Sliders on a Ranch Riding horse

[Aces_N_Eights]

Sliders can mean anything from a cowboy slider all the up to a 1.5" slide plate with toe weights and long trailers. (I’m long removed from reiners, so I dont know what they use anymore)
I’ve put cowboy or baby sliders on my cowboy horses during certain times of the year based what we were doing, conditions, and how hard the horse wants to stop. Might be showing whether it be cow horse or steer stopping too.

At the local level, most places dont have the best ground to ask for a nice stop showing the horse’s potential. I’m not asking for a huge reiner slide stop, it’s about protecting from hurting himself. If you stop him in bad ground enough, he’ll quit stopping whether it’s a slide stop or not whether it be outside working or in the show pen.

[beau159]

@Bluey

Except in shows with other than ranch classes, if a horse is also entered in regular reining it needs sliders and is not ideal but safe enough to use them for ranch classes in an arena.
The trick is to train horse and rider and judges for ranch classes not to ask for a sliding stop or reward it if a horse slides in any stop?
That some judge wants to give points for sliding in ranch classes itself is questionable, sliders or not,

Depends on the show rules.

For example, I know that at AQHA shows, if Ranch Reining is also offered, you CANNOT cross enter into the regular reining and cannot do both.

Of course, other associations have different rules.

It would be a matter of what’s more important to you on where you want your horse to score the best.

Even in the ranch reining patterns, you aren’t making a run down and a sliding stop … because that’s not how the class is supposed to be judged (even though some judges, as mentioned here, would score it wrong).

[Montanas_Girl]

@beau159

Even in the ranch reining patterns, you aren’t making a run down and a sliding stop

That is not at all true at ARHA shows. You aren’t expected (or encouraged) to do NRHA style, dramatic, slides, but rundowns and stops are absolutely part of the ranch reining patterns.

Again, it is important to read and understand the rules of the organization under which you are competing. There is quite a bit of variability among the various ranch horse, stock horse, and breed organizations.

I show ARHA, and my mare wears “baby” sliders. The vast majority of horses at the shows where I compete are in similar shoes, and they mostly enter the full slate of classes - ranch riding (which is a rail class in ARHA), ranchmanship, ranch reining, horsemanship, ranch trail, boxing, and herdwork and/or cutting.

Even a short slide ala ranch reining has the potential to injure a horse who isn’t wearing some kind of slider, especially on questionable footing. My mare lives out 24/7 on my hilly TN pasture and has no trouble navigating rocks, uneven footing, and weather in her sliders.

[beau159]

@Montanas_Girl

That is not at all true at ARHA shows. You aren’t expected (or encouraged) to do NRHA style, dramatic, slides, but rundowns and stops are absolutely part of the ranch reining patterns.

And that’s exactly what I meant. ??? You are not making dramatic 15 foot sliding stop in the Ranch Reining.

[Montanas_Girl]

@beau159

Even in the ranch reining patterns, you aren’t making a run down and a sliding stop

^^This is what you said. Rundowns and sliding stops are, in fact, components of ranch reining classes at ARHA shows, was my point.

[Aces_N_Eights]

“Are you going to be trotting and loping your horse through the grass pasture, rocks and all, wearing SLIDERS? No, you are not (because that’s dangerous) and that is why sliders have no place in the ranch show pen. Yes, I understand it’s a show pen, but to keep the trueness of the event and what/why it was created, it is to showcase the ranch horse. A ranch horse doesn’t wear sliders.”

While not making big reiner style stops even in the ranch reining, why wouldn’t you at least protect your horse or the least keep him wanting to try to stop on his hind end? Most horses after trying to stuff their ass in crap ground give it up.
That’s why I put cowboy sliders on my work horses when the conditions permitted. Baby sliders might of been a bit much working outside, but I’d have switched or drilled/tapped studs for showing cow horse.
If you look at the AQHA rulebook with the approved Ranch Reining patterns, they do in fact ask for slide stops.
ARHA ranch reining asks for stops, penalizing 1/2 point? for excessive sliding which I think they consider 20 ft plus.

[beau159]

@Montanas_Girl

^^This is what you said. Rundowns and sliding stops are, in fact, components of ranch reining classes at ARHA shows, was my point.

If you want to go 'round and 'round, be my guest, but I already clarified once on what I meant when I said that. When I used the phrase “sliding stop” I meant the long 20-foot dramatic ones you see in the reining pen.

@Aces_N_Eights

While not making big reiner style stops even in the ranch reining, why wouldn’t you at least protect your horse or the least keep him wanting to try to stop on his hind end? Most horses after trying to stuff their ass in crap ground give it up.
That’s why I put cowboy sliders on my work horses when the conditions permitted. Baby sliders might of been a bit much working outside, but I’d have switched or drilled/tapped studs for showing cow horse.
If you look at the AQHA rulebook with the approved Ranch Reining patterns, they do in fact ask for slide stops.
ARHA ranch reining asks for stops, penalizing 1/2 point? for excessive sliding which I think they consider 20 ft plus.

I’ve won decent sized Ranch Horse classes and qualified for the AQHA World Show without sliders. A nice soft correct stop scores well and can be absolutely be done without sliders and without harm to the horse.

I’m repeating myself at this point so I think I’ve run my course on this thread.

[Montanas_Girl]

Silly me for using the actual meaning of a term rather than your personal one.

You can absolutely do a ranch riding/ranchmanship stop without sliders safely. In the reining, though, ranch style or otherwise, it’s a surefire way to ruin a nice horse.

[NoVAOwner]

In the US at the largest AQHA shows it is common to have the ranch horses in even a ‘baby slider’. because they want them to stop immediately and that sometimes looks like a small sliding stop. the logic is it is better for the horses hocks to have a little slide than to have them stick in the ground. (I’m not supporting only providing info my top trainer provided to me when I asked about all this). I have not experienced the horses doing a sliding stop like the reiners do. since many ranch horses have had some level of reining training they may be inclined to sit and slide for any sharp stop. Baby sliders protect those joints.

having said that, mine steps on them and rips them off in the trailer so we had to put bell boots on him behind. now he shows barefoot and I ask a little less aggressively for the stop to avoid him trying to slide and sticking in the dirt.

Hope this helps.