The Working Cow Horse?
I’m Susan Allen welcome to Open Range. So you might have heard the term working cow horse tossed around in horsey circles. Question is any horse moving cattle in a feedlot or rodeo arena a working cow horse? Stay tuned. There’s some confusion over the definition of a working cow horse, also known as reined cow horse. A working cow horse is a type of competition where a horse, typically a quarter horse, is judged on it’s ability to perform athletic maneuvers with and without cattle. The competition consists of three parts. Horse and rider are judged in a reining pattern, herd work with cattle and the exciting fence work of turning a lone cow at a run along a fence.Horses that can perform these tasks are called "reined cow horses," "cow horses," "stock horses," or "working cow horses. They are judged on accuracy, timing, and responsiveness, as well as how they handle a single cow and their ability to ride into a herd of cattle and quietly "cut" a cow from the herd. I love the rich history behind the working cow horse. It goes back to when the King of Spain granted large tracts of land to loyal subjects in what is now California. The unique ranching style influenced by the Spanish vaquero’s lasted until the mid-19th century. The owners of these ranches often became the source of the names of many California communities. The vaquero's highly -trained fast horse needed to intimidate the half-wild, cattle, and that amazingly talented equine that could turn a dangerous cow back from the herd, separate it for branding and other handling became the model of today’s working cow horse.
