Training Tip of the Week
Why Start in the Round Pen?
Round penning is a great tool when it comes to training horses because you can get the horse to use the thinking side of his brain without over stressing him, making the learning process as easy as possible for both you and the horse. Below, I’ve highlighted several advantages of the round pen and why no matter what stage of training your horse is in, he can always benefit from round pen training.
Teaches your horse to catch you.
Before you can train a horse, you have to be able to catch him. If you can’t catch him, you can’t teach him anything. I like my horses to be able to basically catch me. Meaning that they give me two eyes, yield their hindquarters and face me. Then I can put the halter on them and get on with the lesson. If you can’t catch your horse very well, how is the rest of the lesson going to go? Not good because the horse is always going to be trying to avoid you or running away from you showing you two heels.
You are not connected to the horse.
Anytime you are connected to a horse through a halter and lead rope, you’re a lot closer to him. The closer you are to a horse, the more vulnerable of a position you are in. If a horse goes to kick at you, run over you, or do something disrespectful, the chances of you getting hurt are a lot higher since he’s close to you. I always recommend that people with dominant and disrespectful horses start out in the round pen for that reason. The round pen puts a little bit of distance between you and the horse. By working the horse off line, I can stay a little further back and still be able to establish the basic fundamentals.
Gets the horse’s feet moving.
In order to get a horse’s respect, you have to move his feet forwards, backwards, left and right and always reward the slightest try. The more you can move your horse’s feet forwards, backwards, left and right, the more respect you’ll get. The more the horse moves your feet forwards, backwards, left and right, the pushier and more disrespectful he will become. A lot of horses that are pushy and heavy can’t actually canter with a halter and lead rope around you without dragging you off your feet. But in the round pen since the horse isn’t connected to a line, he can canter. The round pen fence will keep him on the circle, not you. When you free up a horse’s feet and get him to move forward, his mind frees up as well and his resistance disappears.
Words to Train By
The more complicated you make horse training, the harder it is.
If you don’t get it, the horse won’t get it, and then nobody gets it. The simpler you can keep training for yourself and the horse, the better it is and the more progress you’ll see.
Want more training tips and horsemanship advice?
Week in Review
It was two back to back tour weekends for the Downunder Horsemanship crew in late July in Detroit, MI and Casper, WY. “Both crowds were enthusiastic and ready to learn, which makes it all the more enjoyable for me,” Clintons says. “I think everyone walked away from the tours with more knowledge and ready to work with their horses. We had good demo horses that really showed the results of the program.”
For the first time in over six months, Clinton’s Australian Quarter Horse mare, Mindy, came out on tour leaving her counterpart Diez back at the Downunder Horsemanship Ranch for a well-deserved rest. Always a crowd favorite, Mindy was at the top of her performance during the Advanced Groundwork and Riding demonstrations. As an added bonus at the Detroit tour, Clinton selected a lucky audience member to take a ride on the liver chestnut mare. After her ride on Mindy, Lisa Levingston said that “Of all the wonderful prizes that were given away, I think my ride on Mindy and interacting with Clinton was the best prize of the whole weekend!”
Clinton and Mindy with fans in Detroit, MI
Celebrating 10 Years of Downunder Horsemanship
Clinton's first US clinic.
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