How do you teach a head horse to run to the hip?

Running to the hip means the head horse closes on the steer and positions itself so the header's body is aligned with the steer's head and neck at the moment of delivery — the horse's nose at the steer's hip, the header's swing in front of the steer's horns. It is the correct approach position that gives the header the best angle for a clean two-horn catch, and it requires the horse to close aggressively without overshooting and without rating too early and leaving the header short. Teaching the horse to run to the hip begins with establishing that the horse closes all the way to position rather than rating at distance. Many horses that have been corrected for crowding or running past cattle learn to rate conservatively — they back off the pressure of the steer and give the header a flat, distant delivery angle rather than driving into the correct position alongside. These horses need to be encouraged forward into the steer, rewarded for closing to the correct distance, and the rider must resist the habit of rating the horse back when it is actually in the right place. Work on slow cattle at first where the horse can learn the feeling of running alongside the steer at close range without the pace being so fast that position is difficult to hold. As the horse becomes comfortable at close range, increase cattle speed while maintaining the expectation that the horse drives all the way to the hip rather than rating short. The horse that learns to close confidently to the hip gives its header the most consistent, catchable angle on every steer regardless of how fast or slow the cattle are running.