Round Pen: The Great Equalizer Although many horsemen and trainers extol the virtues of the round pen, many horse owners still overlook just how powerful such a pen can be in developing or maintaining a relationship with a horse. This is a shame because it is truly what I call the Great Equalizer in a horse-human relationship. Perhaps that bears some clarification…
I've found many horse owners to be concerned about their physical strength as opposed to that of their horse. They fear they simply cannot firmly establish themselves as the alpha, or leader, of the relationship because the horse is so much stronger. Thus when their horse displays poor ground manners or commits an inappropriate action they are more prone to ignore it and hope it doesn't develop into worse behaviors. After all, what choice do they have? The horse is just too strong.
The reality is that, except for the youngest of foals, a horse will always possess more raw strength than a human. Any attempts to overpower a horse with sheer strength are doomed to fail. Techniques such as raising your voice towards or slapping a misbehaving horse do not rely on strength – they are psychological. The horse does not want the conflict to escalate as it is uncertain exactly what your capabilities are, therefore it submits.
Of course there are exceptions, and truth be told such techniques are best used on already-trained horses or in situations where you cannot properly establish your authority due to lack of time or proper surroundings. The best way to instill respect and discipline into a naughty horse is by incorporating the Great Equalizer: the round pen.
Whereas many people view a round pen as a means for exercise (and it is true that it's a great exercise tool), the true power behind the round pen is its ability to establish dominance in a completely non-forceful method. In the round pen, physical strength means very little. It is a quick and easy (as opposed to other methods) technique to make your alpha status known.
Allow me to share an example that will better illustrate why a round pen will serve you better than strength.
I once owned a willful young colt raised by a first-time mother, so unfortunately the mare wasn't all that familiar with the need to discipline her colt. In fact although the colt was really quite a nice horse, he was unruly and tended to do whatever he wanted from day one. An experienced mare would not have permitted such antics, and had she "laid down the law" better from the first day the colt would likely have been a little less rambunctious.
Soon it came time to provide halter and lead training to this young upstart, and true to his form he made sure the task was trying. Although more than willing to walk with you, he felt there was little need to do so in an orderly fashion. If he "accidentally" bumped into you, or strayed so far from your side that you had to cling to the lead line with an iron grip, so be it. Snapping or jerking the lead line didn't impress him much.
Even worse, as a colt develops into a mature stallion they often can become very "nippy." This one was no different at first. Just as he did with his mother, he would sneak tiny bites and nips when you weren't watching, and although there wasn't mean intent behind them let's face it – they hurt!
Anytime a horse strikes at you (and a nip should be considered a strike) it's important that you retaliate with conviction so they think twice about doing so again. But when I would give this colt a fairly light slap he would almost smirk to himself and try to nip me again! Was he being mean-spirited? No! This colt grew up with no significant discipline from his mother and no fear of humans – we imprinted him from birth and thus he trusted us. Since he did not fear me, he thought I was engaging in some horseplay as any other colt would do.
A slap, as harsh as it sounds to us, is not always about force. It generally does not cause a horse much pain, but rather it is intended as a shock technique for a horse that already recognizes you as an alpha. Since this colt saw me as a playmate and equal, he possessed no fear of my slaps – my choice was to either escalate the physical force (which is generally not my first choice) or establish my dominance in a gentle way via the round pen.
Once I established that slaps or verbal growls would not have any effect on this colt, anytime he would nip at me or try my patience with his rebellious ways we would march straight to the round pen or enclosed paddock. While this colt found the notion amusing for the first five minutes or so, eventually the round pen will drain the "oats" from nearly any horse and he was no different.
With consistent round pen work, this colt soon learned that I wasn't a simple playmate – I was his leader. Although we could still enjoy each other's company, it had to be on terms that were agreeable to the both of us (no more black and blues!). Due to consistent round pen work, the leading, nipping and general disrespect issues became a thing of the past.
I hope my example of this young colt showed the folly of depending upon physical force to achieve your goals – "outgunning" a horse is not easy, practical or desirable. Never accept poor behavior and do not feel your authority is measured solely by your raw strength; both are mistakes that are all too commonly committed by horse owners. Instead consider the use of a round pen (or in a pinch you can use a longe line) and find out how easy training and discipline can be when using the Great Equalizer.
Which Horse Trainer Should I Emulate?
Selecting the right horse trainer to emulate can be a daunting task for newcomers to the world of horse training. As with nearly any occupation or hobby, there are many authorities within the field willing to offer advice, some good, some not so good. Before spending an investment in time and money newcomers will often ask… which trainer should I follow? The answer may surprise you:
No one and everyone.
Let's look at this seemingly oxymoron a bit closer. You should not attempt to duplicate the style of any one particular horse trainer, yet you should try to study as many different horse trainers as possible during your horse career. I realize a far more convenient answer would be to point out one supreme trainer in the horse world and suggest focusing on him or her, but the fact of the matter such a magic bullet just doesn't exist for two reasons:
1. There are many talented horse trainers, each with their different styles and advice. Judging one as being better than all others is simply not possible or reasonable.
2. Whereas one trainer may practice a style that is perfect for me, you may find the style to be somewhat incompatible to you – or vice versa!
An old adage states that "all roads lead to Rome" and a similar context can be applied towards horse training. Whereas there are false paths that will lead to an unproductive or miserable relationship with a horse, the fact of the matter is many paths lead to success. As long as the trainer believes in understanding a horse and his language rather than dominating a horse through violence or fear, chances are his path is one of those that will lead to success.
Training is not an exact science or emulation – it's a natural flow that should bring out the highest level of comfort and confidence between you and your horse. Back about 50 years ago left-handed writing was deemed improper, so some schools would require left-handed students to write with their right hand, regardless of the fact that it's not a natural instinct or comfort zone for left-handers. Could such students learn to go against their instincts? Absolutely. Left-handed people have always been forced to live in a right-handed world. Was it an ideal scenario for them? No – it disregarded their inherent skills and instincts and forced them to adopt someone else's natural ways.
You should look upon horse training in the same context. Although you can follow one trainer's style to the letter, you may later find that had you tweaked a few things here or there you would have been even more efficient or confident. A horse trainer should possess confidence in his own actions and ability before attempting to guide an untrained horse, for an integral part of the training process is lending that confidence to the horse to reassure the horse that the foreign stimuli and behaviors introduced to him are nothing to worry about. If you're uncomfortable with your requests, you can bet your horse will probably pick up on your hesitation or awkwardness.
Any master of any trade becomes a master only because they realize that life is a constant learning experience – one should never rest on their laurels or be complacent with what they currently know. The same should hold true for all of us who enjoy and work with horses. Each time you read about or witness techniques from various natural horsemen you will often pick up an intriguing idea or two to try out yourself. Experiment! See how they work for you. At the same time you should not attempt to clone any specific horse trainer no matter how skilled he or she may be. Use the knowledge you are gathering and combine it with your natural instincts and flow. Create your own overall technique that blends the best of all worlds and you will be well on your way to success.
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With Understanding comes Success. One of the reasons I strongly encourage horse owners to train their own horses rather than ship them away to a professional trainer is familiarity. Quite simply, an unfamiliar party will not understand your horse nearly as well as you, and this understanding of a horse is the backbone of any successful training plan.
This is not to suggest that all horse trainers are clueless individuals that bumble along hoping to do something right, because most professional trainers will take the time to understand a horse before ever thinking about saddling him and training him to ride. But all too often an impatient or inexperienced "trainer" will misread a horse's problem or intention and react incorrectly due to his lack of understanding. Too many of these incidents can prolong the training process (thereby costing you money) and potentially mentally scar your horse for life.
Far too many head-shy horses can be attributed to inexperienced or abusive past trainers and/or owners who lacked an understanding of the horse they were working with. Once a horse has developed this mistrust or fear of people it can take a good while to reassure the horse that another cuff is not waiting around the corner. And who can blame the horse? If every past exposure with a dog resulted in the dog biting you, chances are you would be very wary, if not outright panicked, by future exposures to canines.
To correct an improper action it is first important to understand the motivation that lies behind it. For example, let's say that you are training a young filly to walk alongside you to your left. Suddenly without permission the filly slams against your side, but being that she's still young it doesn't do much more than get your attention. What would you do?
Ignore the behavior – no harm was done after all.
Jab your elbow into the filly's shoulder and growl at her to remind her to respect your space.
Take a moment to detect the reason why the filly brushed against you.
If you selected the first option, you chose wrong. Although your heart is in the right place in your willingness to "write off" a seemingly harmless action, eventually if you ignore these things they can compound to worse problems. Your filly won't always be so small and light!
If you selected the second option you might have reacted correctly if the filly was gently asked to respect your space previously and elected to ignore the request out of defiance. In such a scenario you would need to reinforce your authority lest she view herself as being the alpha leader amongst you.
But what if the filly stepped against you because the wind was carrying along a plastic bag that startled her? In such a case if you discipline your horse you do her a huge disservice because she's not trying to be defiant or challenge your authority – she's scared and she wanted your reassurance! If you start cuffing your filly for violating your personal space she will be like a deer caught in a car's headlights; the bag to her left and the handler to her right are scaring her and she'll either bolt or become paralyzed.
Had you understood the root of her concern you could have forgiven the invasion of your space and instead showed your filly the plastic bag was nothing to be concerned about. Such reassurances would have put her mind at ease, allow her to regain focus on the task at hand and hopefully become desensitized towards future encounters with plastic bags.
A trainer that believed in the "one size fits all" philosophy would probably have chosen option two in the above scenario since at face value that would be the correct reaction, but without understanding the horse or the motivation behind her action his "correction" would have further compounded the problem. It is essential a handler take the time to understand a horse's behavior before attempting to correct it since one size most definitely does not fit all. And who would better understand your horse than you?
In addition the training process does not have to be the stressful battle of wills that most of us initially believe it to be. Taken slowly, both the horse and the owner can actually look forward to advancing along the lesson plan. As the owner and horse work together, each will develop an even better understanding of the other's mannerisms, personality and expectations… and with understanding comes success.
You Can't Fool A Horse. In the dating world many men and women put their potential partners to a "dog test," whereby they introduce their date to their dog and see how the dog reacts to the stranger. If the dog reacts badly towards their date then a red flag is waved, whereas if the dog accepts the stranger instantly the opposite holds true. While many people look upon this test in a tongue-in-cheek manner, many dog owners actually do take it seriously. As they probably should!
Many animals, including horses, possess an uncanny ability to detect emotion as well as the inner nature of an individual. Whereas you may be able to slap a forced smile on your face and hide powerful negative emotions such as stress or anger from fellow humans, you won't find it as easy to fool a horse! In fact I consider horses to be natural truth detectors due to their ability to read a person's emotional state as well as their sincerity when it comes to a love for equines.
If one of my naturally friendly horses takes an instant dislike to someone out of the blue, 9 times out of 10 I'm going to respect my equine partner's instincts. Horses generally do not possess vendettas or have reason to target anyone for no real reason – they tend to call them as they see them. If a horse usually takes a liking to visitors but holds a sudden aversion to one in particular, clearly the horse sees or detects something that I may not have initially caught.
When a horse enjoys your company, you'll know it. When a horse trusts you, you'll know it. And when a horse actually dislikes you, he will make sure you know it. I often state that the world would be a much better place if people were as brutally honest as horses. But I digress…
A proficient horseman at work should be cool, calm and collected, three essential qualities to maximize the productivity of a training session as well as create an all-around positive aura over human-horse interactions. Keep in mind that you are the horse's leader, and as such the horse will take his cues from you. If you are agitated the horse will recognize something is wrong and either feel you are angry with him or you are annoyed with something else he cannot detect but probably should be also be concerned about. The horse will not be able to focus on the lesson or your requests well at all, nor will he be able to draw strength from you when he becomes concerned about a foreign object or behavioral request.
It is essential that you try not to visit or work with your horse when you are in a negative frame of mind since these undesirable emotions will disturb your equine partner. Try to take a few minutes, or even hours if necessary, to collect your emotions and clear your mind of life's daily irritants.
When we see a loved one is feeling down, it often puts a damper on our day too since negativity tends to breed negativity. The same will happen with your horse, so do not underestimate your horse's ability to detect your feelings.
Gaited Horses And The Perils Of Trotting. One of the most common questions posed by those unfamiliar with gaited horses is, "Can a gaited horse trot?" I have heard this question countless times by those who would visit my farm to view my Mountain Horses, but this was to be expected since 10-years ago Mountain Horses were pretty darn rare in the Northern New England region.
Well the answer is yes!
Gaited horses are perfectly capable of trotting; it's as natural to them as walking and cantering. Of course this excited those who inquired since it meant a Mountain Horse could conceivably walk, trot, show walk, gait and canter, making him quite versatile! Before they could become too giddy I countered with a question of my own:
Why would you want to trot a gaited horse?
Often the response would be the visitor wanted a horse that could qualify for local shows that disallowed special gaits while still preserving the smooth gait for all their pleasure riding… the best of both worlds! While that is a legitimate reason, it also demands a careful and skilled rider because an inexperienced rider can ride the gait right out of a gaited horse!
Perhaps that isn't technically true since Mountain Horse gaits are naturally inherent at birth and thus the horse doesn't "lose" it, but for all practical purposes once you allow a Mountain Horse to trot too much under saddle he will likely elect not to gait anymore while under saddle. The reason for this is a trot is simply a lot less work!
My advice is to buy a gaited horse if you want to gait and buy a standard horse if you wish to trot, because whereas trots are perfectly natural and will not harm your horse, gaits and trots don't mix well when under saddle. Let me share an example to illustrate this.
An individual was selling a Mountain Horse in a nearby state, but he wasn't having much luck because the horse wouldn't gait. Knowing that I bred Mountain horses he contacted me and asked me to look at his horse and consider a purchase. When I visited the gelding it was clear the horse didn't have any defects, hoof or health issues that could create a gaiting problem – he was a perfectly sound and beautiful young chocolate gelding. I ended up purchasing the horse for a very good price based on his non-performance.
It took a couple months of consistent training to break the gelding from his trotting habit. Beneath that jostling trot was actually a gait as smooth as silk, but it was a pain in the neck to force him to gait consistently! It's much easier to train a horse correctly from the start than re-train bad habits out of a horse. In the end he became a consistent gaiter and found a great home, but had the gelding not been purchased by someone familiar with gaited horses he may never have gaited under saddle again!
So what was the problem?
The horse was ridden exclusively by the seller's girlfriend prior to the sale and she had no experience whatsoever with gaited horses. Walk, trot and canter was all she knew, so instead of engaging the horse's gait she would accidentally suppress it and/or allow the horse to elect to trot instead. Of course the frustration factor continued to grow; as the gelding became more comfortable with trotting and calling the shots, the rider was left even more powerless in her attempts to make him gait.
The first mistake was allowing the horse to trot under saddle. The second was allowing the behavior to become ingrained rather than study what she was doing wrong and learn how to work with her gaited horse.
Gaited horses are wonderful horses for beginners and professionals alike, but if you're new to gaited horses you would do well to purchase an extremely well trained horse whose gait is already firmly ingrained. In addition make sure you study your breed's gait as well as any special riding rules and/or tips required for engaging the gait. Do not let your horse get away with trotting – it's better to stop and seek out the assistance of an expert than to try and handle it on your own because the longer it takes you to remedy the behavior, the harder it will be to break the horse of the habit.
For those who want their horse to trot for those exceptional circumstances such as local multi-breed shows that disallow gaiting horses, it's a good practice to gait at least 75% of the time during your training sessions. Never allow your gaited horse to become too comfortable with trotting under saddle, and understand that you're playing with fire each time you trot under saddle, so it's recommended only for the experienced rider.
Trotting cannot cause discomfort or harm to your gaited horse, but it sure can cause you dismay when you find that the rough trot you tried so hard to escape by purchasing your gaited horse has now returned to haunt you.
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