Every horse, regardless of their level of training, can benefit greatly from the round-pen lessons. If I have a horse come to me that is very gentle, well behaved with respect to leading, standing tied, being caught, being haltered or bridled, etc., I may not do this lesson on them. But usually, if they are coming to me, it is because there is a problem or they are not started. Whatever the case, this lesson is the starting point I use for establishing control and attention. It is a way for me to rapidly gain the horse’s respect and trust without focusing on negative behaviors.

The round-pen gives me a way to evaluate the horse’s temperament, its way of going, willingness to follow, emotional control, attention span, trust level.....the list is endless. Oftentimes, the behavior that is viewed as the problem is no more than a symptom of a foundational step that has been missed in the horse’s initial training. And also realize, if you have a horse on a halter and lead line, (long or short) that horse also has you! The round-pen allows me to control the horse without being connected to a thousand pound animal that can hurt me. In most cases, no force is needed to get the pecking order in place and the horse willing to follow my lead.

And what about the horse? What are the benefits for it? Remember, horses are prey animals and pecking order specialists. So, the round-pen gives me a way to use their language to teach what I want. For self-preservation reasons, as seen with the fight-flight response, horses will respond with their body first and their mind second. In the round-pen, I can control the flight response while all the while helping the horse develop the mental response I am looking for. The process allows the horse to think on his own without any assistance from devices. The horse will benefit when he has to think through the logic as to why he is making a particular move.

Round-pen training will put more of a demand on the horse because he has to use his mental abilities in conjunction with his body control. With practice, he will learn to think then move. You can teach your horse to spook in place or to turn and face what frightens him instead of running. If you only get a brief warning, it is often enough for you to get the proper control to guide him through the scare.

This will replace his natural response to take off when he does not understand changes in his environment. When a horse learns to control his own instinctual responses, you are much safer and he is much calmer. You are not at the mercy of his instincts, hoping to control him by having just the right contact on the bridle at all times. I can assure you, you cannot control a frightened horse.

If you do use lead ropes, lunge lines, long lines, etc. to train your horse, you can get the same results, but I find it takes longer. If the horse decides to take off and you stop his action with the line, the line itself controls the feet, not the horse’s mind. When you leave the horse free, the horse learns for himself how to use his own thought process to control his emotions and movement. I do not want to take this opportunity away. The lessons will become more ingrained and permanent for the horse because he figures out the answers for himself. Having figured it out for himself, the horse will remember it longer. I have done 1/2 hour lessons with young foals just to teach them to be caught properly and had them fully remember within 5 minutes as 3 year olds! It is amazing!! I have found that after I have completed the round-pen basics, when I do go back to the halter and line, the horse will learn much faster than if I had not started with these techniques.

Let’s finish this month by getting set up to begin the lesson. The round pen should be 55-60 ft in diameter. The size is important because too small of a pen can make the horse feel trapped and it may try to jump out. Or it may resort to the fight response and that is not a good option either. So the horse needs to have enough room to stay at a comfortable distance yet not so far that you have to run to keep them moving. Get some type of tool that will work as an extension of your arm so you can motivate turns and movement. Some suggestions would be a lariat, lunge whip or line, halter and lead etc.

I prefer the lariat. I tried the lunge whip - too short for lazy horses. I tried the lunge line or a softer rope - they tangled too easily and didn’t throw well. It took me awhile to learn to wind the lariat back up but it definitely works best for me. Whatever you use, practice your throwing and winding up apart from working with your horse so it will be easier when your focusing on your horse’s performance.

Well that’s it for this month. Next month, we will start the lesson with your horse in the round pen. Until then, enjoy the summer and come join us for the 4th of July clinic at the Four Mounds Bison Ranch. God Bless.

For more information on Ann Kirk and her Sensible Horsemanship Program, go to www.annkirk.com. And check out the Sensible Basics/Advancement Clinic coming up on July 4, 5 and 6 at the Four Mounds Bison Ranch Arena.