage 2 of Direction. However, I will drop my outside rein slightly, shift my weight in my hip to the outside while opening my hip to the inside signaling my horse to turn sharper, almost like that second to last stride of finishing a barrel.  I want to feel that inside front leg reaching out and pulling.  I'll keep my horse in a smaller and smaller circle until I feel that shoulder the way that I want.  Once I do, I release and have them come back into a bigger circle.  Sometimes I will just ask them and it takes them a stride, other times it takes a couple strides before I feel that action I want while other times it takes several progressive smaller and smaller circles to achieve the right feel.  Make sure once you feel it, you instantly reward them by letting them move out into a bigger circle.  You must keep forward motion and not let your horse do a roll back kind of move in order to get the reward - all four feet must be moving forward. 

This exercise is not something that I do often because I don't want them anticipating it and getting into a habit of dropping their shoulder.  Proper position of their body as we talked about in stage 2 applies and is vital to keeping your horse correct and getting the most out of this exercise.  

After my last post, I had a lot of requests for a video on Direction and the Jaw exercise.  Here's a video I did for those visual learners on all three stages of Direction and the Jaw exercise.  I hope you enjoy! 

Well there you have it! I truly believe if your horse can do all the things that I outlined in The Foundation series that not only will you be able to fix problems as they arise but that you'll avoid problems because you've prepared your horse for the job that you're asking them to do.  You'll notice that I didn't have a section on stopping.  Although stopping correctly is very important, I don't focus on having my horses stop as a Reiner.  What I do want, which I talked about when I was writing on Speed Control, is for the horse to respond to my body whether my body is saying walk, trot, or stop, I want that horse to respond accordingly.  

I hope that you've enjoyed this series as much as I have writing it! I'm not claiming to be the best horse trainer or even close, but I do hope that everyone who has stuck with me and read these posts will be able to take at least one thing home to add to their tool box.  I have loved hearing everyone's feedback.  Please feel free to hit me up if you have any questions! 

Thank you again everyone for reading my Foundation series!