One of the things I was reminded of while working horses this week is that you can have a solid training program, understand your fundamentals, and know exactly what you're trying to accomplish—but you still have to know how to apply that program to the individual horse you're riding.

I worked several really nice rope horses in one morning. The concepts and objectives were basically the same with every one of them, but I didn't ride any two exactly alike. That's horsemanship.

You have to understand your program, but you also have to understand your horse. The better you get at recognizing what each horse needs and adjusting your application accordingly, the more effective that program becomes.

The Principles Stay the Same, but the Application Changes

We talk a lot about the importance of having a consistent training program. I believe in that. Horses learn through consistency, and as trainers, we need to have a clear understanding of the signals we're using and the responses we're looking for. But consistency doesn't mean doing exactly the same thing with every horse.

This week was a great example. Wade and I spent some time breakaway roping on horses that we also use in the team roping. With his mare, Belle, one thing we wanted to improve in the heeling was her ability to leave the box and get down the arena faster.

She has plenty of body control and maneuverability, but she needed to learn to leave the corner more like a calf horse. So instead of simply making more heeling runs, we changed the exercise. We breakaway roped on her.

Within a few calves, she started leaving harder, getting to position, and then holding that position until Wade roped. Once she got there and finished the run correctly, he let her stop, stand, relax, and find that release. We weren't changing the end goal. We were changing the way we helped her understand how to get there. That's an important distinction.

Sometimes Another Discipline Can Fill in the Gaps

I'm a big believer in exposing horses to different situations and disciplines because one job can often strengthen something you need in another.

Breakaway roping can be a tremendous tool for developing a heel horse because it teaches that horse to accelerate, find position, stay locked onto the cow, and prepare to get on their hindquarters.

The pattern is going to change when you go back to heeling. But if the horse is maneuverable and understands your signals, you can change that pattern while keeping the pieces you developed through the other exercise.

That's where I think we sometimes get too caught up in labels.

We say, This is a heel horse, so I need to practice heeling.

Or, This is a barrel horse, so I need to work the barrel pattern.

But sometimes the thing that makes your horse better at his job isn't doing more of the job. It may be finding another exercise that develops the missing piece without adding more pressure to the same situation.

You have to know what you're trying to improve and then find the best way to communicate that to the horse.

Train the Horse You're Riding Today

Another horse I worked that morning was Boone, my number-one head horse. Boone is probably one of the most athletic horses I've ever trained. He's got a lot of tools—but when a horse has that many tools, you've also got more to manage.

He scores well, but I wouldn't call him a natural scorer. There's a difference.

As long as I'm swinging my rope, Boone has a tendency to think he needs to keep accelerating. That's just part of who he is. His mother was similar.

So when I'm breakaway roping on Boone, I adjust my application. Instead of roping as I'm running to the calf and asking him to rate afterward, I may get to my position, allow him to rate, and then rope. I'm helping him understand that getting to that spot doesn't always mean he needs to keep driving forward.

Blue is different. He's a younger horse and a much more natural scorer. Early on, I spent a lot of time simply teaching him to score, ride, and find position. I didn't even need to carry a rope. Before I worried about roping anything, I wanted him to understand the pattern and learn where I wanted his body in relation to the calf.

As he's progressed, I've been able to ask for more. Things that would have worried him a month ago are becoming comfortable now. Again, the objective hasn't changed. The application has.

Don't Ask for More of What a Horse Already Gives You

This is where learning to read your horse becomes so important. Reba has a lot of natural stop. If I rode her exactly like Boone and kept asking for more stop, I'd probably create a problem I didn't have in the first place.

Instead, when I rope on her, I may deliberately ride her forward for another four or five strides before sitting down and allowing her to melt into the stop. I'm not trying to create more style. I'm trying to free up what she already has.

Roscoe is similar. He's been there and done that. I don't need to make run after run drilling him into the ground and reminding him that he's supposed to stop. When it's game time, he knows how to stop.

What I want is for him to stay free and balanced going into that stop. I would rather feel a horse take an extra step with his shoulders up and his hind legs underneath him than feel him get sticky on the front end because he's anticipating what's coming. If I feel one start anticipating, I'll push him forward.

Sometimes good training isn't about creating more response. It's about recognizing that you already have enough and making sure you don't take it too far.

Use Release Points to Make the Right Thing Easy

No matter which horse I'm riding, one principle that stays consistent throughout my program is the importance of release. I want to use release points to help the horse recognize when they've found the answer.

In the roping box, riding to the front of the box can be a release point. Backing into the corner can be another. Getting into the position where I can take a high-percentage shot is another. When the horse finishes the run and comes to a complete, balanced stop, that's another opportunity for release. The more clearly we establish those moments, the more we can help a horse understand what we're asking.

After Wade made a run on Belle, he'd let her stand there. He'd coil his rope, pet her, and give her time. I like to wait until a horse takes that big breath and relaxes. That's when they begin to appreciate that spot.

The goal is to make the things we need our horses to do become things they want to do. If there's always another demand waiting the second they give us the right answer, pretty soon there's not much motivation to search for it. We're no different.

If you work hard at something and somebody acknowledges that you did it right, you want to keep trying. If your reward for doing something correctly is immediately being asked for more, eventually you're going to get tired of playing that game. Our horses need to know when they've done enough.

A Training Program Is Only as Good as Your Ability to Apply It

There is more access to horsemanship information today than we've ever had before. You can attend clinics, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and learn from a lot of different trainers. That's valuable. But gathering information is only the first step.

You have to take what you've learned, practice it, and figure out how to apply it to the horse in front of you. That's the piece that can't be replaced by simply knowing the steps of a program.

A program gives you direction. Your fundamentals give you something to fall back on. But horsemanship is developing the feel to recognize when one horse needs more pressure, another needs less, one needs to be driven forward, and another needs help slowing down. Same concepts. Same objectives. Different application.

If You Want Better Horses, Become a Better Horseman

As I thought about those horses I worked that morning, the biggest question I came back to wasn't whether every horse got better. It was: Was I better today?

Because if I'm better, my horses will be better.

There are days when I'm in a hurry. I've got a list of horses to ride, things I need to get done, and it's easy to start going through the motions. You can tell yourself that you put a ride on the horse, so surely the horse must be better. But that's not necessarily true.

That morning, I was present. I was paying attention. I wasn't riding Boone like Blue or Reba like Roscoe. I was thinking about what each individual horse needed from me and adjusting accordingly. That's the part of horsemanship I want to keep improving.

I've never trained a perfect horse, and I've never been a perfect trainer. There will always be something I can work on. In fact, one of my goals for the coming year is to go ride with trainers I haven't had the opportunity to learn from before and pick their brains about some of those little things that can make me better.

Because advanced horsemanship really is just better basics. And getting better requires enough humility to recognize that what worked yesterday—or what worked on the last horse—may not be exactly what the horse underneath you needs today.

Know your program. Understand your fundamentals. Be consistent in what you're trying to accomplish. But then learn to adjust your approach to fit your horse. That's horsemanship.