I believe that it was Ray Hunt who said that the trainer should make the good thing easy and the bad thing hard when training a horse. Lunging can be taught outside a round pen. But it is easier for the horse to learn this difficult concept if he is in the round pen when it first introduced to it. The round pen gives him only two directions to choose from. In an open pasture he has no such limitations.
After the horse learns what is being asked of him in the round pen and can respond to the lightest possible cues through the rope to change directions then he can be given more advanced lunging lessons in an open pasture.
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Very much so, It is very difficult to free longe a horse in pasture or on the open range. It is, however a useful technique to keep in the bag of tricks, and something that I have messed with some..with at least limited success. In reading "Shy Boy," or studying the Cherokee methods of capturing wild horses by advance and retreat we see that there is a certain practical application. good examples are dealing with an aggressive horse in the pasture..be the boss horse and make him move..if he still wants to play tough..go steal his mares..that worked a treat with Rico, and he has not been jumpy with me since...or in working a difficult to catch horse to be caught..it can be fun..and much cheaper than going to the gym. But for pure effectivenss the round pen is the single most valuable physical tool available to the natural horseman, and an effetive one throughout a horse's life, whether to reground a horse grown fractious through poor hadling, (face it, none of us are perfect) or in a combination of advance training and hill work to improve the horse's condition, the round pen is the place to be. (Go look at little Katalina..little yearling filly who is now built like an equine aerobics instructor) The other real advantage, is that a horse who has been handled with the proper proportion of affection and control in the round pen will find it to be a place of security, and thus so much easier to get the horse to focus on their training.
I like the idea of teaching lightness in the round pen, lightness in a horse is somewhat akin to enlightenment to a buddist...an often difficult and elusive task. minimum pressure to achieve the desired outcome..and escalating to achiev the outcome..followed by immediate and total release. -Lloyd
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