A horse that pins his ears, conveys a threat to his rider, refuses to go forward, runs sideways, bounces his rear, wrings his tail in irritation, or displays an overall poor attitude is not being guided willingly, and is judged accordingly.

[1] Throughout the history of the Americas, dating back to the earliest Spanish settlers in what today is Mexico and the Southwestern United States, including Texas and California, ranchers needed to manage cattle from horseback.

Cattle were moved, branded, doctored, sorted, and herded, often on open range without the benefit of fences, barns or other means of holding the animals.

The horse needed to be controlled mostly by legs and weight, ridden with only one hand and a light touch on the reins, so that the cowboy's attention could also be on tasks that could include handling a lariat (to rope cattle), opening a gate, or simply waving a hand, hat or rope to move along a reluctant herd animal.

Penalties may range from a half-point to five points for each infraction, and in some cases a significant error may result in a zero score for the run.

[2] Some sanctioning organizations other than NRHA may allow a horse in a small class to earn an award for last place.

Exercise bandages are also another form of protection that is used, this helps give support to the tendons and ligaments, and prevents bruising and irritation.

Reining horses are usually fitted with special horseshoes on the hind feet called slide plates.

Slide plates have wider bar steel and are smoother than regular horseshoes, with even the nail heads filed to be flush with the shoe.

However, snaffles and hackamores ridden with both hands are usually limited only to special classes for horses between the ages of three and five years old.

Depending on the breed, Junior horses are either 3, 4 or 5 years old, and allowed to show in a snaffle or bosal.

Expansion to age five parallels the standards set by the FEI and in endurance competitions, recognizing that the physical and mental development of most young horses is not considered complete until that time.

Further, though many western stock horse breeds are started under saddle at the age of two, they generally are not physically or mentally ready to be entered into any type of reining competition at that age and in some cases are prohibited from entering any performance class until at least 2+1⁄2 years old.

[12] Both the NRHA and many breed associations offer snaffle bit futurities, usually for three-year-old horses, which pay very large purses.

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) was formed in 1966 in the United States, and developed a worldwide membership as well as standardized rules and patterns that significantly influenced other organizations, including the AQHA and USEF.

For example, in the United States, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) creates patterns and develops judging standards, sanctioning events open to all breeds.

Freestyle reining competitions have no specific rules as to saddle, though humane equipment is required.

The rider must include a specified number of spins, stops and flying lead changes in a performance.