by Kristi Rensby

Anyone who has ever competed in reining knows the importance of speed control. Reining maneuvres include large fast circles usually followed by small slow circles. To show that your horse is willingly guided and completely dictated to (as per the rule book!), you want to have seamless transitions from slow to fast and fast to slow.

Gaining speed is something that most horses do well. There are lots of go-faster cues that horses seem to learn early on in training, including more leg pressure, clucking, and moving the reins forward.

Slowing down is not so easily done gracefully. The most common way to slow down is to pick up the reins and pull until the horse slows down, which is simply not good enough in a reining competition when you are trying to show your horse on a loose rein. At best, shortening up the reins shows the judges that you are no longer in complete control on a loose rein, and you may loose points for degree of difficulty. At worst , your horse may resist the slow down cue requiring you to really have to pull - not good!

Working with J.P. Forget, I have learned a really good method of speed control. After all the slow down work I have been doing with Riser, I wasn't so sure I should be going fast with him at all, but we will have to do it at the Ride N Slide so I have to start schooling it.

Start by putting your horse on a circle at the lope. Let him warm up quietly on the circle, nice and quiet. If your guiding needs work, make your corrections, but mostly just leave him to lope. After half a dozen or so circles, as you come across center start adding speed.

The way J.P. recommends adding speed is simply to add a bit of legs and push the horse a bit faster. You can keep adding a bit more speed but make sure you are not being run away with or that the horse is no longer guiding - both of those need to be corrected.

To slow down, quit riding as you come off the wall heading towards center. Just sit back in a neutral position and quit pushing the horse ahead. Ideally the horse will quit running and by the time he crosses the center mark he will back in a slow lope. In reality, it doesn't usually work that way! To school the horse, if he hasn't made a definite effort to slow down by half way to center, quietly pull him down to walk. Much like the work I was doing with Riser, this doesn't make a big deal of anything - it is simply guiding the horse to the walk instead of making it a real correction.

I wasn't so sure it would work with Riser as he had been so silly about going fast, but I thought I'd give it a shot. Twice we went through the slow circles and building faster circles, and twice I had to pull him down after asking him to slow. He just didn't realize he was supposed to go back to he lope. The third time, he broke to trot almost immediately after I quit riding him forward - a little bit too much slow down, but the right answer!

So it does work, though to start this I'd suggest having a horse that is broke well enough to lope slowly and quietly when asked - trying this on a horse that already moves too quickly isn't going to help. You can work those transitions from lope to walk as I had done on Riser though, and it should help sharpen up your horse's response to the gentle pick up on the reins to mean slow down.

Would you like to Share a Trailer Ride? View the rides offered here... or submit your offer for a ride here
Foal Announcements are now open - or add your foal here

by Kristi Rensby

Electric - Becoming more popular is the portable electric fence. Small portable posts can be transported to the show - we use 5' lengths of re-bar, or you can buy posts at the local feed store. Spool out your wire or tape, attach it with insulators, hook up your battery operated fencer and then the battery (or a or solar powered model), and you're in business! Your horse should know ahead of time what an electric fence is, but will likely be very safe in this enclosure (provided he doesn't break out!).

Panels - You can bring your own panels to an event and set them up. I like to use four or five behind the stock trailer, leaving the back half of the trailer open as a shelter. Use a minimum of four 10' panels in a square pattern, or add an existing fence, trailer side or more panels to enlarge it. You can pack panels in the back of the truck, inside the trailer, or set up racks on the outside of the trailer for transporting them.

T-posts and rails - This set up takes a bit of work compared to the other two methods and may not keep all horses in, but it is cheaper than buying a fencer and battery, or buying panels. It uses a minimum of four t-posts, eight rails, sixteen eye bolts, and 12 two foot chunks of PVC pipe. Drive the t-posts into the ground until secure, then slide a two foot PVC pipe chunk over each post. Screw the eye bolts into the ends of the rails, and slide them over the t-posts to make the first rail of your corral. Slide the next chunks of pipe over the posts, then add the second rail. Use the third set of PVC pipe pieces on top of the posts - you can secure them by drilling a hole through the pipe and wiring the pieces of pipe to the top holes in the t-posts.

In case that thoroughly confused you, you'll end up with a four-sided corral with two rails at 2' and 4'. You can change things to suit your own needs - you may prefer three rails, or more sides, but that is up to individual preference.

There are lots of options available besides the standard stalls and corrals if you are out on the road this summer. Know your horse and his limits - stay safe.

Northern BC Horse is sponsored by local businesses who support equine sports in our area including:

• Hoskins Ford
• Reimer Ranch

Do you have a horse or equipment to sell? Want to buy a horse or equipment? Check the Free Classified Ads.