Competition Services - Disciplines

Cutting

Cutting pits a horse against a cow in a battle of wills. Cutting horses must possess cow sense – the ability to out-think and outmanoeuvre a cow. Horse and Rider must move quietly into a herd of cattle, cut one animal from the herd, drive it into the centre of the arena and hold it away from the herd. The rider must keep that one cow from returning to the rest of the herd. The cutting horse must match moves with the cow, anticipating it’s every manoeuvre. Judges score the horse on its ability to keep the cow from returning to the herd, cow sense, attentiveness and courage.

Photo: Courtesy of Dave Christensen