 | ||||
Ask Chelsie...
I have a 5 year old mare that I'm beginning to work with. When we get in the round
pen, all she wants to do is run, run, run! When I release pressure she will stop and come to me but I can not get her to walk.
I am working on the upwards and downwards transitions.
- Malcolm T. in Leesburg, Georgia
Q.
A.
Hello Malcolm,
Thanks for writing in. When working with our horses in the round pen we should not put very much pressure on our them. We should be able to round pen our horses in a round pen made of string. Tom Dorrence said we should use our brains and not brawn.
When sending our horses off, we should have energy, and only if needed, use the stick to push our horses out. But then our stick should go back to neutral (by our side and not still pushing the horse). When you say that you release pressure off your horse and she will stop and come to you, it makes me think that you are still having your stick up and pushing her when you are asking her to walk. Sometimes we do this without even meaning to. So make sure that you are not leaving your stick up there and unintentionally asking her to go in a run.
Also there is no rule that says you can’t put a halter and a long line on your horse in the round pen to help the horse see that she does not have to run. Just act like you don’t have her in a halter and ask her to round pen like normal. When she starts to run off just lightly bump her with the line and ask her to stay calm. Doing this for a few days will let her see that the round pen is not a scary place and she does not have to just run around all the time. Get your upwards and downward transitions good in the round pen on line first and then start asking her to do it without the line on. So as I said before just act like the line is not there, and when you ask for a downward do it just like you would if you did not have it on her, but if you need to help her out you can lightly use the rope.
We also need to be VERY aware of the horse's drive line when doing upwards and downward transitions. The drive line is right about where the saddle horn would sit if the horse had a saddle on. For upward transitions we need to be behind the drive line, and for downward we need to be in front of the drive line.
Thanks for writing in. This was a very good question. You will get there. She just needs you to help her see.
Thank you,
Chelsie Kallestad
