NEWS

liberty horse training

LIBERTY TRAINING®-What is it, and why does your horse need it? 

A Definition of Liberty Training®:

Liberty training is intended to provide a horse a sense of freedom and security without the need of gear such as halters or ropes. Working with a horse in this manner increases the horse’s desire to interact, resulting in a stronger bond and consistent performance under saddle. Liberty Training is a basis for all equestrian sports and is aimed to build optimal horsemanship skills. ”

It all started with a successful clinic for the Palm Springs Arabian Association in Palm Springs, where I worked with 20 horses to illustrate the advantages of training horses at Liberty to an audience of roughly 150 people, and it became larger and larger each day as people enjoyed what they saw and heard.

In 1976 *, when I began teaching the method at Stonehenge Arabians, a training and breeding site in Sonoma County, California, I came up with and coined the phrase “Liberty Training.”

The concept of starting a horse in foundation training without equipment was novel at the time, and what I was bringing to the horse industry was groundbreaking.

Because the horse was entirely free and at liberty from the outset, I named it ‘Liberty Training.’

We started training the horse without tack, but if someone wanted to ride, they could use it afterwards.

The word spread quickly!!

People were talking about my clinic, so Lawler Enterprises approached me and asked me to make a video of my method. So, in the early 1980s, I made my first video, which was simply titled ‘Liberty Training.’ It was the first time the general public heard of Liberty Training®, which is now trendy and taught by many!

As a result of the video, I began to do many clinics across the United States, and people began learning Liberty Training®. Equestrians loved the results of the connection they developed with their horses at Liberty, and what’s more, they loved the results of the connection they developed with their horses at Liberty. The effects were long-lasting!

They were able to work a horse at Liberty by improving their connection with their horse on many levels, including learning how to call their horse off food, walk and trot, and make complicated patterns with their horses at their side, something they couldn’t do with tack.

Their horses stopped behaving badly without even having to be asked, and were much more willing and involved during performances.

The outcomes were virtually immediate!

At Liberty, a horse is being trained.

My students told me that their horses, from show horses to family riding horses, were much more attentive and connected with them under saddle, and that their horsemanship skills had improved to the point where they could now handle issues with their horses that they couldn’t fix before the clinic.

Students would write to me and tell me how much they enjoyed bringing their horse along because of a new ability they learned from just a three-day course with me. The secret was the freedom of my Liberty Training, where a horse had the freedom to say no, which flipped a switch in him to bond naturally and follow your leadership. their Horseman could rely on this method to establish a connection.

I was overjoyed. I was an overnight success. I had a tiger by the tail. In other words, I held a clinic every weekend for three years, either at my ranch or on the road, and then I focused solely on touring the country to bring horses and humans together in this unique way – at Liberty.

Working at Liberty may teach and benefit anyone.

My father was my mentor, and without his guidance, my life with horses would have been similar to most people’s, as I would not have cultivated my gift, instead putting it aside and using standard horse training methods, which would have removed my innate ability to connect deeply with horses. He once said something to me that I later disagreed with, “You can’t teach people how to connect with horses.” That’s something you’ve always had.”

However, I believed that anyone could learn to connect with horses in the same way that I did, that everyone had an intrinsic skill that I could awaken in them, and that horses and humans have a lot in common, and that I could help them discover the parallels.

Liberty Training, I saw, would teach a person how to communicate and train a horse using their natural abilities, and I could show people how horses respond to our influence without using force and on the horse’s terms. My connection with horses is a gift, and I discovered that I could easily share it with others because it is so simple!

I started teaching people how to develop this skill by working with their horses to build a Magnetic Connection and then having them lead their horse to their favorite music while at liberty.

This capacity to sense and direct a horse through a Magnetic Connection instantly opens a person up with how to fit in with a horse and lead at the same time. It is pretty wonderful, and it brings out the type of leadership a horse would choose to follow.

“Oh why didn’t I think of that?” I was asked often by folks who had attended my three-day clinic. Of course, it’s simple and straightforward. “I can do that,” these kids said, demonstrating their confidence in their abilities to connect with and train their horses.

What to avoid and how to get started

The first step is to let go of other people’s and your own opinions, as well as your own agenda, so that you can use your natural talents, the ones you were born with, to train a horse from instincts. By observing a horse in this way, you will notice that he becomes aware of his true nature, and in that state of mind, he will be open to a feeling of trust and will naturally follow your leadership.

Waiting for your horse to come to you on his own terms will bring out his instinct to fit in, attach, connect, and follow your lead, but only if the horse is not being pressured.

Pressure is frequently used to force a horse to do what a trainer or his students want, all in the name of “Natural Horsemanship,” which is anything but natural for a horse.

The same can be said for forcing a horse to bond by confining him in a round pen, which causes his prey mentality, natural fear, and resistance; while it may be useful at the time, it is rarely long-lasting, requiring you to use the same coercion time after time, and it goes against the horse’s nature.

Have you ever noticed how slowly his soul diminishes until all you see is that dreadful, blank stare where the horse has given up and checked out? It’s a result of the constant pressure, and it’s incredibly heartbreaking to see.

Most people believe that training at Liberty takes too long and should be done only when the horse is fully trained, but the opposite is true: training a horse under pressure takes more time and skill, whereas training at Liberty requires almost no skill, and it is also far more effective because once you have developed a bond and trust with a horse, ALL training becomes much easier.

Fitting in and being a leader at the same time is not natural for anyone, especially women. In the human world, leadership often comes with entitlement, which scares horses and brings out their resistance.

If you remember nothing else from this piece, remember this: When your horse feels free to work with you at Liberty, he stops acting like you’re the predator, which opens the door to a whole new universe of possibilities between you.

Your horse isn’t slow, stubborn, nasty, or stupid; horses learn faster than humans, and all they want to do is connect with you and trust you.

Liberty Training will provide you with a horse you never knew existed, more akin to owning a highly trained herding dog with whom you share a bond and who enjoys his work than an unhappy and unwilling stranger.

Why You Should Start Liberty Training Your Horse

  • Your horsemanship skills will improve to the point that you will be able to solve problems with your horse that you previously couldn’t.
  • It will bring you and your horse together in harmony.
  • With any equestrian hobbies on the ground or under saddle, you will see an improvement in your horse’s response to your guidance.
  • Your horse will be easier to read without the need of equipment, giving you a greater grasp of how to communicate with your horse.
  • Because you are not physically tied to your horse, you may feel safer than while using equipment.
  • It teaches you how to use your body language more effectively.
  • It improves your capacity to connect with horses, and it just gets better.
  • Your instincts start to lead you in the direction of how to train your horse.nbsp;
  • Strengthens your bond with your horse.
  • It re-establishes your horse’s desire to respond to halt, walk, trot, and canter in a constant rhythm for faultless performance under saddle by exercising the bond, trust, respect, willingness, focus, connection, and energy.

How Liberty Training Benefits YOUR HORSE

  • The majority of horses will give up their ‘vices’ without your intervention.
  • During show performances, your horse will be considerably more willing and engaged.
  • It will benefit all horses, including shy, dominant, food aggressive, and untrained animals, as well as seasoned horses, young horses, old horses, and even terrified horses.
  • Whether you ride a show horse or a family riding horse, your horse will be far more attentive and attached to you under saddle.
  • It will make your horse feel comfortable and secure when he is with you.
  • It aids in the development of healthy muscles and allows your horse to move around freely.
  • It improves your horse’s motivation to learn and perform because he now considers being with you interesting and enjoyable.
  • When your horse’s spirit is not pressed, he experiences great well-being.
  • It improves your horse’s intelligence since he is eager to learn new things and perform for you in a natural, effortless, and effortless manner.
  • When your horse is allowed to dance at Liberty, he will be overjoyed since it naturally complements the social connections.
  • Knowing that you and your horse have a 50/50 partnership will give your horse a healthy ego.

All Equestrian Activities Benefit

  • From a comfortable walk on a slack rein to an extended trot with suspension, dressage riders can balance the horse’s energy and focus so that the horse brings the proper energy for the task at hand.
  • Liberty Training is a strategy to warm up the muscles so they can move freely in spontaneous movement and boost a horse’s desire to work a cow for cutting, reining, and working cow horses.
  • It will provide relaxation and a more dependable ride for pleasure riding horses.
  • Liberty Training allows competitive horses over fences to listen to their instincts and follow commands while also improving their ability to be in harmony with their rider.
  • Liberty Training produces a horse who is in sync with his rider and focuses on listening to its aids for both English and Western enjoyment.

So, what do you have to lose?

Seize the day and begin Liberty Training your horse right now!

Look for a new blog with Off The Desk of Carolyn every Monday, and may the spirit of the horse be with you.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button