What is reining, cutting, or team penning in horses?

[Picklestix7866]

Hi! I'm looking for something new to do with my horse this summer. I ride western and would love to try something along the lines of reining, team penning, or cutting. There is a place down the road that trains horses in these areas, and I was going to see if they do lessons. I'm pretty sure he would.

What do you do in reining?
What exactly is team penning?
What exactly is cutting?

I know the basics of each of them. I have a four year old QH that needs a new job, and I'm kinda getting bored of just riding the same trails over and over. I do 4H and everything, but I don't have an arena and I'm not going to ruin my horse by practicing barrels over and over and over and over and over... lol. Moose, my QH was born and bred for cutting and reining and he seems to love watching the cows across the road.

Thanks!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

If there was a place near me, I would definitely get involved in cutting. It gives the horse a purpose and its fun for people too! When a horse gets good at it, you basically have to point them towards the cow you want to cut and hold on for the ride!

Cutting is basically separating one or two young cows from a group of many. Sometimes you will have to herd the cows to a certain areas, or hold them in a certain spot. It's not as easy as it sounds!

Reining is a little more involved. Basically you are running a pattern and performing different riding moves like the sliding stop and flying lead changes. Its much more involved than that, but it does go hand in hand with cutting or team penning, as many of the moves showcase in reining are used in the cow pen!

Team penning is a timed sport in which a team (typically of two people) separate a marked cow (or cows) from a group and get them in a pen. My dad used to do this a long time ago and it always looked like fun. We never competed though.

If you do a youtube search on each, you should be able to bring up example videos to show you a bit clearer on what each sport is. There are so many things you can do with your horse though! It would be great if you were able to take lessons though. Its always better when someone can show you how to do things you don't know how to do.

 

[Chicks_N_Horses]

Yes, Youtube will show you some examples. Just google the descriptions and you will get a very detailed answer.

We show reining and cutting. I train our own horses as well. It took over a year to get my mare to where she is now and she had a baby on me this morning to my surprise (another thread) I love reining but there is nothing more thrilling to me than cutting a cow

 

[duckboatprincess]

Reining all the way!!! Watch a video and you'll see why... If you're horse is cowy though you could try him on a few. My QH mare was like that. Bred to rein but really wanted to "play" with the cows and llamas. At one point, she'd try to herd the other horse she lived with. It was hilarious. They're both challenging. I've never done cutting but reining can be hard. The nice thing about reining is that it really reinforces listening to leg cues. Good luck!

 

[Equest94]

*Reining - it is sometimes seen as a western equivalent to dressage. Basically there is a pattern you have to do with the horse that takes you through a series of circles, lead changes, change of speed, roll backs, sliding stops, spins, and backing, Basically it shows off the horse's responsiveness to cues and its agility.

* Cutting - a cow is singled and separated out of the herd. The horse is positioned between the cow and its herd and has to keep the cow from getting back to its buddies... This is meant to show off the horse's "cow sense;" its ability to predict the cow's movements and stay with it. It also shows off it's agility. The quicker and lower the moves, the more points are awarded. This is also a timed event...and you can switch through as many cows as you want within the time allowed.

* Team Penning - is more of a "fun-based" discipline. Sure, there are some nice shows you can go to, but it's not quite on the same show-quality level as reining and cutting. Team penning is basically what it's called - you have a team (of either 3 or 2 people depending on how the classes are separated) and the announcer will give you a number. You have to find the cows that have the number called, cut them out of the herd and chase them to the other side of the arena and then pen them... This is also a timed event - the fastest time with the more cows penned wins (normally if there is a team of 3 people, you need 3 cows; 2 people, 2 cows also called: 3 on 3, 2 on 2).

(^^^ these pictures are actually from the last teaming penning I took my mare to)

As was already mentioned, youtube.com has some really nice videos of each discipline posted on there; I recommend you take a look at those for a better idea.

I have shown each of these disciplines and each are a ton of fun, but they are very intense. There is also a combination called Reined-Cow (which is normally what I do), in which you do a reining pattern and once you complete that, they release a cow that you have to box and fence. It's really amazing.

(Reined-Cow events and Show jumping are my favorite events, the faster and more intense, the better! lol

)

 

[patandchickens]

See which one you can find people to DO it with (trainers, for reining or cutting; or people to team pen with).

That'll probably be the controlling factor

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[SpringChickens]

Quote:
Great advice!!

 

[Picklestix7866]

I know my friend wants to do team penning with me and it probably wouldn't be too hard to find a third person, so I'm not really worried about that. I just don't know where to find an instructor for team penning.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
There's team penning *instructors*?

(Well, I'm sure there are people hwo do clinics from time to time, yeah).

I think the vast majority of people "learn by doing". If you've never worked cattle before, find someone who'll let you practice -- maybe a few lessons with a local cutting-horse trainer. Then, I think usually people Just Do It

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Picklestix7866]

Quote:
There's team penning *instructors*?

(Well, I'm sure there are people hwo do clinics from time to time, yeah).

I think the vast majority of people "learn by doing". If you've never worked cattle before, find someone who'll let you practice -- maybe a few lessons with a local cutting-horse trainer. Then, I think usually people Just Do It

Have fun,

Pat

Well, you know what I mean. Lol. I just need someone to show me how to do it and then let me practice a few times.