Training Exercise with Phil Webb - Part 1

This article is from the December 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

Phil’s journey with horses began in 1974 in South Dakota at the Yates School of Horsemanship. Now, in 2020, Phil feels privileged to have shown cow horses and cutting horses in the USA, Europe and Australia. Phil is a busy clinician, specialising in horsemanship and cow events.

Turning in to the fence

I thought a very interesting idea to share would be teaching a young horse fence turns, as at present cow horse is gaining a resurgence.

I was introduced to the cow horse in 1976 by Mr Greg Ward in Tulare, California. Greg was the master and all these ideas and exercises originally came through him.

The fence turns are a basic exercise for the cow horse events, but they are also very helpful to help clean up your horse’s front end in the rollback.

Set Up

A round pen is necessary when free lunging. We use a round pen with a good sand base for good support so the horse doesn’t slip. 

The Exercise

My first experience with a young horse is in the round pen when I am first starting them as two-year-olds. I started lunging free, getting them to go around both directions relaxed and mainly at a slow trot. When I start preparation for a turn I move to the head and say ‘whoa’ and try to get the horse to turn into the fence. In the early stages sometimes they will turn towards you. Just keep repeating until they go into the fence, then back off and let them relax as a reward. The horse will struggle to find space to turn for a while so be patient, and as they become more comfortable they will work it out.

It’s really important that the young horse learns to drop his head at the fence, round his back and stay on his hocks. If your horse elevates in the neck and head, it’s impossible to make the turn efficiently. As the horse gets more comfortable, you can increase the speed.

Watch Phil complete this exercise with a young horse here:

Read part 2 here where Phil explains the exercise under saddle.

Good luck! I hope you've enjoy these exercises and if you have any challenges achieving the best you can with your horse do not hesitate to contact Phil.
www.facebook.com/philanddawnwebb/

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