Ken McNabb: How to Build A Good Ranch Horse? | Preparing Your Horse for Cattle, Roping & More

What does it take to get a horse ready for cattle, roping, and more? For me, it all comes down to BODY CONTROL. I want to know that I have control over every part of my horse to be able to put him in the best position to handle cattle. I'll especially need control over the front end even more than the hind end. This is where a rollback is handy. The Rollback Ride in a circle. Keep the inside leg on to keep the ribcage bent on the circle. Then take the inside leg off and put the outside leg on in position one to move the shoulders all the way around to head the other direction. There is only a slight hesitation - not actually a full stop - because I want to keep forward momentum. Stops When you ask your horse to stop, if he hits on his front end (launches you forward or shifts his hind end to the side in the stop), drive him forward. If he is sluggish in the stop, back up in a hurry after the stop. Release when the backup is quick and soft. Doubling Back a circle by using your inside leg in position 3 to move the hindquarters around. When he feels like he is wanting to reach over, take the inside leg off of position 3, and put the outside leg in position 1 to bring his shoulder around. This exercise will help you speed up your rollback or turnaround. Practice and refine each of these maneuvers, and you will have a great start to a horse that can move cattle and perform all kinds of tasks on the ranch. Until next time, may God bless the trails you ride! Ken McNabb