TURNING BACK: FOR THE FUN OF IT
My horse dove for the yearling heifer and sent her back toward Rudy, the cutting horse the trainer was riding. The heifer made a few more leaps toward the herd and Rudy balanced on his back legs, riveted the cow with his eyes and matched her move for move. Donald released the heifer and turned the cutter away. He was laughing and out of breath. Rudy, the four year old Quarter Horse colt was having a brilliant day.
My horse, Chance, a long legged Arabian with no cow sense whatsoever, tossed his head, waved his plumy tail and pranced back to the gate to get ready for Donald’s next colt. My heart was pounding and my hands were shaking from the excitement. Chance and I just loved to “turn back”.
Donald has three young cutting horses to train. All are geldings. Romeo will be five in the spring. Rudy and Hickory will soon be four. The large round pen has a corral adjacent to it holding about 30 yearling cattle. The cattle are divided evenly between heifers and steers. Donald starts his young horses by just following a couple of the yearlings around the big round pen. The young horses build confidence by herding the yearlings around the pen, usually along the fence.
As the cutters progress Donald puts about eight of the yearling calves into the large round pen where they bunch together. Then Donald rides the colt into the bunch and selects a calf to cut. He separates the chosen animal from the herd and the yearling, seeing it is separated from its buddies, tries to race back to the herd. Donald teaches the colt to block the calf from returning to the herd. After a couple of weeks of practice the yearlings lose interest in rejoining their buddies. A calf seems to tell himself, if the cowboy wants me away from my buddies, so be it. I will just stand here and nap. This will not do! The cutting horse will not learn to read the calf, judge its movements, and make those flashy moves of his own when the calf is enjoying a snooze. This is where a turn-back horse enters the picture. The turn-back horse and rider encourage the lazy yearling to run back to his buddies.
Donald worked the next colt in the small round pen for a few minutes while Chance and I watched, then we went to the big 150 ft. round pen with 6 inch deep sand for good footing and waited while Donald chose another yearling to cut. He selected a high headed black baldy steer this time and it took off for the far side of the arena at a dead run. Chance and I shot after him and spooked him back to the cutter. The young horse stopped and turned on a dime pivoting on his back hooves and blocking the steer at every turn. Then the steer took a run again back to the other side of the arena, with Chance and I trying to catch up and pass the steer to turn him back. Chance does not have the quick burst of speed that a Quarter Horse has, so sometimes the steer can out run us for a while. We got ahead of the steer and turned him back. Chance did not pivot on his hind feet. He did not stop completely before turning, and he did not focus all of his attention on the steer, but we got him turned back eventually. Chance was so proud of himself. He felt important, helpful, and successful. We went back to the herd of about 10 to 12 yearlings to wait while Donald selected another cow.
Now, Chance is not really a very good turn back horse, he is an Endurance horse and he is good at that sport. A good turn back horse is similar to a cutting horse, quick and cowy. It can stop and turn in a flash and read what the cow is thinking by its body language. Chance, however, BELIEVES he is a good turn back horse. He loves to run across the arena and spook the cow back to the cutting horse. He turns back for the fun of it.
When I was young, people, like parents, teachers and so forth were always telling me “If you are going to do something, do it right.” Or “If it is not worth doing right it is not worth doing at all.” I have found the second of these statements to be untrue. In every life there is room to have fun being less than an expert. My life is filled with “Participation Ribbons”. I did not win or place, but I participated.
Turning back is like that for both Chance and me. I watch Donald stay on the colts through their lightning fast moves and I know I would fall off if I was riding them. Sometimes, I think Donald may actually fall, but he never has while I was watching. Carol, his wife, joins us to watch and help Donald perfect his form, his hands, and the leg cues he gives the colts. Donald is striving for perfection. He wants to be the best. This is his life’s work and he is a professional. There is a place to strive for excellence. There is also a place to accept less than perfection and do something for the fun of it.
When Chance and I “turn-back” we become, in a very small way, a part of the Cutting Horse World. Way in the background, we have the delight of helping the cutting horses have a challenging workout. We help the cutting team have an action packed 2 ½ minute practice so they are prepared for the 2 ½ minute competition.
When I watch a Cutting Horse competition on T.V. I have the pleasure of knowing if the horse I am watching is doing well or not. I have learned much about cutting by turning back.
So, go ahead. Be an “O. K.” swimmer, runner, horseback rider or skier. You will have a blast. Also, enjoy playing an instrument, sketching a picture, baking a cake, singing, dancing, cooking a meal and being a friend. Don’t give your whole life to being perfect in just one activity to the exclusion of others. Even Mozart had hobbies. Become excellent in one or two things, and enjoy the rest. Remember the “participation ribbons” have many colors on them, I think they are the prettiest of all.
Diane Johnson