Horse Training Home Page
Discover how to train your horse to do good…
Stops, Spins, Flying Lead Changes, Work Cattle & Much More.
Larry Trocha
Hi – I'm Larry Trocha.
Over many years working with cutting, reining and working cow horses, I've developed a successful training program designed to teach horses to stop, spin, rollback, change leads and work cattle.
I am happy to share this specialized knowledge with you through my series of Horse Training DVDs and FREE Horse Training Tips Insider.
Click to watch the Stop & Back Up video clip
In this clip, reining & cutting horse trainer, Larry Trocha shows what cues the rider needs to use to ask a horse for a light, balanced stop & back up.
Special attention is given to how the rider should use his hands, legs and seat to get a good response from the horse.
The clip was taken from Larry's training DVD, Western Riding Know How.
These DVD Packages Contain the Most Complete
and Detailed Horse Training Information
- Foundation Training Package – Save $30 off the regular price.
- Performance Training Package – Save $30 off the regular price.
- Mega Training Package – Everything You Need!
Save $210 off the regular price. That's a 33% discount on Larry's most popular training DVDs.
Improve Your Horse's Performance With These
Top Rated Horse Training DVDs
NEW TRAINING DVD!
Hackamore (Bosal) Training by Larry Trocha
A detailed guide for training a well-reined performance horse
with the braided hackamore (bosal).
Teach your horse lightness… suppleness… sliding stops… rollbacks…
spins… lead departures… and good head position.
NEW COLT STARTING DVD!
Colt Starting with a Hackamore (Bosal) & Snaffle Bit
A detailed guide for ground work, respect, manners & establishing
a good foundation of training.
The safest and most "stress free" way I know to get colts started right.
Watch the entire training process exactly as it happened in "real time".
Yours FREE! Watch online now.
Special Horse Training Aids
The German Martingale, HeadSetter and Easy Stop…
How to use them to improve your horse's training.
Teach your horse to give to your hands…flex at the poll,
move collected… and work with a low head.
Teach Your Horse to Rollback and Spin
The secret to correct, rapid turn-a-rounds
Want your horse to plant his inside pivot foot,
cross over in front and spin like a top?
This video will show you how.
Training the Foal and Weanling
A detailed guide for halter breaking, complete ground training,
teaching good manners and a whole lot more. These training
methods work on older horses too. (6-hour, 3-disc DVD set)
Teach Your Horse to StopLight and Collected Volume 1.5
The secret to great hindquarter stops
A very effective way to get your horse stopping better than ever.
You'll see results faster than you could ever imagine.
Teach Your Horse Flying Lead Changes
Achieve smooth, almost foolproof, flying lead changes
A straight-forward training method that works on the
vast majority of horses. You will love it.
Cutting Horse Training Videos New and very, very good!Videos for learning to ride, train and show cutting horses. Titles include… Cutting Horse Know How… Cutting Horse Training using the Mechanical Cow… and How to Start Your Horse on Cattle.
Teach Your Horse True Collection
The magic ingredient that will greatly improve your horse's
way of moving, stops, spins, lead changes & head position.
Clearly explained.
Train Your Horse to Neck Rein
Transition from Snaffle Bit to Curb Bit
Discover how to train your horse to neck rein correctly
and what bits to use in the process. This DVD contains
valuable exercises that will help any horse perform
better.
How to Start Your Horse on Cattle
The secret to starting and developing a "cow smart" cutting or cow horse. This is the "blueprint" for getting them started on cattle right.
Cutting Horse Training using the Mechanical Cow
The secret to training your cutting or cow horse when you don't have fresh cattle. This dvd will teach you how to use one of the most valuable training tools ever invented. A "must have" for anyone who trains cutting or cow horses.
Horse Training Success Story
Quarter Horse News, January 1, 2007
17-Year-Old Kid Trained His Own Horse And WON
The National Reining Horse Assoc Futurity,
Limited Non-Pro Title.
Said he watched "ONE" training video over and over.
The kid's name is Clayton Eggers and the training video
he watched is…
"Teach Your Horse to Rollback and Spin"
Read the whole story in his Quarter Horse News interview.
Amanda AlstonLarry it's been a while since you answered my question but I wanted to go ahead and say thank you for answering and giving short and sweet but good advice! Thanks for your help and may you have a bless new year!
Tim JohnstonLarry
Just to let you know I am receiving your newsletters and I thank you. They are very informative and make training my horses much easier.
Thanks
Tim
Edward RobledoI work for the bexar county sheriffs office in san antonio,tx. i also work on horseback. recently i was riding in a subdivision on holloween. when i got my 5 yr old buckskin mare on the road, she freaked out on anything and everything in the neighborhood. she eventually threw me. so i had to leave early. what kind of training would you suggest for this type of work?
Lon CrainI read an article several years ago in the Quarter Horse News about Harold Farren. He talked about working a horse in a post pen to teach it to use his hindquarters. His description was hard to follow. Do you know anything about it? I am always interested in learning something new.
LarryTrocha@Lon Crain: Hi Lon. I haven't seen Harold Farron in quite a few years. I hope he's doing well.
Harold was or is one of the best hands on a reining horse that ever lived. A legend here on the west coast.
In his "era" the horses weren't nearly as well bred as they are now so a trainer would have to come up with some unusual and sometimes unorthodox techniques to get one trained well enough to win.
My guess is, the "post" pen you refer to, is one of those techniques.
Larry T.
@Lon Crain: If you google Harold Farren the article in the Quarter Horse News will come uo. He said he did 22 horses for Todd Crawford. I think it might be a useful technique, just don't completely understand how he applied it.Might be worth your time to look it up. Thanks,Lon.
@Lon Crain: Hi Lon. I read the article.
The results Harold achieved using the "post pen", has more to do with Harold's "ability" than the mechanics of the pen.
The pen is simply a tool he uses.
If Harold didn't have the pen, I guarantee he would get the job done another way.
Actually, "post" pens like this, used to be fairly common for colt starting prior to the 1980's.
But few people used them with the technique Harold describes.
By the way, Harold isn't using the post pen to teach a horse to use his hindquarters, per say.
He uses it to teach the horse to keep his body "upright" and bend his spine to match the circumference when loping an extremely small circle.
Take care,
Larry T.
IdelfonsoHi, Larry, I have an aqha mare by Highlight Cat. I just bought her in the US and now have her in Venezuela where I live. She was trained in cutting but she has been doing team penning for a year now. Now, that I have started training with her I have realized that she does very nice natural rollbacks to the left but she is very slow turning and doing the rollback to the right. What exercises can I apply to her so she can get quicker to the right? Thank you very much for the newsletters, they are very helpful.
Best regards and happy new year, Idelfonso
MeghanHi Larry, I have a 19 mos old West Coast Whiz yearling. She is very smart but seems a bit stubborn. She has recently come in from pasture for some ground training. She was not exposed to anything but growing up in the pasture. She is longeing now and leading well. I tried a trailer lesson with her for over an hour and then gave up. She was not afraid of it, she just wasn't going to go in. The trailer is a step up, no ramp. I think with a ramp she may have gone in. She just won't take the step up….any ideas for me to try?
thks
Meghan
TravisHi Larry,
I have a training question, I have a very nice, good minded, 21 month old, Blue Roan QH philly. ( She will be two in April of 2012)…….. She is proceeding very well with all phases of ground training. Our goal is to bring her along and turn her into a good Pleasure horse, but also do some light ameteur cow-work competition/performance, IF she shows some ability in the future. Also we plan to send her to a professional trainer as an early three year old…..
MY QUESTION is:
How much work or how many rides under saddle should we have put on her as a TWO-YEAR OLD ? ….
Thanks,
Travis in Georgia
Twenty rides… Fifty rides?
Kyle MartinHi Larry,
I just aquired a quarter horse, a family that my wife works for had an untraned 3 yearold gelding. They offered him to me for free if i am willing to do the training. The prob is that he was extremely thin. I have had him on a high fat ration, and good hay, since, and he has been slowly gaining weight. The interesting thing is that it seems like he is gaining it from the bottom up if that makes any sense to you. Basically he is looking a lot bettter but is still thin across his back and hips. My question is how much should i be working him? I realize that he has a lot of muscle to build in his back, and i have been doing some longing. He is still so sharp across his back that i am scared to start riding, i have been lunging him with a saddle. is that a good way to rebuild all that he lost from being so malnurished? I enjoy your videos, thanks for your honesty, and straightforwordness. 
Kyle Martin in ON
@Kyle Martin: Hi Kyle. I know what you are trying to explain when you say, "the colt is gaining weight from the bottom up".
Gets the big belly but no weight gain over his top-line.
I went through the same thing with a malnourished 3-year old stud colt I purchased who had fabulous bloodlines.
He was an own son of Colonel Freckles and out of an own daughter of Rey Jey.
It took about 2 years for him look good but he was never totally right.
Personally, I wouldn't do it again.
Larry T.
Graham GaigerHi Larry, Christmas just passed and summer in full swing down here in New Zealand.
Just want to say Larry, I have taken many ideas from you and applied them to my little Arab gelding with good success. He may be no Quarter Horse but he sure is smart and ready to do his best at anything western.
I do have one question though Larry. I have been working on fast stops and he just loves to do them, but the other day he planted his rear end so hard he slid right under himself and fell on his rear. It happened so fast that I barely had time to release the reins completely to stop him coming right over on his back. We both ended up on the ground but no injuries. This was on dried grass and I'm thinking way too slippery. Is that it, or am I asking him to do too much too quickly. I only use the pressure on and release like you teach but this time I fell back some and probably pulled on the reins when he dumped.
Thanks Larry and all the best for 2012
Graham Gaiger Christchurch, NZ
@Graham Gaiger: Hi Graham. This has happened to just about everybody at one time or another.
Yes, it's the grass!
Other than ice or mud, no other footing is more slick.
Take care,
Larry T.
Nick KehlerHey Larry my name is nick Kehler from Canada been ridding my hole life , rode with cutting trainers in Texas rode horses off of highbrow cat peptoboonsmal ,trdualrey , dualrey mecum blue smartlittlepistol etc.helped train horses on cattle helped showin superstakes in fortworth . Looking to work with trainer like u trainers I worked for are not to busy I am doing construction now have been for years I am 26 single guy I love ridding training and showing qh cutting horses and reiners .I have trained some reiners really would like to work and possibly show with trainer like your self for a while if u are interested give me a email or call my cell 1-204-371-0942 thanks and good luck in all your buisness
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