Stupid question I'm sure but do Cutter's maintained their horses hocks or stifles different than barrel racers? 

I dont know any cutters or I would ask them.  I have read that they lope alot! 

So how do they maintain them?  Do you think the breeding gives them better/stonger bones?

Ours are maintained the same way.  Only more.  My husband blankets his.  But, unless she is in for a tuneup, she lives outside and comes and goes into her stall as she likes.  She has a 5 acre pasture.  ANd, as far as the breeding bigger bones, not really.  Most are short and small boned.  They have put themselves into a bind with all the "line, in breeding".  Iin my opinion.  

Even a top stallion has been quoted by his owner as only being 13 -1/2 hands tall.  Which, in the "old" days wouldn't even qualify it for registry in the AQHA.  

They do lope a lot and most are broke to ride at 18 months old and keep going hard from then on. Depending on the level of rider, some are done with them anywhere from age 4-6. We rode, showed, & sold ours by the time they were 6. They got rode an hour a day, 6 days a week. Walked on the hot walker the 7th day. It's very hard on their bodies. We never injected any during the time I was there. We did not have any really small ones, most were between 14.2-15.1. Our best one was 15.2 and could move like none other, but he felt like you were riding the choppiest, most post legged thing around lol. Some cutters ride/show them later than 6, we generally sold ours to those types of people. No clue what any of them did for maintenace beyond us. But as far as where I was at, no one was maintained like we do barrel horses. Theres no PHT, BOT, liniments, etc. They're kinda treated like ranch horses, except theyre blanketed in winter, and thats it. But everyone is different. If you're looking into getting one, ask for vet records. That'll tell you how its been maintained 

I still dont know what I'm looking for lol  but reason I was asking is bc there another post asking bout which cutting stud and I went and looked and I have seen these pics a ton where they are getting down in front of cow.  and that what got me thinking bc that is alot of torque too on their hocks, and stifles.  and they are also turning and shooting off. 

and I also seen a post on fb asking bout trotting vs loping and thats why I'm really curious what cutters do.  I heard they do alot of loping.  I did join a fb page on the cutters and hoping to see/learn more of what they do but all I see is people looking for lopers or lopers looking for job.  I'm thinking I missed the boat in my younger years!  Course it always looks easy on the outside lol  but I rode for a calf roper one time just to keep his horse in shape bc he worked so much and that was a fun job! get paid to ride a nice broke horse!  but he wasnt a trainer and I know different working for a trainer even being a loper!

I have also looked into endurance, jumpers, so cutters was next lol

I think for barrel racing you can have exercise program with a blend of all the events.  just not go extreme on one way or other. 

If cutters are not injecting makes me think that we should be loping more and following their program more so

JLazyT do you follow the cutting program too with your barrel horses? since you used to do cutters?

I know a father/son duo that are both hall of famers in the cutting world. Father was very old school when he was training, they got loped, they worked a flag or a cow every other day and had Sundays off unless they were at a show. The son is a big timer in Texas now, and I know he injects, swims and PHT/BOT blankets and I think also does PEMF. I think alot of it depends on who they are, how they were taught in the industry and by whom. A lot have embraced the improvements for horse health and etc. I have noticed in the last few years some are trying to breed size and bone back into the cutting world. Especially with other disciplines picking up the rejects or the ones aging out of aged events.

Not so much. It's a lot of "throwing them away" which doesn't work for barrels a lot. What I mean by that is they just loose reing walk, trot, lope daily. There's no collecting, no contact with the bit, you don't bend in circles. You just neck rein them around and put your leg in them. I will do that occasionally with my horses as a break. As a loper, when you're riding one for the day thats not going to work the flag or a cow, just exercise, it's called straight ride. So some days I just straight ride mine for exercise. Some days I do more correct framework while jsut exercising. When you hear the term "loper" its just their word for a groom/exercise rider. You don't just lope. I spent more time saddling/unsaddling/grooming/cleaning stalls/feeding/etc. Breaking out the babies, teachig them the basics. You warm them up for the trainer/owner to ride on the flag or cows at home & shows. It has very little to do with actual time spent loping. And some of the trainers we rode with had their lopers do more long trotting than loping. It really just depends on the individual. Keep in mind I loped in TX and IL before 2010, so I can just base my knowledge from back then 

We bought a gorgeous little grandson of High Brow Cat.  He was a small three year old and already had spur scars, permanent, on his shoulders from his cutting horse training.  I didn't like that.  He made a wonderful heeling horse.

I am not on here much but starting stalking the forum lately as I'm thinking about getting into barrel racing again. 

Thought I'd chime in since I work for a cutting horse trainer.

The level of maintenance is dependent on the trainer, program and clientele so it is hard to say "yes" or "no" cutters do this or that. It has varied quite a bit through the trainers I have rode with and for and trends over the years.

For the trainer I currently work for, horses get injected if needed not so much as a preventative or a barn wide practice regardless if they need it or not which I have seen in some barns. We have a PEMF machine which I use on them more so during the fall/futurity season. Trainer also likes for all horses to get regular turnout and horses get sent home for a rest period after the show season. That's usually when the colts get brought in to get going.

We do lope a lot but it is more of a term for the job and not so much in a literal sense. At the shows horses get loped down, it is an art in itself. Horses on the muscle or cow fresh don't show well.  They don't show well if loped to the point of exhaustion either. Some get hot loping so you long trot them. Some are show smart, act like they are loped down enough to show then flip you the middle finger in the show pen. When I got into barrel racing I had to be told that you don't lope your horse down like a cutter. And then the opposite for girls who were barrel racers coming to lope cutters, they tend to not lope enough.  

Some trainers don't let their lopers touch their horses mouths and only allow a loose rein or a loping hackamore. The trainer I'm with now likes it if I push the horses into the bridle, get them collected, I do a lot work at the trot, get them soft before he works the flag or a cow. Even on days he doesn't work them and we straight ride I do the same. We don't babysit them because we like them to think and be responsible for themselves but they need to be soft and responsive. Loping is also about fitness and air, they are in deep ground working for 2.5 minutes.

If you go the reject cutter route, someone already said, get their vet records and get some pictures done of their legs. I pay attention to who they came from too.

Thank you so much! This is very interesting to me!

I have a Dual Rey and I'm thinking I might want another bc of his huge personality!  He was started as a calf roping horse and then barrels.

I love Dual Rey horses. He is still one of the top sires in the cutting and reined cowhorse and they cross over good to the barrels or roping.