Video
Traditional horse training usually requires
the horse be attached to the human, be it
with a lead rope, a lunge line or the reins
while under saddle. The Natural Horsemanship
movement was monumental in increasing the
popularity of round pen or loose schooling
usually used with rough stock, untrained or
unhandled horses nearing physical maturity.
Colt starting demonstrations that culminate
with the young horse being saddled and
ridden in a short period of time take place
in round pens. Although the horses used in
these demonstrations are at liberty (no
ropes attached) the usually very quick
decision by the horse to go along with the
human's plan is probably due to an
instinctual attachment mechanism at work and
not so much to do with the talent of the
trainer. A horse after being taken away from
his herd companions the horse is in a
survival mode and is inclined to buddy up
with even a strange human. Without the
attachment mechanism such demonstrations of
colt starting would probably prove less than
useful. By using quick join up and saddling
methods many clinicians infer that it is OK
to allow young horses to mature with little
to no training because they can easily be
tamed with a minimum time spent. While these
demonstrations are fun to watch, short cut
methods just don't make sense for horse
owners whose goal is to have a companion
horse that is also a performance horse.
We believe that letting a colt go relatively
untrained for two or more years until he
gains enough physical maturity to be saddle
trained wastes a lot of valuable time. This
wasted time could well be spent developing
the young horse's mental as well as physical
agility. A foal of 24 hours can begin to
walk with the handler in a stall using the
corners as natural aids to teach the halt.
An arm over the foal's neck to gently guide
his direction is augmented with a foal wand
in the other hand to urge forward movement.
In this manner a youngster learns to walk
with the handler long before a halter and
lead are introduced-the true beginning of
attachment mechanism. Our foals learn to
step up onto a small sized pedestal during
their early training. This becomes their
place or mark; a place they happily go to
for scratching and stroking from the handler
and a rest (dwell time) between repetitions.
(Enhanced Foal Training) Foals literally
grow up in a constant state of Liberty
Training. The attachment mechanism includes
humans in a very natural way.
Early training of a foal requires a large
investment of time and other resources that
large breeding operations probably can't
justify. It is usually easier and more cost
effective for smaller operations and
individual breeders to engage in early foal
training. The next best thing to raising
one's own horses is to purchase a weanling
that has been raised by a responsible
breeder. A young horse with a clean slate
and no baggage is a true joy to educate.
When we train mature horses for ground,
saddle or exhibition we expect and obtain
willing compliance on or off a lead (at
liberty). When a horse is treated firmly yet
fairly and clearly understands the
parameters of the situation, a lead line
becomes a secondary means of obtaining
compliance. When we begin to be able to
engage the horse's mind, we begin Liberty
Training.
Horses that are Trick Trained often use
their learned behaviors as a means of
gaining attention and interaction from their
handler. Working a horse at liberty and
allowing him some creativity and
self-expression interjects a new paradigm in
horse training. Traditional training
strategies dictate that we must always be in
complete control and that we not only ask
all the questions but supply all the answers
as well. For the most part this is true. A
horse with an outgoing personality and
nimble mind however, will often come up with
an interesting variation to a lesson that is
not a contrary evasion but more of a way to
interject a playful moment. If we are quick
to recognize this offering and can get the
horse to repeat the action, a new trick may
be created. Our horses have often offered
variations on tricks that were creative and
even better than what we had in mind.
Willingness to allow a horse a bit of
liberty and freedom of expression will lead
to a strong working relationship between
horse and handler. There is of course a fine
line between accepting unsolicited behavior
and maintaining your position as leader.
Now we are beginning to address that
timeless question of equestrian tact, a
nearly ineffable quality that is easily
observed but difficult to define. One aspect
of tack has been described as, make the
right thing easy and the wrong thing hard. A
different and progressive way to state this
timeworn maxim might be to say, "Make your
ideas obvious and allow the horse's ideas to
become useful". This can happen only if a
horse finds himself in a situation that
presents understandable parameters that
allow freedom of expression. Trick training
at liberty is exactly this situation.
So how can working a horse at liberty
further the attachment mechanism we explored
earlier? We simply allow a different
definition of attachment. Instead of a
physical attachment, a lead rope or lunge
line, we create a mental attachment.
Horses love to play and they live their best
moments when in movement. I have several
young colts in training right now that are
worked at liberty daily. Usually during the
sessions, they will playfully offer half
rears and generously animated steps. They
don't have a clue that what they are giving
freely will over time become the stylized
gaits of the haute e'cole. At the moment of
their offerings they are engaged in
instinctual play that in the not too distant
future, will become piaffe, passage, side
pass, roll back, pirouette and other
classical moves. It is my job as their
trainer to live in the moment and coach the
playfulness into the moves that I want to
develop.
You can begin to develop your horse's
instinctual attachment mechanism by working
through your usual rituals with your horse
at liberty. When you engage your horse in
warm up or groundwork exercises, try it with
no lead. How well you have communicated your
position in your herd of two and the
parameters of training will immediately
become apparent.
It will be an interesting journey for the
two of you to see just how far trust can go!
