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First Sorting - For Me & My Horse - Tips & Advice?

5K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  ropinbiker 
#1 ·
Title says it all -

in a couple weeks, my horse and I are heading out to try sorting for the first time. The people who own the barn seem very happy to have beginners, and told us to come on down, and they'd help us as much as possible. A warm welcome is definitely a nice feeling, however, I still can't help but be a litttttttle nervous. Especially since my horse has never, ever worked cattle in his life, nor really even seen a cow.

So, any of you seasoned sorters/penners/cutters/people who hang out with cows and horses often, have any advice for me, and my horse, and me riding my horse? haha.

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
um its kinda different in different places. some of the competitions ive gone to they will pair you up with a more experienced person and that person will either stay on the gate for you (some novice horses freak out when the steers running at them) and some will do the sorting and have you do the gate.

if you can do more then one round I would strongly suggest trying both with your horse do they can get the experience from both sides.

just remember slow is smooth, smooth is fast. don't go running in trying to cut them out all speedy. stay calm, and your horse will stay calm. just go in nice and easy, and the cows will be calm and easier to cut (hopefully).

also your partner will most likely be more experienced.

depending how they set it up you may be able to pick your partner or it may be random.

uuuum I know im forgetting a lot I haven't gotten to sort in like 2 years so its not completely fresh in my mind.

if you have a lot of questions you can pm me too if you want haha.
 
#3 ·
Thanks I appreciate the advice.

I think slow and calm will be my best bet for a long time haha, and something really good to remember when i'm up there and doing it i'm sure. & good advice about trying both the sorting and the holding stuff - we get two rounds, so hopefully I get to try both.

Apparently we can choose partners, but for the jackpot round we'll be paired with more advanced riders (which will be nice)
 
#4 ·
If your horse has never been around cows, you need to get there early and ride them around the cattle, let him stand there and get him used to the smell and sounds...if possible you really need to get him in a pen with some cows, you don't want his first experience to be in a round pen with him having to walk up to and through a group of cows....or have to have him step in front of a cow that is trying to get back to it's friends quick,fast, and in a hurry.
 
#5 ·
Ropinbiker, I was thinking the same thing. The people who own the barn told us to let them know if our horses have never seen cows, so I think they would be open to the suggestion of us/our horses getting a feel for being around/moving cattle.

What if my horse turns out to be terrified of cows? Should I just keep going slow and showing him them, or is there any other techniques you guys have used?
 
#7 ·
Great idea Roperchick, luckily Jingle (my horse) actually really likes activity, and watching things/people/other horses. I call him a "creeper" all the time. So hopefully he'll enjoy all the activity and stuff going on, and it wont stress him out too bad.
 
#11 ·
Get there early and get someone o walk in with you and help push the cows. Once a horse figures out the cows move away, they usually get the drift pretty quick.
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This. I like for any young horse's first experience with cattle to be positive, so I introduce them to cattle that are a bit wary of horses. Cattle that will move away when you go toward them. There isn't much that can turn a young horse off of cattle quicker than to try them on hooky, fighting, soured cattle.

As for when you actually get into the pen with the cattle. I try to do more than just look at the numbers on them. I will study the cattle beforehand and try to remember certain features that go with certain numbers. It's hard to do that if they're using all black cattle, but if they are mixed herds (black, red, gray, mottled, Hereford, etc), then you can look at them and remember "Okay, number 4 is the big Hereford, number 7 is the small black with the longhorn blanket, number 5 is the red and white pinto colored one, number 1 is the black with one horn, etc". That way, you can just look for features that are easier to see from every angle instead of numbers that you can only see if you see it straight on. I've even been known to use poop-marks to identify an otherwise nondescript bovine LOL.

Beyond that, like another poster said. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. It is much easier to sort cattle if you can walk into the herd, nudge the one you want, and walk them out of the pen. If you start pushing too hard, the cattle get riled and they want to bunch up. Then, you have hell getting them to separate off one at a time. When they're riled, it's all or none.

Most importantly, breathe and relax :D. I know it can be a bit nerve racking, but most folks in the sorting sport are very welcoming and helpful. If you screw up (and you will, heck I been handling cattle all my life and I still screw up), just learn from it and go on. If you don't know what you did wrong, just ask someone and they should be able to help you see the mistake.

Oh, and PICTURES!
 
#10 ·
I think working slowly and staying calm is the biggest thing with sorting. And learning how to read the cattle. Horses usually figure out how to read cattle, too.

I guess if your horse is scared, you'll just have to stick with it. Maybe let him hold the line (or gate, or however they do it), at first if he's scared. Show up early to warm him up really well and take the edge off him so he's not as nervous.

Does your horse like to chase stuff, such as dogs? If so, that's a sign that he might like herding cattle.
 
#12 ·
If your horse is scared or apprehensive about being around the cattle then about the best way to get them used to them is to show them that the cows will move from him...do this by having a single cow in one of the pens or arena, then have someone with an experienced horse help you "push" the cow slowly. Start out beside and slightly behind the experienced horse, as your horse settles down and gains confidence, move him up to the lead, and then eventually have the other rider get out and let you push the cow alone. Keep the cow going as slow as possible at first, that way your horse will settle in quicker. Once he seems to be able to push the cow slowly by himself, then pick up the speed some and continue to track the cow around. After 10-15 minutes of this, your horse should be good enough to then take back into the pen with numerous cows. Just ease him up to them and let him learn that they will move away as he gets closer...once they move from him, stop him for 5-10 seconds to take it all in, then move them again, stop and pause, then repeat until he learns it's no big deal. Once you reach that phase, then go past the cattle and turn them, this will take a little more "force" from you and your horse, so be ready...the first one may take some guidance from you, but after that your horse will get the idea and each turn after that will become easier and easier. After a few good turn backs of the cattle you(and more importantly your horse) should be good.

As was said earlier, take it slow for the first day or two of this(and learn what the correct angles are for getting the cattle to do what you want), and then you can work on picking up your speed.

Have fun!
 
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