Imagine a Horse

Here’s our take on typical “Round Penning” mistakes

What Natural Horsemanship Trainers get WRONG…

How top horse trainers miss the real basics

The biggest WRONG ways to train your horse…Round Pen, Flags and Startling!!

Most Round Pen methods do nothing to keep the horse quiet, in a learning attitude or to prevent rapid heart rate and adrenaline build up….These are all anti-learning scenarios. Why do some of today’s top trainers utilize methods that are antithetical quiet learning? Really, why? Do these folks not realize how harmful this is to the average domestic bred horse? Is it because it is in humanity’s DNA to run a horse? Why not teach the horse slowly and thoughtfully to engage his brain BEFORE you engage his HORSEPOWER?

Keeping a horse’s mind quiet and adrenaline down in a respectful relationship facilitates rapid learning. We LOVE ERROR FREE LEARNING as was perfected in circus training and is accomplished by very careful and effective teaching methods. The main premise being to train in such a way that you guide a horse closely to PREVENT him from making mistakes. Dogs and horses both learn more rapidly than they are generally given credit for. TWO repetitions of rewarding or not correcting an unwanted behavior and we are TOO LATE and have established an unwanted behavior! 

Training requires a lot more thought and research than old fashioned methods require. If a “trainer” is not carefully planning his sessions with the individual personality and history of each horse in mind then, it is a “fly by the seat of one’s pants” process without thoughtful preparation. Error Free learning assures the horse does not learn habits that require fixing later. 

Error Free learning may seem slower but as we often say “Slower is almost always Faster.”

Let’s talk JOIN UP

In all of our training we are generally referring to domestically bred and raised horses that are not rough young stock or broncs. Horses that have an upbringing that predisposes them to cooperation with humans.

Individuals that do not need to be chased around the round pen. 

Have we used old fashioned Round Penning methods? Yes, we have maybe 200 or 300 horses ago before discovering Error Free learning more modern methods.

Horses do not ‘join up” with you in the round pen out of love or respect. They join up to make their life easier, to not be adversarial themselves and frankly because there is not another happier choice for them.

When we begin to train a horse, we teach basic ground skills in a small area, and yes, it can be a round pen or better yet, a small square cpen or corral. There is a set of Ground Skills that all young horses should learn between weaning and saddle training. We’ve outlined these in Becoming Partners, an Ebook available at www.imagineahorse.com. We these skills in conjunction taught in with Pedestal Training.

Pedestal Training teaches a horse many valuable and habitual responses that will impact every area of his life. Pedestal Training helps the horse to easily understand what you are asking of him and establishes cues for groundwork that will be used throughout his career, including in mounted work. Here’s a partial list of these words and cues-GOOD, READY, STEP UP, STEP BACK, STEP DOWN, STEP AROUND, TRY AGAIN, NO, WAIT, GOOD BOY, COOKIE TIME and many more. Horses make strong associations between actions and objects which expedites their learning which is why we use pedestals. Adding movement of the horse in a pedestal routine helps keep your horse happy by giving him mental breaks.

The danger of FLAGS-ROUND PENNING and general NON experience.

Flags were first popularized in horse training by Tom Dorrance. He used them quietly, gently, and always in a lowered position. He expected a response from the horse…a quiet move, an ear flick toward him, a slight head turn, and a calm and willing attitude. He NEVER waved them, asked for rapid movement or response and he NEVER startled a horse with flags. Today’s use of flags used for desensitizing is often good intentions turned to VERY poor horsemanship.

The careless use of flags, round pen work, and free horsemanship advice creates more and more horses coming to a useless and many times sad end. 

There are SO many bad methods in today’s world of instant gratification in horse training.

Dare to do things differently, learn the WHY behind each method you come across. CHOOSE YOUR OWN PATH then stick with it to develop the horse of your dreams.

Spend enough time with a horse to know him and form a solid bond with him. Understand how he reacts to every move you make, every new situation. Acclimate him to every situation you can imagine and rather than startle him or desensitize him….SENSITIZE him to the responses that you expect. 

Get some books…not free advice on the internet…good old-fashioned books by horsemanship from past centuries. Learn where “Natural Horsemanship” got its roots. 

There are MANY great trainers available, do your homework and establish a relationship in order to make a decision to join a program or hire one. 

Do not listen to everyone that has a horse training opinion- listen to your horse.

GO BE WITH YOUR HORSE.

Sue and Allen