P
ART 1. STARTING YOUR HORSE
ON THE MECHANICAL COW
1. INTRODUCTION
Although there are many techniques and drills that are
interwoven into starting a cow horse, we are going to
begin with working the mechanical cow (or “flag”) in Part
One of this training series. Knowing how to correctly
start your horse on the flag and incorporate it into your
training program is paramount to the success of a cow
horse. The whole idea of the flag is to keep things correct
and accurate. It’s a starting point for your horse to
understand the concept of working a cow and a tool used
for correcting mistakes within a controlled environment.
Here, I demonstrate the step-by-step process of working
the flag.
When introducing a horse to the mechanical cow, I like
to simulate the cow’s flight zone by moving the flag away
from my horse when he steps toward it. I like him to get
comfortable traveling behind the flag at first, then I teach
the horse to rate the flag by stopping it when he catches
it. Once he gets the flag stopped he’ll be slightly past the
point of balance, then I’ll send the flag back the other
way letting it pull my horse through the turn and off we
go again. I want my horse to think that he’s controlling
it. When he’s behind the point of balance, the flag goes
forward. When he catches the flag it stops, then when he
goes past the flag it turns and goes back the other way as
would a real cow.
PREPARATION
Firstly, there are a few essential elements I need to have
taught my horse in preparation for working the flag.
Without going into too much detail, as we will cover this
in subsequent lessons, there are some foundational areas
that we need to have already covered.
Prior to introducing the flag, I like my horse to be able to:
1. Travel forward, following his nose.
2. Willingly accept contact from my hands and feet.
3. Understand how to seek relief from pressure.
4. Think and not react under pressure.
5. Find sanctuary in the stop.
My horses have to be able to read a cow themselves, but
also allow me to intervene and fix them in spots without
taking offense. The goal is to get my horses to think about
the cow instead of react to it.
One of the most important things to remember with the
flag is that you want it to be a good place for your horse. I
want them to find sanctuary in their job. When my horse
is in the correct position with the correct form I’ll make
that a comfortable spot to be. Hence, the pressure is on
until they get to that spot and then once they find it they
get rewarded through the release of pressure.
When I first introduce my horses to the flag, I let them
just follow it. They get to where they enjoy following it
because it gives them something to dominate. Young
horses will hook straight on to it and let it pull them
around. I also do a lot of sitting around on them. They can
sit and look at the flag and know that’s a good place to be.
January • February • 2017 • The Australian Quarter Horse Magazine • Page 35