We get plenty of questions and hear a lot of advice about getting a horse ready for CMSA. There are 3 options for having a great shooting horse partner:

1. Buy a seasoned shooting horse. Attend shoots, talk to shooters and often you will find a good horse being demonstrated as for sale.
    
2. Send your horse to a reputable trainer. Many of the clubs can point you to folks who know how to get it done right.
    
3. Take the time be patient and train your horse yourself. Most horses who have a willing attitude, can neck rein, and are in good physical condition have the potential to be a good shooting horse. Your attitude and availability of time are also critical to success.

Cowboys listen up--if there is anything that will ruin your chances of developing a horse into a shooting horse, it is moving too fast.  First, get your horse to the point where you control every movement of his legs..ground work! Second, get him used to plastic bags, noises, and in general despook him. Third, follow instructions below. Add balloons long after the gunfire work!  

Check out an article by my good friend and the trainer of my horse (Dixie), Joel Paulk. Joel Paulk runs a farm in Northeast Georgia and can help you get your horse started right. Happy Shooting, Suzanna Campbell

"STARTING YOUR HORSE"
by Joel Paulk Managing
Owner of 5 Springsfarms in Cuming, Georgia These tips are intended for use on a horse that you’re already familiar with and have been riding.

It is important that your horse already have the basics of neck reining, as you must be very comfortable riding with just one hand on the reins. At Five Springs Farm, we practice mounted shooting on a weekly basis, so any horse that comes to our farm gets accustomed to hearing gun shots from a distance. At an individual home, you need to start your horse off with gun fire experience while they’re under your control, either while they’re being groomed or fed. Someone would need to be with the horse for reassurance; and someone else would need to be shooting. We always start with a half load of the black powder 45 blanks. Do not try to use 22 or 32 caliber starter pistols; they have too sharp of a retort and sometimes have a detrimental effect on the horse. NOTE: If your horse will tolerate them, be sure and use ear plugs in his ears whenever you are using guns; on the ground or in the saddle. There are different types of plugs and Ron Parks can assist you in finding or making them.

Step 1: Start off with a distance of at least 100-150 feet from the horse. We would recommend you shoot at least 10-20 rounds at this distance. It’s normal for the horse to flinch at the first few rounds. If, however, he pulls away and backs up in a panic mode, you need to increase the distance from the horse by at least another 100 feet. When he seems okay with that distance, you should cut the distance by half and shoot enough rounds until he’s again comfortable with the sound. Continue you this until you get within about 30 feet of the horse and he’s comfortable, with no flinching. This is as close as you should get on the ground. Do not, at any time, point the gun in the direction of the horse; it should always be away from you and him.

Step 2: Now’s the time to start him in the ring. Again, we are still using the half-load blanks. The best method we have found is to get another horse that has been shot off of and ride the horse in training right alongside the experienced horse while at a slow lope. Do not attempt this at a slower speed as we have found that the slower speed makes the horse feel trapped with the sound, and at speed they seem more comfortable being able to escape the sound. As you’re riding, be sure you’re right beside the other horse; not lagging behind. Have the other horse’s rider shoot the pistol straight out to his side, away from you. The training horse may flinch and spook; that’s okay. Keep shooting until there is no reaction. Do not rush this step. However, if your horse is still flinching after 50-75 rounds, it doesn’t mean he won’t work for mounted shooting; but, it may be a very long, slow, hard process to get him comfortable. If he is still uncomfortable continue this step for an several more rounds. If your horse continues to be uncomfortable and you’ve decided this is absolutely the horse you must use, you should seriously consider getting some professional training to help. If you move to the next step before the horse is comfortable, you could potentially ruin the horse for shooting if he’s not ready.

Step 3: When your horse is comfortable with step 2, he’s ready to move to the next level. Here’s where we start shooting guns off of him, but no balloons are used yet. It’s pretty much the same as the last step, but by himself. Start with a cap pistol or just use primers only no powder for the first few times, then start using the half-loads. Ride him at a nice lope, around the edge of the ring. When he’s set at an easy speed, draw your gun, hold it at arm’s length, straight away from your body – not towards his rear or head - and start slowly firing off the shots. Slight flinching at the start is normal, but that should subside after a couple of rounds if you’ve done everything right to this point. Even if he’s comfortable with it, we recommend shooting at least10-20 rounds on each side of the horse.

Step 4: We now add the cones, poles and balloons…and take away the guns. Set up 10 balloons in random patterns around the ring. Do not attempt to use competition courses at this point; especially a run down. Just ride your horse through and around all the balloons. This is another important step. There are several horses that have had no experience with anything like a balloon on a pole and it scares them. Do this until he’s comfortable with the balloons and is not shying away from them. It may take an hour; it may take a couple of days. Be patient and do it right.

Step 5: Time to shoot balloons (still using half-loads). This is probably THE most important step of your horse’s training. You will now ride through the balloons and you will be shooting your guns, but you must absolutely not shoot and bust a balloon. To do this, ride around your randomly placed balloons. When you come up beside one, with your arm still straight out from your body, shoot over or under the balloons, but do not break them. Keep a distance of 8-10 feet from the balloons. This also must be done at a lope or fast trot/rack. Do not attempt to walk your horse with this step; it will cause damage that is very hard to repair. If the horse stops at a balloon do not shoot that balloon until you get him moving at a lope again. If your horse starts balking at balloons, go back to Step 4 (get rid of the guns and get him back to being comfortable with balloons). If he balks, he’s thinking the balloons are causing the gunfire, so you’ve got to help him realize they’re not.

Step 6: When he’s very comfortable with Step 5 and will go through the balloons at a lope, with the guns going off, you can start breaking the balloons with gunfire (again using half-loads). For the first 20-30 balloons that you shoot, be sure they’re off to his side and aren’t breaking right in his face. Lots of horses are ruined at this stage because of balloons bursting in the horse’s face, which combined with the powder spray hitting him and the balloons disappearing right under his face, can make him once again balk about going near balloons. If he balks at all, go back to Step 4 and work your way down again. Once he’s very, very comfortable with this step, then you can start shooting balloons slightly in front of you, so he sees them disappearing and gradually work in to shooting balloons anywhere they come up.

Step 7: If you’ve made it this far, you can now start shooting balloons anywhere on both sides with full loads; start running some competition courses. A word of caution here…don’t worry about practicing the straight rundown every time. Even seasoned horses can get hyper from this, as it’s an all out run. You will do much better working on your turns and accuracy, which will take you further as you start competing, than raw speed will. These training instructions are courtesy of Joel Paulk of Five Springs Farm If you need help with any aspects of this training please give one of the South Carolina Mounted shooters a shout. We will help in any way we can with getting your started in the fastest growing and most fun equine sport in America. CMSA!