Part 1  Working finished cow and cutting horses on the flag can be tricky! They may feel good, how ever they could be cheating and you end up neglecting some of the fundamentals that will get you in trouble when you go to work cattle! John Mitchell helps a Cow Horse trainer work his six year old on the flag, identifying how to maintain and school an open horse, demonstrating:

• Why he works his open horses in a plain snaffle at home, even though they may have already won hundreds of thousands of dollars in the show pen.
• How to deal with the unpredictability of cattle.
• Working the flag is NOT about cowing them up, at speed.
• It is, in his opinion all about maintenance training.
• Where your hips should be positioned relative to the flag.
• Why he wants his horse’s straight in the stop.
• Why he does not shape his horse’s in the stop and make them look at the cow with both eyes.
• Be aware if your horse is pivoting from his hips or in the middle of his belly.
• How to use your hands to help a horse open upon and bend through the middle of the turn.
• Why he wants to come out of the turn smooth and straight.
• Be very open minded towards everybody’s philosophy to training.
• Loads more….