Horse & Rider

In every issue of Horse & Rider you'll find articles on training by the country's leading experts, the latest on equine health care from top veterinarians, trail riding tips from savvy back country riders, and much more!

STILL BEING WRITTEN

Horse & Rider • VOLUME LXV, NUMBER 2

THE BLUEPRINT • The horses that built the Western performance horse.

BUILT FOR THE JOB: The Blueprint of the Modern Performance Horse • THE HORSES THAT LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR TODAY’S PERFORMANCE ATHLETE.

THE EVOLUTION • Cutting. Reining. Cow Horse. Ranch Horse.

CUTTING • The evolution of the cutting horse dates back to the turn of the 19th century and then blazes the trail to today’s performance horse—athletic, efficient and darn fun to watch.

MAKING THE CUT • WHAT BEGAN AS A RANCH CHORE BECAME A PROVING GROUND—WHERE INSTINCT, PRECISION AND STYLE SHAPED THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN CUTTING HORSE.

COW HORSE • Few Western performance events ask as much of a horse as reined cow horse. It combines precision, cow sense and fence work into a single test—one that rewards horses that can show up and stay consistent all the way through.

THE ROOTS OF REINED COW HORSE • TODAY’S COW HORSES TRACE BACK TO INFLUENTIAL MARES AND STALLIONS WHOSE LEGACIES MAKE THE SPORT THE ACTION-PACKED MARVEL WE SEE AT PREMIER EVENTS.

REINING • The reining pen didn’t evolve overnight. From foundational sires to the horses redefining the sport today, each generation has shaped how reining is ridden, judged and won.

THE MAKING OF A REINING HORSE • FROM RANCH-BRED DURABILITY TO THE RISE OF PURPOSE-BRED ATHLETES, THE REINING HORSE DIDN’T JUST CHANGE—IT WAS SHAPED BY THE HORSES THAT DEFINED EACH ERA.

RANCH • The ranch horse events are a showcase of the skills long used in the Western lifestyle, and the competition is advancing at a faster pace thanks to the bloodlines curated for decades in other disciplines.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: RANCH EVENTS • RANCH HORSE EVENT BREEDERS, TRAINERS AND COMPETITORS HAVE RELIED ON PROVEN BLOODLINES FROM OTHER DISCIPLINES THUS FAR, BUT NOW, THEY’RE TAKING THE REINS FOR RANCH HORSES’ FUTURE.

THE RUNDOWN