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PALM PARTNERSHIP TRAINING™
Building a Partnership with your Horse
"Working At Liberty - “Getting Down to Work & Changing Directions
With a Handler and Alone”
By Lynn Palm
Liberty work demonstrates how important the handler’s position is to the horse’s movement. If the handler and whip are positioned more toward the back to the horse, it will encourage him to move forward. When the handler and whip are positioned more at the middle of the horse, it will encourage him to maintain his speed. If the handler moves her body and whip more toward the front of the horse, it will slow him down. If the handler is positioned too far in front of the horse, she will block his forward movement and cause him to stop or change directions. If the horse is not responding correctly, always check your position first.
After the warm-up phase of working at liberty, ask your horse to change directions to repeat this warm up on the opposite track. There are two ways to ask your horse to change directions. One is to ask him to slow his movement to a walk, then “whoa.” Use a mellow, deep tone of voice when asking for down transitions. Walk up to him and turn him around to face the opposite direction using a turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, or simply lead him in half-circle.
While we want our horse to move forward during liberty work we don’t want him running madly around the paddock. He could slip and fall, especially in the turns. If your horse starts running too much, use a mellow voice to sooth him and slow him down with a voice command like “e-a-s-y.” Stretch out the word so it sounds very long and soothing.
What if he is really running around so dangerously fast that he could fall? While still standing on the centerline, position your body and point the whip towards his forehand. This will usually stop a horse. If more reinforcement is still needed, swing the whip towards his forehand to break his action and get him to slow or stop.
Changing Directions
Now we are going to learn how to change your horse’s direction when working at liberty in a paddock or arena. This technique eliminates the need to stop the horse and “manually” turn him around so that he is facing in the opposite direction. Instead he will learn to respond to your commands to turn and change directions on his own as he travels on a diagonal track across two of the paddock/arena’s diagonal corners. This allows him to keep his forward momentum as he changes direction.
First, we will learn how to change the horse’s direction when you have another person to help you with the liberty lesson. I will describe this technique as if the horse is tracking to the right and you want him to change directions to track left. Both handlers working the horse at liberty should be correctly positioned on the paddock/arena’s centerline. Practice this at a walk before trying it at a trot.
As the horse enters one of the paddock/arena’s narrow or “short” sides, handler #1 (closest to him) moves off the centerline so that she is following the horse’s hindquarters with her whip low as she encourages him to move forward and through the corner. At the same time handler #2 at the opposite end of the paddock, turns to face handler #1 so she is watching the horse.
As the horse comes into the short side, handler #1 opens up her left arm so her whip points horizontally at the horse’s hindquarters to keep him moving forward. At the same time, handler #2 moves off the centerline and towards the fence line that the horse is preparing to travel down. Handler #2 raises the whip in her right hand horizontally toward the fence to block the horse’s line of travel down the fence line. As the horse comes out of the second short corner, the only route for him to follow becomes a diagonal path between both handlers.
As the horse follows a diagonal path across the paddock and passes handler #1, she switches the whip to her right hand. This gives a visual cue, like a pointer, for the horse to continue on the diagonal track to the right. Once he has crossed the centerline, handler #1 resumes her position on the centerline. Handler #2 takes over. She turns to follow his movement across the diagonal with her whip extended horizontally towards his hindquarters to encourage him to move forward through the new corner. He is now tracking to the left. Once the new direction is established, both handlers move back to their positions on the centerline and continue the liberty lesson.
Make sure the horse stays forward while changing direction at liberty. Use your whip behind him to encourage forward movement. If he gets anxious and increases his speed on his own, use a voice command to slow him down. Use your voice to keep his attention if he starts looking over the fence or gets distracted from you. Remember, in liberty work your voice is your main communication tool to ask the horse to respond to your commands.
Working Alone
The key to success when doing this maneuver alone is to work in a moderately sized arena. A paddock or arena that is too large may cause the single handler to lose control of her horse.
If you are working alone with a horse tracking left and you want to change direction to the right, first make sure that you have the horse’s attention. If you do not, use your voice and call his name or say “hey.” If he does not respond, gently flick the longe whip toward the ground to get him to keep his eye on you.
When you ask him to change direction, walk towards him as he is moving down the fence line and raise the whip horizontally so it points to the spot where you want him to turn around. This gives him the visual cue to stop and blocks his forward movement. Say “whoa” and hold the whip in position. Most horses will react to their forward movement being blocked by turning or pivoting to face in the other direction. Use your voice, and whip if necessary, to send the horse off in the opposite direction.
When learning this maneuver, a horse may just stop because he does not know what you are asking him to do. Give him a cluck and walk closer to him as you keep the longe whip up in your left hand. This will block him from continuing left and encourage him to pivot and move forward in the new direction.
End the Lesson Properly, After working through different gaits, speeds within gaits, and in both directions, it is time to evaluate the horse. If he stays quiet and responsive after you have seen a definite indication that he has “played,” it means that he has burned off some of his inner energy. His nostrils should be flared. This shows that he has expended some energy. A horse should be brought to this point to build his conditioning each time liberty work is undertaken.
Wind down the liberty work with an easy trot or jog to the walk, and then ask the horse to “whoa” along the fence line. When I exercise my horse at liberty, I always want him to address and look at me when he stops.
Because liberty work asks the horse to move forward and away from the handler, it is important that the horse understands that he should not flee or run away from you. So, after you ask your horse to “whoa,” lower the tip of the longe whip to the ground and walk toward him. Stop within a few feet of the horse and give him the “come to me” command. If he needs more encouragement to come to you, extend your hand out to him. As he steps toward you, step back so that he follows you. The horse must walk straight toward you until you ask him to “whoa.” If needed, reinforce the “whoa” by holding your hand in front of his face like a stop sign. Praise him when he follows and stops on command.
After liberty work, the horse is ready to go on to working in hand maneuvers or under saddle. Because he has been allowed to release some of his inner energy, he will be in a much better state of mind to concentrate on what you will be asking him to do in the next lesson.
In the next article, we will start our lessons on working in hand.
More details on “Working at Liberty” are covered in my Longevity Training Visual series, available in DVD or video. Visit www.lynnpalm.com for more information on training products, courses, and featured appearances.
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