Out West Blog

Round Pen Work Can Benefit Both Horse and Rider

Spring has finally come!  It seems like we all have endless projects to accomplish during our intermission of winter!  If any of you are like me, there are a few things that you have fallen behind on, and one of them might be your horse.  When preparing for that first spring ride, I like to round pen my horse -keeping things simple and safe.

I believe that round penning is a great non-threatening approach to maintain leadership and dominance over your horse.  It also works to ‘knock the fresh out’ of your horse and get rid of those unbecoming attitudes they may have from being set aside over the winter.  I like to make sure and send my horse around in both directions, letting him hit all three gaits at different tempos and practice their transitions between gaits. If they can do it without me on him it will be easier for both of us once I am aboard!

My objective is to get my horse’s head and mind right. I look for body language that shows I am achieving that.  Here are signs I look for:
-    Softening of the eye
-    Licking of the lips
-    Relaxing of the neck and lowering of the head
-    Making sure his eye and/or ears are ‘looking at you’
-    Relaxed movement

After round pen work, I feel like I am dealing with a more sensible and quiet horse.  I am more at ease swinging my leg over the saddle because my horse feels more at ease after working with him! 

That’s my thoughts for this week. Check back and see what we have for you next week!

Grant

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