Right From the Start
By Matt Brockman
Photos by Craig Kelly
Editor’s note: This article includes an interview with Kris Wilson. Shortly before we went to press, we learned that he passed away. We send our deepest condolences to the Wilson family and his many friends, and are grateful that we can share the knowledge of this respected horseman.
Breeding and raising ranch horses can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Providing colts the best start possible, however, can be a perplexing challenge. Appropriate care and ground work during the first 2 years builds a solid foundation for when a colt enters what may be the most important phase in a horse’s life — starting under the saddle. Little is left to chance by those raising and training colts to become dependable ranch horses.
Foals and yearlings
With the first 6 months of a foal’s life spent by its mother’s side, human interaction is not typically a priority. Things change at weaning, with nutrition, care and the early stages of training becoming important. Kris Wilson, manager of Silver Spur Ranches, New Mexico Division, which includes the Bell Ranch near Tucumcari and TO Ranch near Raton, advocates devoting the proper time and effort to providing foals a solid start. Wilson is a member of Silver Spur’s team devoted to producing the ideal ranch horse. Approximately 50 broodmares, which he refers to as cow-bred types, produce horses that are well suited to Silver Spur Ranch’s diverse ranch country in 4 states (New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming).
“Our colts are born and reared in big pastures, so human involvement is minimal until we wean and start halter breaking,” says Wilson. “When we first wean our colts, we keep them close to the barn for a month or two to get them used to people and activity. Our [breeding program produces] horses that are gentle and smart, so it doesn’t take much, but we do quite a bit of ground work while we are halter breaking and it makes for less time when we start [them] under saddle.”
Nutrition and care are also important to ranches with broodmare programs and Silver Spur devotes important resources to a foal’s physical development.
“We have a nutritionally balanced ration developed for our colts that is self-fed from weaning until they are yearlings,” says Wilson. “We also deworm 3 to 4 times during their first year of life.”
After weaning and halter breaking, many argue that colts grow up best in wide-open spaces where they’ll spend crucial time among rocks, hills and creeks. Wilson is such an advocate.
“I think it is important to turn them back out in the rocks to develop their feet and legs,” he says. It’s also important, especially for colts that may have lived their first year in traps or small pastures, to grow and play in the larger and rougher expanses where they’ll become familiar with creeks, brush, rocks and other features before they’re required to pack a rider in a similar environment. While all the work and investment during the colt’s first 24 months has, it is hoped, laid a solid foundation, the next phase in the colt’s life may be the most crucial.
Starting them right
Bob Kilmer, manager of the Matador Ranch in northwest Texas, believes such a foundation is paramount for starting a 2-year-old colt under saddle. In 2000, Matador began revamping their horse program by growing their broodmare band to produce ranch horses with emphases on conformation, athleticism and, most importantly, safety. Their work paid off when they were named the 2013 recipient of the American Quarter Horse Association’s Best Remuda Award. Matador decided to seek help with their 2-year-olds beginning in 2003.
“Starting them right is the key and we were acquainted with Rod Smith and Jeff Williams, so we decided to take a few colts to them,” says Kilmer. “We’ve taken our colts to them ever since because they start the colts right by putting that foundation in them. Their program works well for Matador Ranch.”
Old school with a modern twist
Williams and Smith operate their colt-starting business on the edge of the Caprock Escarpment near Post. There, they start colts for noted ranch horse programs in Texas and elsewhere. Besides Matador, their ranch clients have included Muleshoe Ranch, Haythorn Land and Cattle Company, Spur Headquarters Ranch, and Beggs Cattle Company. King Ranch became a client in 2015.
While many of the colts they start for these ranches go back to a cowboy’s string, many are consigned to one of several popular ranch horse sales, including the Western Heritage Classic Ranch Horse Sale held each May in Abilene; Caprock Ranchers Sale and Futurity in July in Levelland; and the Return to the Remuda Sale in October at 1 of 4 participating ranches. Williams and Smith know how to use limited time — typically 90 days — to develop the traits that buyers are looking for in a 2-year-old colt.
With both men in their 50s, and with up to 25 colts at their facility, the men employ the help of younger trainer-aspirants, many of whom have gone on to make names for themselves as noted horsemen. Clay Johnson, who worked for Williams and Smith in the 1990s, became a noted cutting horse trainer, winning the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity in 2013 on a filly named Dual Smart Kitty. Other protégés have made names for themselves in performance and ranch horse circles.
The men have built their reputations using many methods some consider old school. However, they’re not hesitant to implement a new technique advocated by a popular clinician, but only if it complements the tried-and-true methods that clients prefer.
“We might have implemented some of these newer ways, but we have never taken any of the old ways out,” says Williams. “We have implemented flexing, and emphasizing the face and shoulders, ribs and hip more, but we still use the old ways like tying a foot up, hobbling, sacking one out and lots of pasture riding. People like our approach, so unless we get a letter from Craig Haythorn or Bill Smith [about something we’re doing], we’re going to be very selective about changes.”
The bronc pen
For Williams and Smith, everything starts in the bronc pen, a circular, solid-wall structure measuring approximately 30 feet in diameter. The overall objective of the bronc pen experience is to be able to catch the colt, saddle and ride him going both directions without commotion or excitement.
“Sometimes it’s hard to get your hands on these colts,” says Williams. “They were halter-broke as weanlings and most were turned out and not touched for a long time. So on the first day we’ll let them in the bronc pen and they can trot around on a long rope until they let us get our hands on them.”
Quietly and slowly, the men will draw the colt to them and begin rubbing the horse around his neck and withers, working their way across his back and rump. Establishing a comfort level with the colt is important before introducing a saddle.
“Each horse is different, but if the colt doesn’t want us to touch him much, we’re going to go ahead and hobble him and tie a hind foot up and get our hands on him,” says Williams.
Awkwardness and unpredictability always characterize a colt’s first encounter with the saddle. Before riding the colt, they want the horse to travel without a rider. Stirrups thumping the horse’s sides may cause him to jump or buck, but it’s all a part of becoming accustomed to the sensation of packing a saddle. Unorthodox strides eventually turn into a smooth gait and when Williams and Smith believe the colt is comfortable with the saddle, they catch him and resume rubbing and stroking his neck and belly and determine if the horse is ready to feel the weight of a rider.
“After we have stepped up and down a time or two, we’re going to take the saddle off instead of running him around until his heart is thumping,” says Williams. “We want the experience to be positive and as short as possible. The next day we’ll go through the same deal and we’ll ride the colt. Hopefully, the saddle is not some piece of dead leather that he’s scared of and he’s okay wearing it. If not, we’ll tie his foot up again and let him wear the saddle until we can walk into the bronc pen with him, saddle him and he’s not trying to buck it off.
“When we ride him, he’s just packing us. We don’t pull on his head for the first 3 or 4 rides. We’re just riding him and trying to get him supple and straight, using the fence and someone on the ground to accomplish that.” Ideally, the bronc pen phase lasts no more than 3 days.
Control and correctness
With the saddle and rider safely introduced into the young pupil’s life, Williams and Smith take the horse to a larger, round pen for the next important lessons. While a halter was the headgear of choice in the bronc pen, the men prefer to transition the colt to a ring snaffle bit. The device is preferable when the next objectives, control and correctness, become important.
Knowing they’ll want to begin riding the colt in the wide-open spaces as soon as possible, achieving control of the colt becomes imperative for Williams and Smith. While they used both hands to stop and turn the colt in the bronc pen, a 1-reined stop is now introduced. Applying pressure with a single rein gives the rider additional leverage, and the circling motion it creates helps slow a startled colt that may attempt to flee a particular object or situation.
When the men talk about “correctness” they’re often referring to the importance of a horse’s posture and balance while in motion. A horse can better execute stops, turns, side-passes and other important maneuvers if its shoulders, ribs and hips are positioned to allow it to do so in an efficient manner. During a turn or spin, for example, a colt may tend to lean inward and “drop” its shoulders, making the task difficult. Maintaining correct posture during a turn or spin requires keeping the horse’s shoulders elevated. Consequently, his feet and legs can more easily cross each other and the movement becomes easier for the horse. Correctness in the animal’s body also becomes important when performing everyday ranch work such as sorting, roping or turning a cow. Like control, correctness work begins in the larger round pen before the colt is taken outside.
“When they first lope in the bigger pen, it’s not going to be pretty,” Williams says. “A lot of them are going to want to cut across and we’re going to let them for a little while. But before long, we want them up against the wall in a lope, with the shoulder up — we want to keep him symmetrical in a big circle. If he can stay correct in the big round pen, he can stay correct outside.”
As with the colt’s early life, big open pastures are preferred for training the all-around ranch horse. The environment is important for enhancing their athletic abilities as well as making them gentle and comfortable with everyday ranch chores.
“The first day the colts are ridden outside, we take them to the top of the Cap,” Williams says, describing the colt’s initial trek outside of confinement. “For one thing, it gets the horse’s mind on the job at hand. If he’s going up the Cap, he can’t be looking for another horse or he’s in trouble. He’s got to get his mind on his business when he’s going up and down that rough country.” Developing trust between rider and horse is important and it’s best fostered in the rugged country. The bond between horse and rider results in a gentler horse.
“If he’ll rely on me a little more, I’ll rely on him a little more, which is crucial in his overall education,” says Williams. “We want these colts outside crossing creeks, climbing hills and getting brush under their bellies so they’ve experienced that stuff and you’re not worried when riding him in the pasture.”
Much of the remainder of Williams and Smith’s work is done outside. By then, the younger men are turning their attention back to another group of 2-year-olds in the bronc pen and the veterans are completing work on the started colts, maintaining a focus on correctness and posture.
“Posture and straightness are best developed outside,” Williams says. “We’ll use every element out there to train a horse. We’ll use a tree to push a shoulder up. When I lope a horse around a tree it helps me keep his inside shoulder up and in good posture. We use ditches to free up a horse’s front end and help him cross his front feet when he turns.” There will come a point in the colt’s training when correctness becomes crucial, especially when he’s introduced to cow work.
“Let’s say your horse is tracking a cow,” says Williams. “If he’s [traveling] straight, he’s ready for the next move. But if he’s crooked, it’s impossible. If he’s straight and your cow turns, you’re ready. If she stops, you’re ready. If she speeds up and goes in a different direction, you’re ready. You’re not trying to get his butt back under him because he already has it under him, and he’s ready for the next step. His back is up, his withers are up and he’s ready to go.”
Becoming a ranch horse
Ninety days can be an intensive amount of training for an adolescent, 2-year-old colt. Giving the horse time-off to mentally decompress may be necessary. Decades of experience have given Williams a sense for knowing if a colt can withstand more instruction or needs some “turnout time.”
“It’s important to give these colts time to development mentally,” Williams says. “We have to remember that he’s almost grown up physically, but he’s not much more than a child mentally.”
Still, some aspects of a colt’s development can be acquired only through everyday ranch chores. Wilson advocates immersing the youngsters in such work as early as possible.
“We’ll throw some of our 2-year-olds in with our remuda when we take the wagon out for spring branding,” says Wilson. “They need to be ridden with the group and learn things that only the older geldings can teach them about being a ranch horse.”
For a colt, the 3-year-old mark is a turning point from adolescence to adulthood. From this point forward, the horse should be on his way to becoming a reliable tool for a cowboy. While his training is not complete, the young horse’s abilities will be honed and sharpened over time in his journey to becoming a dependable and versatile ranch horse. -TC
“The Right Start” is from the November 2016 issue of The Cattleman magazine.