Cow-Horse Confidence, Revised

Martin Black has stayed true to his Western roots and the time-honored approach to training horses since being raised in the Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada region of the Great Basin. He has competed successfully in rodeo, ranch rodeo, ranch-roping, and cow-horse events across America. His ability to develop feel and timing with his horses is uncanny. Having learned from the likes of Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, Black is well-suited to carrying on this traditional approach to horse training. He divides his time between the Alvord Ranch in Oregon, and his winter-time home near Sanger, Texas.

Dedication and Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

1. Life-Shaping Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2. Tradition and Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3. Methods of Training and Developing Feel . . . . . . 32

4. The Power of Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

5. Stock-Handling Maneuvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

6. Cattle 101:

Learning to Read and Control Cows . . . . . . . . . . . 66

7. Theory and Reality:

Cow Horses and Controlling Cattle . . . . . . . . . . . 74

8. Offense and Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

9. “A” Pen: Construction and Theory . . . . . . . . . . . 100

10. Using the “A” Pen to Train Horses . . . . . . . . . . 110

11. Working Cattle in the Rodear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

12. Low-Stress Sorting and Branding Techniques . .130

13. Low-Stress Trailer-Loading Techniques . . . . . . 140

14. Ranch Doctoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

15. Ranch Roping for Work and Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

16. Get Practical:

Different Loops and When to Use Them . . . . . . . 174

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190

Author Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192