Cutting is the skill of taking one or two specific cows out of a herd by placing your horse in the right position to get it to move in the right direction. Cowboys do this routinely to isolate a cow for branding, doctoring or to move it to a different area. The trick is to take the cow out without disturbing the rest of the herd – not an easy thing to do. Some horses are bred specifically for their ability to cut cows.
If you are interested in learning about cutting horses, and more specifically how to ride a cutting horse, I can highly recommend my friend Leon Harrel. I’ve done several clinics with him and even bought a cutting horse from Leon! Leon has accomplished just about everything you can in the cutting world – National Cutting Horse Association World Futurity Champion, President of the NCHA, AQHA World Champion Junior Cutting Stallion and a long long list of others. Plus he’s a really nice honest guy and one of the best instructors I’ve ever seen. Appropriate for beginners and for advanced riders. He and his wife Alexandria now live in Springtown, Texas (near Fort Worth) on a beautiful ranch where he holds clinics. He also travels extensively so he may be holding a clinic near you. Check it out! Leon Harrel Cutting Clinics.
And you see a video of me cutting at an amateur event in California http://www.beal-net.com/richard/clips2/windowsmedia.html