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Round Pen
Case Study: Mona
Mona was a nice looking black, thoroughbred mare, about 4 years old.
She was owned by Dave P, a client of mine. Dave brought Mona to me
as a last resort. Mona had quite a problem with her forward
movement. Now, unlike many horses, it wasn’t that they couldn’t get
her to go forward…. Problem was, they couldn’t get her to stop! Mona
was far too forward. Nothing slowed this horse down and if she had
not been stopped by human intervention, probably would have run till
her heart burst. She had been purchased sight unseen, and sent to a
trainer on the West Coast. Well, she arrived at the first trainers
with this problem. No matter what they did, they could not get her
to slow down. So finally they started working her in the sand, along
the coastal surf line. They thought that by running her in the surf,
that the extra physical effort required would slow her down.
Well, it didn’t slow her down, not at all. But it
did tear her legs up badly. And as an added bonus (infer sarcasm
here), while she may have been somewhat neurotic to begin with,
there is no question that the methods used made her far worse. I
like to talk about the emotional level of horses, using a range from
one to ten. A “one” is the most laid back, easy-going horse in the
world; nothing spooks it. And then sometimes I even mention a
“twelve” I might be working with, a real high strung and nervous
horse. But that Mona, well she was a “sixteen” at least! The vast
majority of horses I work with (80-85%) operate within the natural
set of equine instincts and behaviors. Yes, they have a natural
flight instinct, but at heart they are lazy animals that like to
hang out with the herd and typically will not run any further than
they have to. Not Mona, though. Something had pushed her beyond that
and all she wanted to do was to run away.
On any given day I could go into the round pen
with Mona, have the most relaxed posture in the world, and she would
still run circles around me like a maniac – going 100 miles an hour,
circle after circle. She was truly one of the most emotional horses
I have come across. It was as if her brain was not registering what
her body was doing, and that she might be completely exhausted.
There was no sense of connection, between Mona’s mind and body, nor
between Mona and any human.
I will admit that working with her was a real
learning experience for me. I had to design a specific set of
exercises that would gain control of her mind, so that I could then
gain control of that manic body and energy. My initial goal was
simple – just to slow her down – even a tiny bit. Once I could do
that, then I could begin to take additional steps to establish basic
directional and spacial control. Let me tell you, there have been
very few times I have almost given up on a horse, and Mona was one
of them. Eventually perseverance and consistency paid off, but it
was a close call on just calling it quits indeed.
The approach I used sounds simple, and guess
what, it is simple. But, with a horse like Mona and many other
fearful horses, the importance of being consistent in the execution
of these exercises cannot be stressed enough. The initial exercise
was just outside turns in the round pen. Every 2-3 laps I would step
in front of her to ask for an outside turn. And I did this again and
again: Run, stop, turn, run, stop, turn, run, stop….over and over.
The outside turn is best to begin with as the most natural for
horses – it’s in tune with the flight mechanism and to turn away
from the source of the pressure. However, within a reasonable amount
of time, you want and need to expect the horse to be able to do
inside turns as well. For that, once the horse is solid on the
outside turns, we begin to step away from the horse, to create a
door so to speak, an opening that gives the horse enough comfort to
move toward you to perform a turn. And once she is also doing
consistent inside turns upon request every 2-3 laps, then you begin
to alternate with constant and consistent change of direction cues.
During the training session we saw a break though
with Mona, I had done probably thirty to forty turns before she
began to slow finally…and what made her begin to slow was that she
was finally giving me her mind, she was starting to ask…”now what do
you want me to do? When do you want me to turn, and will I be
turning in or out?” She was starting to understand that the second I
asked her for a response, and she gave me even a step in the right
direction -- I would release the pressure. She was beginning to look
to me for guidance; I was becoming the leader. I had finally engaged
her mind and her focus was on me. She saw me as someone of value
that she respected. My leadership created a relationship between us,
and with the relationship came a solid connection. And once we had
connected, next thing you know she was following me around like a
puppy dog! Remember, Mona was neurotic and extremely fearful, once
she saw me as someone she could trust and respect, she became a very
willing student, and more importantly, a focused student.
The Round Pen itself can facilitate these types
of exercises that establish a solid relationship with your horse; a
relationship in which your horse respects you and looks to you as
the leader. The sheer shape and size of a round pen can mean a safer
environment to “ask” for the exercises that create this
relationship. The lack of corners and right amount of space (not too
close to get kicked / not so far you can’t move in front of them and
control direction) simply make it easier on both the horse and you!
Here are a few key rules when Round Penning your
horse:
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When you are asking for “Go Forward”
movement, ensure the horse is moving at a solid pace for
whatever the gait you are requesting. Do not settle for lazy
movement. Expect nice, consistent energy in the movement. |
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This is never, ever about running the horse
into the ground, or making him so tired that he “gives” to you.
It is about controlling their mind. I don’t care how much you
run them down, these are enormous animals and you will never
gain control of their mind through abusing the body. It is fine
to take occasional breaks to briefly let the horse relax during
training sessions, but make that sure the horse is maintaining
his focus and attention completely on you – even during the
breaks. |
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Reward for the “try”. The fundamental concept
of foundation training (as always) is conditioned response to
pressure and release. So if you see the horse trying, even just
a bit – reward by the immediate release of pressure. It’s all
baby steps and you can ask for more over time. For example with
Mona, The initial progress I saw was very subtle. Just an “ever
so slight” relaxation of the gaits, a marginal lowering of the
head. There was certainly no relaxed licking and chewing yet,
but I recognized progress and rewarded it. |
Once you have this initial platform of leadership
and respect established, you can then begin to advance your training
with your horse. And whether you will use Foundation Training to
turn a “sixteen” horse into an “eight” or are training a horse for
Grand Prix Dressage, these exercises are simple and reliable ways to
help you create the horse you have always wanted. And in the case of
Mona, well after several months of consistent foundation training,
she ended up being a real nice horse, relaxed and ridden on a loose
rein, even on the trails.
“But what if I don’t have a Round Pen
Charles!”
Not a problem! While the Round Pen is a great
tool, it’s just that – a tool. The magic to train your horse is not
in the tools -- it’s in you. Next month we will discuss lunge-line
work that can be done anywhere, by anyone, and will get you the
training results you want!
Until next month,
Charles Wilhelm |
