Patrick Hooks - 101 Ranch Horse Tips: Techniques for Training the Working Cow Horse

Pat Hooks day-works as an American Cowboy. Alongside his wife Terri and son Zach, they work their ranch in Texhoma, Oklahoma, located in the Northwest panhandle of Oklahoma and Texas. There Pat teaches an apprenticeship program while raising and training their private stock of working ranch horses, Border collies, and Black Angus cattle.

Pat has learned from and is a teacher of the horse. His knowledge trickles down from the legacy of legendary horsemen Bill and Tom Dorrance and Ed Connell. He deeply appreciates the knowledge he has gained from horsemen Bill Black, Ray Hunt, and Doug Milholland. Since the 1980s Pat has given clinics at national horse expos, private ranches, universities, and colleges. His teaching methods have helped a broad spectrum of people, including private apprentices, 4-H kids, college students, and prisoners.

Pat has written how-to articles for various equine newspapers and magazines since his professional career began and presently answers questions submitted to AQHAs Americas Horse magazine Web site. He has been a guest on RFDTV and has been invited to participate on the new TV station, Horse TV. Pat is also the author of Fix it Up for the Horse.

You may contact Pat through his Web site www.hookshorseranch.com or e-mail pathooks@ptsi.net. If you wish to write, the address is RR 1 Box 10 E, Texhoma, OK 73949.

Fundamental training begins at birth.

In the beginning, a horse owner should consider giving his ranch horse prospect a good start by simply allowing Mother Nature to take its course. If conditions allow, let the foal be born in wide-open spaces. The first couple of hours in your new foals life will have a great impact on his mind, body, and spirit. Clean pasture and wide-open spaces will allow the mare and new foal a favorable place for their natural instincts to develop. Horses are herd animals. The social bond between mother, foal, and the herd should be allowed with no human interference for at least a few hours. This private time between mother and foal is a crucial time frame in the development of the mental, physical, and emotional makeup of the new foal.

Two to three hours after the foals birth, my primary goal is to gain enough of the foals trust so it will freely allow me to administer its initial health needs. This task will depend greatly on the foals dam and her disposition, so it may be done in the open pasture or in confinement. I prefer moderate confinement because I like to proceed with tender loving care, or what some horsemen call imprinting. I like to keep things calm and natural, using a little feed for a pacifier (see top photo).

If the mare is a little hasty about the human coming near the foal, consider a loose wrap for a tie, as in the bottom photo. Remember that the mares hormones are in an active state, and a normally calm mare might react differently at this time. If a mares actions would even suggest kicking, biting, or pawing the handler, be sure she is restrained outside of the pen. Safety for all involved is of the utmost importance.

With the many different jobs ranch horses do, they need to be what is called bomb proof. Imprinting or giving TLC to your foal is an excellent place to start. The foal in the photo is only a few hours old but she has already been sacked out with a rope and blanket. Sacking out your foals in this manner is time well spent and will build great trust in humans. When this foal reaches an age when it will be handled daily and ridden, the dividends from this time will be priceless.

Notice the tools Im using. My boots are steel-toed: the babies will step on your feetnot out of bad nature, but from survival instincts and not having the best idea of where their feet are. Your language and emotions will be spared with this foot protection.

It is much better to swear by the boots than to swear at the foal. The blanket is of soft cotton. It should be pleasant feeling to the baby. The rope I use is XXX soft and has a metal honda. The XXX representing the soft ply is not as likely to burn, and the metal honda will release quickly if any slack is thrown into the lariat.

Pictured here is the minimum amount of sacking out I like to accomplish with foals before I continue their health care. I break the foals sacking out into steps. First I place myself between the mare and foal, while the mother is either pacified, tied with a loose wrap, or restrained to the outside of the pen.

As the foal moves away from you, it will return to its mother. Simply keep placing yourself between the two. It helps to kneel down to the foals eye level as it returns to mom. The foal can see you from its eye in a way that is not as predatory as if you were towering over it. Eventually the foals curiosity will allow you to pat it or receive a sniff. Build from this point.

Next, I pet the foal all over and consider it progress to restrain the foal lightly. Next, I try to pick up each foot. After these starting points, introduce the blanket, rope, and other objects. Take your time. If the foal wants to return to mom for security and refreshment, allow it. Keep the mother calm: it is her instinct to protect her baby!

I like to give three health treatments to a newborn. First spray the umbilical cord with iodine. This treatment helps greatly to prevent infection, and it promotes healing by drying out. Simply spray the cord from several different angles, making sure it is completely covered (as in the photo). Then dry the umbilical cord. Some folks prefer to dip the cord rather than spray.

Second, give a shot of tetanus and a shot of vitamins. This is all I do at this time. The foals individual vaccines will be administered at a later date. In the meantime, its immune system draws from vaccines given the mare during late pregnancy.

It is much easier to give the shots if you insert the needle by itself first, as shown in the photo. Next replace the syringe back to the needle and administer the shot. This allows you to perform a rubbing stroking action with your hand before inserting the actual needle. I have found that giving the shot with all components attached together is very awkward, and I end up jabbing the needle rather than inserting it smoothly. If you arent experienced with giving shots, contact your local vet for advice about placing the needle in the correct spot.