Picture this: a two-year-old steps into the pen for the first time. No flag. No mechanical drill. Just a cow, a rider, and the chance to figure it out. That’s how Lindy Burch starts every Oxbow colt, and it’s why they stop and turn like they were born to do it.

The Flag Trap Most Trainers Fall Into

Too many programs treat young horses like robots. Flag left, flag right, stop on cue. The colt learns obedience, not instinct.
“I don’t use a flag a lot as starting a two-year-old, which is contrary to a lot of people, because I want to feel them on a cow.”

How Lindy Starts Colts on Cattle at Two

Around February, the colts ship to one of three trusted starters: Clint Modistach in Weatherford, Davide Facincani or Cory Deel. Ninety days later they come home rideable, quiet, and ready for the real classroom: fresh cattle.
Lindy gets on, turns the cow loose, and lets the colt think.
“I want them to have fun. To me, there’s plenty of time to be a little soldier and have to work the flag. Right now, I like to have fun with the cow and see the method to my madness.”

What Happens When It’s “Their Idea”

The colt feels the cow and figures it out on its own. That first natural stop and turn sticks for life.
“If you teach them why, then it’s a lot easier to get them to stop and turn with a cow if it’s their idea. So I try to make it their idea from the start.”
Years later, that same horse reads cattle in the NCHA pen like it’s second nature, because it learned the game on its own terms.

12/22/2025