The Round Pen

The round pen is the greatest tool that a human has for working with a horse. Now you might thing that circle made of steel tubing 8 or so feet high is a rather dull sight and it is. What makes the round pen so important is how it allow you to interact with a horse you want to train. Horses are herd animals and in their herds there is a hierarchy. This hierarchy is established by running. When one horse feels that another horse is challenging it it will chase the horse out of the herd to reestablish its dominance. In the round pen a person can have the same interaction with a horse. Because of the pens shape the horse is made to run in a circle. The person who is training will work with the horse, something as simple as touching it or getting close or as challenging as harnessing and foot work, and the horse is make to run when it being stubborn or not making attention. There are two key signs that can be observed after running a horse to tell it accepts you as the alpha. One is chewing and the other is if it turns its head to face you. The relative attention a horse is giving you can be judge by where its ears are. If at least one ear is fix fast on you while you are talking or moving then you have the horses attention. Round pen work usually progresses slowly but when the breakthrus happen it is amazing.