What should I work on between working cow horse lessons?

The work done between working cow horse lessons is where actual skill development happens — the lesson provides instruction, correction, and new concepts, but the repetition that builds muscle memory, timing, and feel occurs in the independent riding sessions between lessons. The most productive between-lesson work is specific rather than general: rather than simply riding the horse and hoping skills improve, the student should have a clear list of specific things the instructor identified in the lesson that need development, and each between-lesson session should address those specific items deliberately. If the instructor identified that the horse's stop needs to be more responsive to the seat cue, the between-lesson sessions should include specific stop practice at the pace and with the aids the instructor prescribed — not just loping around and occasionally stopping. If the lesson revealed that the student's body position during boxing disrupts the horse's movement, the between-lesson sessions should include specific position exercises that address the identified problem. Reining foundation work — circles, stops, spins, transitions — should be a consistent component of every between-lesson session for students developing in working cow horse, because the reining foundation is what the cattle work is built on and it requires consistent maintenance and development. Riding without cattle more often than with cattle is appropriate for most non-pro students between lessons, both to confirm the reining foundation in a lower-stimulation environment and to give the horse mental recovery from the arousal that cattle work produces. When access to cattle is available between lessons, brief sessions focused on the specific cattle skill being developed — boxing position, rate management, or the beginning of fence work concepts — are more valuable than attempting full cattle work sessions that exceed the student's current independent skill level.