Contact Ralph & Maureen at Double HH Ranch

PO Box 243 - Whitt, Texas 76490

1003 Lamkin Road - Mineral Wells, Texas 76067

Barn - 940-325-6304 - Fax: 940-325-6419

Ralph's Cell - 817-458-2745     -     Email

Double HH Ranch is a working horse and cattle ranch specializing in training, showing, and selling working/reined cow horses. All of our horses are trained using the traditional Spanish vaquero training methods. We stand at stud an eight year old own son of Mister Dual Pep, Anuther Mister Dual. Lifetime earnings, $18,000+.

Reined Cow Horses:

Through the formation of The National Reined Cow Horse Association, the original training methods of the Spanish vaquero survive virtually unchanged. The traditional vaquero training program included numerous phases - spanning several years before a horse was considered "finished" and capable of performing to standard the various maneuvers required on ranches, roundups, and cattle drives.

To start, the snaffle bit is introduced to the young horse. Its purpose is to allow a two and three year old horse to be guided through training without undue pressure on the tongue, roof, or sensitive bars of the mouth. In skilled hands, the snaffle works on the corners of the horses's lips, providing gentle guidance to position the head, to stop and to turn. At the end of a year, a young horse should be able to perform, at speed all moves necessary for good cow work. This is possible because of a slow start and schooling taken step by step, without pain or fright associated with the training.

To test the horses cow working abilities, three year old horses compete in three events: herd work, cutting a single steer from a small herd and keeping it from returning to the herd; rein work, a pattern of figure 8's, straight runs, lead changes, sliding stops, and spins; and working a single steer "down the fence", controlling it's movements at a dead run, heading it off and turning it both ways along the fence, then bringing the steer to the center of the arena to circle it once in each direction.

As the four and five year old horses' mouths change, they progress from the snaffle to the rawhide or leather covered hackamore to give the mouth a rest. Horses learn to work off of pressure and release from the nose of the hackamore. As five and six year olds, horses are introduced to a leverage bit by two-reining them along with the hackamore/bosal.

Videos are available on all of our registered sale horses. These horses have been trained with Ralph Hull following the traditional vaquero methods outlined above.

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