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Liberty work in the round yard
The first thing we need to do upon contemplating working with our horse loose in the round pen is to decide what we want to achieve. Are we trying to get close to something wild? Or are we teaching a horse that doesn’t want to be caught? Or perhaps today we are working towards building a better relationship with our horse? The answer is relevant because we must leave enough time to achieve our goals and try to finish whatever we do on a good note. So make sure you are clear in what you want to achieve before you begin.
The other consideration for those of you, who have never tried liberty work before, is to please be gentle with your horse! Some people can make liberty work look easy, but those people are in tune with their horse, they can read the slightest nuance their horse makes and they respond to the smallest attempt by their horse to do the right thing. A very common complaint I hear is “I’ve been working my horse in the round pen but he’s not responding.” Anyone can make a horse run round and round, but it’s whether you pick up on the signal that the horse wants to come in, that is the key. This applies particularly to round yard training where there is no escape for the horse. If he tries what he thinks we want and we keep him running around and around, he won’t try again for a long time. So being able to read our horse and respond is fundamental to successful training. We are trying to educate our horse, not exhaust him!
I base my round pen work on a technique called “Advance and Retreat”. The principle is based on reverse psychology. The horse’s idea which is to run from us is made hard. Our idea of “how about you come in and hang out with me” is made easy. We are not forcing our horse to do anything, but we are encouraging them to take the easy option, which they always do.
Once you and your horse have entered the round pen, the first step is to send your horse away from you. Start by advancing on your horse by increasing your energy levels and sending him around the round pen. To do this you need to be able to move him and some will move easier than others. I try to do this through raising my energy and then, if that doesn’t work, I’ll use my rope as an extension of my arm (see photo). The idea we want to convey to the horse is that even though he is loose, we are still in control. We decide the direction and speed in which he goes. We control speed through changing our energy levels. We change direction through our position in the round pen. The horse’s point of balance is the shoulder so if we stand in front of the shoulder, our horse is most likely to go backwards or change direction. If we stand behind the shoulder, he is most likely to go forwards. I like to stand in the middle of the round yard, clearly behind the shoulder following the horse along.
 Standing behind the shoulder
Once our horse is moving around the round pen, I look for certain signals that he wants to know me and is beginning to take notice of me as opposed to looking to the outside. There is much talk about all the signs we must look for before we allow the horse to so call “join up”. I believe we don’t need to see ALL the signs for the horse to be doing the basics well and that there are no hard and fast rules that the horse has to keep running until we see all these signs. This is Monty Roberts’s system, but there are always many ways to get the same result. My horse might run five laps, but once he has got an ear on me and turns his head towards me as if he wants to come in to me, I will invite him in. To do this I quickly back away from him, making it clear that I am taking the pressure off and retreating. At this stage, I want to see the horse turn and face me. If he looks but keeps running, I will advance, raise my energy and send him away again. The idea is that when we invite him in, our horse will stop, turn and face us, perhaps with a couple of steps in our direction. Once that has been achieved, I will take the pressure off, go up to my horse and rub him, then walk off to see if he follows me. If he doesn’t, I make a big circle around him. I am looking for my horse to show respect by turning and facing me as I walk. If he doesn’t and exposes his hindquarters instead, I will send him away again. I will repeat this until he does it right every time - remember, our horse learns through repetition and we need to run through this process several times to test whether or not he really understands. It shouldn’t take long for him to realize that the way to stop running and to stand with me in the middle of the round pen getting rubs, is to come in and then face me wherever I go. Once our horse does this, we can work towards getting them to follow us around loose.
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