Training a Horse for Cowboy Mounted Shooting

If you are an experienced horseperson with a history of working with a number of horses then browse through the article for the highlights. If, on the other hand, you are relatively new to horse training, the following is written for you. Just as no two people are alike, no two horses will respond to training in the same manner. The following are just guidelines and should be applied with a large measure of common sense and observing what your horse is telling you.

The number one principle in training a horse for mounted shooting is patience. Observe what your horse is telling you and let it decide when to go on to the next step.  It is said that 85% of success in mounted shooting is based on the horse.  Concentrate on your horse and not on your success.  When your horse moves smoothly through the course, then it is time for you to concentrate on your skills.  That is not to say that you completely ignore you shooting and riding skills, it is that the emphasis is training your horse first before training yourself.

Your horse should trust you before you introduce him to mounted shooting. He should behave well with other horses and be well broken to trail riding or other equine disciplines. Mounted shooting is no place for the green horse and green rider. If you are a novice rider, then spend the money to buy a horse that is well trained to mounted shooting. You and everyone else will be safer.

Your horse should neck rein and stop on command. This is basic as you will be shooting with one hand and reining with the other. The first part of a course is designed to test the reining ability of horse and rider. Stopping is important as the last part of the course usually is set up to test the ability of the horse and rider to shoot accurately at speed. Stopping before crashing into the arena wall is always more fun.

Horses differ in how they take to mounted shooting. A few just can’t handle it. Some will accept mounted shooting from the get go. Others will have to be introduced to it in small stages. How your horse reacts on the trail or other horse related activities may or may not be an indicator of how he will react in the shooting arena.

Mounted shooting is usually set in an arena with traffic cones, balloons on pole set into the cones and guns firing 45 cal. blanks. Anything you can do to get your horse accustomed to any of these things prior to your first mounted shooting experience will help.

If an arena is handy, ride your horse in and around the empty arena. Desensitize him to balloons by letting him smell them, hear them rubbing together and tying them around his stall so he gets used to them moving in the breeze.

To get him used to gunfire, you may want to start with bursting balloons and then 45 cal. blanks. Stand with your horse to reassure him as an assistant fires the burst the balloon or fires the gun at some distance from the horse. Fire closer as the horse accepts the noise. Do all of this from the ground. Repeat the process when you are riding him in a round pen. Save shooting from horseback until you are at your first practice session.

You may want to buy/make a set of earplugs for your horse to protect his hearing. Getting him use to having plugs in his ears is another thing you can work on before your first mounted shooting practice session.

Once you are confident, by your horse’s reaction to or lack of reaction to balloons and gunfire it’s time to head to a mounted shooting practice session.

As practice begins, stand by your horse and observe his reaction as the first participant shoots at the balloons. If he is nervous and jittery, you may need to keep him tied to or near the arena as the practice session continues. As he observes other horses in the arena, running the course with gunfire, he will begin to believe that all that noise and confusion won’t hurt him.

Once your horse accepts gunfire at the arena, mount up and both of you observe from within the arena. During a break in the practice or when it is your turn, walk him through the course introducing him to the traffic cones and balloons. Do this as many times as necessary for him to accept the course props.

The next step is to help pull the balloon holders after a course is shot. He may be nervous as you both approach the table where balloons are being inflated and mounted on the carrier sticks. This is just another learning opportunity as you hand off the balloon sticks.

The next step is to accept a handful of balloons and place them on the poles sticking up from the traffic cones. The squeaking of the balloons rubbing together should not startle your horse due to your earlier work with balloons around your horse.

In between pulling dowels and setting balloons, practice walking and then trotting the course. After several practice runs, try dry firing your pistols at the balloons as you walk and then trot the course. You will need practice aiming at the balloons, cocking your gun between balloons and holstering and then drawing your second gun for the last 5 balloons. You want your horse accustomed to seeing the gun and your hand out of the corner of his eye. Do this at a safe speed, maintaining control of your horse at all times.

Once your horse tolerates the placing of balloons and you have practiced dry firing the course, you and your horse are ready for shooting. If possible, work with experienced shooters and horses. Ride around the arena with you in the middle and experienced horses on both sides. Ask the rider closest to the arena wall to fire a blank at the base of the arena wall. When your horse sees that the other horses show no fear, he too will relax and not fear the sound of gun fire. Continue around the arena with the experienced rider firing periodically. By firing at the arena wall you give your horse the open area of the arena to move to.

If your horse accepts this, repeat the exercise only have the rider on the inside of the arena fire toward the center of the arena. Finally it is your turn. With an experienced rider and horse riding to your outside, fire off your horses rear at the bottom of the arena wall. If he accepts the gunfire try it again without the extra rider.

You are now ready to shoot a course. Do this at a walk, firing at the balloon off to the side and slightly to the rear of your horse. This keeps him from getting head shy as well as provides a reason for him to keep moving forward.

Progress to firing at a trot, lope, and canter as both of you become more proficient in the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting.

Enjoy!