Wastage

While there is some welfare concern regarding the potential deleterious impact of intense early training on the young horse’s musculoskeletal system, data to substantiate these concerns in western performance horses is lacking. Some sectors of the industry are skeptical that starting young horses a year later would decrease the incidence of athletic injury in the cutting industry.⁴ Furthermore, research in young Thoroughbreds suggests that imposing controlled exercise at a very early age (three weeks to 18 months) is not detrimental to bone and joint development, and may in fact be beneficial.^5,6 A number of factors including athletic potential, injury, trainability, and economics can impact the successful development of a competitive western athlete. In contrast to the racing industry, there is a paucity of specific information regarding wastage due to athletic injuries in the western performance industry. Performance statistics from 2011 on offspring sired by the top 20 junior stallions in the cutting and reining industries indicates approximately 32% of performance-aged offspring become money earners.⁷ While these statistics do not include non-money earning offspring that are shown, by extrapolation, this performance information is somewhat similar to findings in the Thoroughbred industry where approximately 27% of foals produced by Thoroughbred mares each year go on to race as two and four year olds.⁸

Training

Western performance horses are typically started under saddle as two and three year olds, regardless of discipline. It is not uncommon for those intended to compete in futurity events (reining, cutting, working cow horse) to be started lightly as a long yearling. Training regimens in elite futurity prospects are essentially continual through the horse’s second and third years and this repetition and intensity predisposes these athletes to certain injuries.⁹

While training methods vary, most young western stock start in an O- or D-ring smooth or twisted snaffle bit with split reins. Training usually continues with this bit type for at least a year, and then the horse is typically transitioned to either a shank snaffle or hackamore before being moved to a bridle. Horses are initially ridden with two handed contact and, if applicable to the sport, later transitioned to respond to neck reining with one hand. As training progresses, more traditional unbroken mouthpiece bits with ports or spades are used with longer shanks for better control in horses required to stop abruptly. Gag bits are popular amongst barrel racing competitors. Barrel and rope horses are often ridden with closed reins and tie downs (standing martingale), as well as a breast plate and back cinch.

Young horses are usually started in the round pen for several days to weeks, followed by aerobic arena work for approximately 30–60 days prior to beginning more intense work. In the first 6–8 weeks horses are commonly worked briefly (15–30 minutes) 4–6 days a week. Much of this early activity is aimed at increasing suppleness, teaching the young horse to guide and respond appropriately to cues (bit and leg pressure). Early components of the stop and turnaround are typically introduced during this time period in relevant disciplines, while introduction to the rope and pulling weight, or turning around stationary objects is introduced in others. As aerobic fitness improves, repetition of maneuvers gradually increases, as can the duration of work. Typical time spent under saddle varies between 30 and 60 minutes daily, 5–7 days a week.

With the exception of barrel horse training, most western disciplines that use conventional motorized walkers only use them for walking exercise, and to cool out horses after work. In contrast, some barrel horse trainers use exercise walkers for aerobic conditioning (e.g. 45 minutes trotting 3 days a week). In these motorized exercise walkers the horse is not secured to the walker arm by the halter; thus they are allowed to move more naturally and can even be worked in tack.

Cutting and working cow horses are typically introduced to cattle during the first 60–90 days of training. Initially, they are usually worked on a single cow (or mechanical cow) in a large round pen, when they are taught to stop and turn, reciprocating the cow’s movement around the outside wall of the pen and developing instinctive ‘cow sense’. The duration of work on cattle tends to vary from 20 to 60 minutes dependent on the trainer and the individual horse’s needs. Often longer periods of time may accrue under saddle, as horses are worked for brief periods of time on cattle interspersed with rest periods, when they are allowed to settle and taught to stand quietly before being asked to repeat the process. While somewhat trainer and discipline dependent, some horses may spend several hours a day saddled and tied out to the arena, a hitching post or mechanical walker.

All western athletes are gradually trained by repetition of event-specific maneuvers to increase precision and speed. Once a solid base of aerobic fitness is established after 30–60 days, anaerobic work is often gradually introduced with short episodes of high-intensity exercise 2–3 days a week. The activity utilized for this purpose varies with the different sports. Although limited research has been published on physiologic responses during western events, exercise associated with fast canter work (e.g. large fast circles), run downs, sliding stops and rollbacks, fast spins, intense cutting activity, and calf roping are all associated with heart rates typical of anaerobic work.10–13 Most often anaerobic work is simply achieved as one executes these various maneuvers and repeats them at speed in the practice pen for the various sports. In contrast, some barrel horse trainers integrate fast speed work while exercising horses in fields or at local race tracks. Finished horses of all disciplines that are fit are typically worked for 30–45 minutes, 3–5 days a week to maintain fitness. Older weekend cutting horses, once trained and fit, may be worked on cattle less than once a week. Some trainers also utilize mechanical flags to assist training the stop and proper reaction timing. Roping horses and barrel racing horses that are transported by road almost every weekend to compete may receive minimal routine aerobic exercise between events to maintain fitness during the competition season.

Arena footing

With the exception of cutting pens, which are round and usually 125–175 feet in diameter for training cutters and working cow horses on cattle, most other disciplines utilize rectangular arenas 100–200 feet wide and 300–400 feet long for training. In light of the repetitive training methods necessary for development of competitive athletes, maintaining proper arena footing is extremely important to minimize lameness development. Firm ground may exacerbate lameness and progression of osteoarthritis associated with repetitive concussive forces during training. In contrast, deep footing may predispose to soft tissue injuries. Comparatively, cutting is typically performed in the deepest footing (4–6 inches deep) comprised primarily of sand with a more firm sand or clay base. In the author’s experience, ground conditions are most variable at the smaller roping and barrel events. For sports other than cutting activity, quality arena footing often has a large sand component mixed with silt and clay; firmness varies, dependent upon the composition, density and depth of the top layer (3–4 inches). The density and depth of the top layer are primarily influenced by altering the moisture content and ground preparation. In both reining and working cow horse disciplines, sliding stops are a major component of competition. Therefore, footing in these two sports is especially critical. Outdoor arena footing for both of these sports typically has a firm packed base. Most commonly a clay base is used; limestone or granite screenings are used in some geographic regions, but these latter types are not preferable. The overlying footing component is often a less dense composition of sand, clay and silt. In the elite levels of cutting, reining and working cow horse competition, arena footing specialists are typically contracted for ground preparation at each major event. In the major cutting events, sand is the primary arena component with the footing being approximately 4.5 inches deep for futurity events and around 5 inches for older-aged events. In the events with pattern rein work, there is often a well-defined mixture of sand, clay and silt that is placed on the concrete arena floor to promote the sliding stop. The base is formed as this mixture is packed and the ground is worked with specialty drags. The top layer in optimal reining footing is uniformly approximately 2.5–3 inches deep, while footing for working cow horse competitions is slightly deeper. Certain portions of the arena for working cow horse competitions are prepared differently. The area for boxing may have additional sand and depth, while the footing at the fence often has higher moisture content and the base is sometimes scored to increase traction, making these arenas particularly difficult to maintain, according to arena specialist Bob Kiser.

Farriery and protective legwear

Maintenance of proper mediolateral balance and normal hoof pastern axis is critical as in other equine disciplines. Horses often remain unshod during early training, and on occasion even later during competition, in the front feet, if the individual has exceptional hoof quality and conformation. In general, cutting horses often have smaller feet. Currently, there appears to be a trend toward leaving aged event cutting horses barefoot as they often only train and compete in deeper sand footing. Steel keg shoes are also common, especially in older ‘weekend cutters’ as they often do ranch work in different footing at home (Grant Rezabek, personal communication, 2012). Roping and barrel horses are often shod with steel keg, rim, or natural balance shoes on the front feet and either keg or rim shoes on hind feet.14–16 The front feet of reining horses are often shod with a squared or rounded toe, and the ground surface may be beveled around to the quarters or heels. The shoe is often set back at the toe to further enhance breakover, which is thought to promote front foot travel in the stop. Circumferential beveling may reduce medial and lateral torsional forces during the turn around. The hind feet of reining horses are shod with sliding plates which are flat, elongated, wide webbed steel shoes in which the nails are countersunk and the bottom of the shoe is polished with a grinder to increase the distance of the sliding stop. Typically, young reining horses have ‘starting plates’ ( inch wide with short trailers) applied during the first 3–6 months of training. Over time, the width of the shoe (and length of trailer) is often increased; the toe is also commonly fashioned similar to a snow ski tip. In finished reining horses sliding plates most often range from 1 or inches wide (Fig. 54.2). They can also be shod with a slightly longer toe and a lower angle thought to promote a longer sliding stop. Similar sliding plates are applied in working cow horses, calf roping horses and some heel horses to promote the sliding stop. Because more traction is required for working cow horses in the fence work, and in all of the aforementioned disciplines, the stop is most often shorter and deeper, the sliding plates used are not as wide and have shorter trailers than those applied to reining horses.

The form of leg protection utilized can vary, but most often some form of splint boot, usually neoprene, or a felt polo wrap is used for the front limbs of all western performance horses in training and competition. In reining horses that interfere at the carpus during the turnaround (spins), a variety of knee boots are used during training (Fig. 54.3). In addition, if the sliding stop is incorporated (reining, working cow horse, calf roping, heeling) some form of skid boot is usually applied to the hindlimbs. Most commonly this gear just protects the fetlock (Fig. 54.4A), while some reining horses that stop very deep may require skid boots that cover the hock to prevent excoriation (Fig. 54.4B

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