Prevent Bad Habits From the Start

Kids are easier than adults to teach, because they don’t really have any bad habits yet. They catch on easier, and they take more direction. They don’t already have any preconceived notions about what they’re doing, so the goal is to prevent them from falling into bad habits that’ll take years to fix later. Here’s how we address it with our own kids—Callie, 9, and Brayden, 5. lengths, and low to their horses’ necks—even when they’re just riding through the pasture or down to their uncle’s arena at the end of the driveway. We remind them often to make sure their reins are even, so their cues are clear and direct. remind her to drop her shoulders out of her ears.

Callie uses two hands to ask her horses to stop and back up, keeping her from overusing one hand out of position.

R.L. Chartier is an National Cutting Horse Association Open World Champion and $2.4 million rider. He lives with his wife, Mica, and kids Callie, 9, and Brayden, 5, in Weatherford, Texas, where he trains amateurs and non-pros as well as elite-level cutters.