Mindful Liberty Work

Training your own horse, part 4 of 6
by Alice Trindle

Horsemen's Protocol
· Breathe
· Think & Picture
· Focus
· Allow
· Reward

As we move into the winter months, time to play and work with your horse often becomes shortened, just like the amount of sunlight in our day. However, if you do have access, even only occasionally, to a facility that has good footing, horse-safe fencing, and like-minded humans, then you may find tremendous benefits in accomplishing liberty work with your horses. Equally, running your horse around without vigilance to attitude, balance, and rhythm will develop a lack of respect between the horse, his human, and most likely the other humans in the area.

What is Liberty Work?
Liberty is working your horse or a herd of horses without lead ropes, lines, or lariats attached. Their only confinement is the wall, fence, or imaginary line around the outside of the horse, and the connection to the human.

Why Bother?
The ability to influence your horse or a herd of horses is a true test of whether or not your horse is with you. It tests your leadership skills, develops your understanding of body language, and allows you to see the whole horse. Our human tendencies to control through pulling, kicking or prodding without finesse are not accessible when physical lines do not exist. You have to develop a ‘feel’ at the right place, with correct timing and positioning and clear intentions in order to influence the horse in positive movement with balance and rhythm. Certainly, liberty work is also great exercise, when accomplished with mindfulness, for both the human and the horse. And finally, being able to connect with your horse at liberty is truly a spiritual experience and a connection that will directly transfer to riding and to the way you lead your life.

Where & When Should You Use Liberty Work?
If I have a safe facility, such as a round pen or smaller square pen, I like to start all my young colts or new-to-me horses at liberty. It is a great way of establishing that you are a good leader, and sets it up for the horse to seek a connection to your ideas. I often use liberty work to evaluate a horse for both his attitude and physical attributes. Watching a horse move from a distance with no strings attached allows for greater freedom, and many times a physical concern or lack of respect will quickly show up. In an ideal world, I would conduct liberty or herd work with a group of horses. It allows the kicks and grins to get out without a human on board; the horses also learn to socialize, rate their speed, and still follow the suggestions of the human directing traffic (note the cautions below).

What Should You Look For?
As with most interactions with our horses, they respond best to clear intentions, directed through body language, that lead to a release in pressure as the reward. In liberty work, there are three connected steps I build upon to help me recognize the ‘try’ of the horse and know when to reward.

Eyes & Ears: As I send the horse off with clear intentions for direction, gait, and speed, I first look to see if the eyes and ears are paying attention to me. Often, the horse will start off on his own agenda, looking to the outside with the ears moving in several different directions. It is hard to communicate with a being if they are not watching or listening!

Flow & Glue: After I have the attention of the horse or herd, I look for a flow. Is there a 'glue' or connection between the hindquarters and forequarters if I am working just one horse? Or, if I have several horses, does the herd flow in a nice rhythm with the caboose following the engine?

Transitions: Now that there is a nice flow, I can start to ask for transitions. Changes in direction, changes of gait, and speed changes within a gait are all possible once the first two steps are achieved.

Now for some exercises in the square pen. Remember to go through your Horsemen's Protocol before every step. For round pen and other exercises, please see http://www.tnthorsemanship.com/.

Preparing for Square Pen Exercises
In the square pen environment, I want my shoulders in the same position they would be if I were on board: perpendicular to the horse, with my motion running parallel and slightly ahead of the horse. I see the horse moving forward on his railroad track, and my toes, torso, shoulders, and focus moving on a rectangle on the inside railroad track. A lunge whip is helpful to drive the air up several horse lengths behind the horse. Focus ahead, where you want the horse to go; it is his responsibility to look forward and drive up from his hindquarters.

Your job is to provide an open door, forward on the track, and drive up with the whip further behind him, rather than at him. You may need to take a little run on the diagonal, across your rectangle, in order to help the horse see the track or larger square that you desire him to follow. Once he begins to understand, you will find that he is keeping his shoulders up, pushing from behind, and developing self-confidence in his independence.

Ride a Perfect Square
Direct your horse off to the left (see online round pen exercises for details). Immediately after the horse is flowing to the left, change your toes, torso, shoulders, and focus to parallel with the horse, perpendicular to his drive line, and following a smaller rectangle. At the corners of your rectangle, take a half-halt, a deep breath, and change your focus and body trajectory to the new line of the inside rectangle. You are slightly ahead of the movement of the horse as he travels on his larger square through the corner. If the horse falters and looses momentum forward and balanced on his track, use your lunge whip far behind him with a little snap. Soon your horse will recognize his responsibility to move forward, pushing from behind, on his own track, while marking on your body language.


1) Halt, Shoulder-In: One of the primary benefits to square pen work at liberty is the ability to develop straightness in your horse with balanced shoulders. As you ask your horse to halt, picture the halt with a slight shoulder-in posture. The horse should look as if he is at attention and ready to salute while waiting for the next request.
2) Rollbacks: Again, encourage your horse to work off his hindquarters, keeping his shoulders light. In the square pen work, try to change directions with a rollback, or turning toward the wall.

CAUTIONS
When performing liberty work with a herd of horses, remember that kicking and biting are a part of herd behavior. In learning to respect the space of another horse, rate speed, and follow leadership, horses may well get injured. You must weigh the benefits of putting your horse in the herd against possible injury.

Check out the environment and facility first. Make sure the fence is secure. Look for any protruding nails or other hazards.

Make sure that other humans in the area are aware of your liberty work plans (and preferably understand the benefits). Much fun can be achieved by working as a team of humans; from serpentines to flying lead changes…the possibilities are endless!