If you're starting or re-starting a horse - any horse - round pen training is the very first step.
Regardless of your experience level - or how your horse will later be ridden - this video course, "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse," shows you exactly what to do, when to do it, and even why to do it.
Beyond desire and persistence, all you need is a horse, a round pen, and a pair of gym shoes... 'cause you are gonna get some exercise.
Simply put, "round penning" is the necessary first step for horses destined for any riding discipline! Whether you ride western or English - basics are basics and they are first introduced in the round pen! (Can you skip this training and still get your horse "broke"? Sure! But it's a heck of a lot harder to saddle-train a skittish horse that hasn't learned to be comfortable with you, or to respect your presence, your pressure - and your role as "boss," three things your horse will learn here in this video series... So, seriously, you don't want to skip proper round pen training. Starting here is highly, highly recommended! The short period of time you invest here in the beginning will later pay off in a big way.)
"Round penning" is not the same as lungeing. "Lungeing" is a single, stand-alone "thing" you have your horse do. By contrast, "Round penning" is an entire series of exercises that combine to begin teaching the horse respect for its human and to later carry a rider. Yes, along the way, ground manners will be greatly improved, (you'll teach the horse to turn toward you for easy catching in the field, to have its feet handled - and even teach it to "come to you" at any gait, for instance) but the entire point of "round penning" is for you to begin training a horse to be ridden. There are goals to be met and specific steps to be taken. But you can do this! Anybody who can follow simple directions can do this!
Round penning is easy once you know how - but the changes you can make are amazing. Whether you're starting a youngster to ride or retraining a hard luck case, this step-by-step video guide shows you exactly what to do, in which specific order - and why. Train your horse to:
become a willing partner
deal with its fear
turn and face you, to come to you, to respect a person's space
stand politely for the farrier, to have its feet handled
be much safer for you and your family to be around
And, above all, with this video course, you will learn exactly what it takes to build a strong foundation for any horse that you'd someday like to ride. (Note: While this video course does not address first saddling, it brings you right up to that point. Sacking out, bridle work from the ground, and then saddle-training would be your next steps!)
Free bonus included with this course for a limited time: I've included a free chapter, "Sacking Out" as excerpted from my book "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse." Why? Because it's the next thing you're going to want to do with your horse after round pen training. If you want to make your horse safer to ride, then the day after completing your training in the round pen, you need to "sack it out" (that is, get your horse "used to" common, everyday objects that it might come into contact with -- either on purpose or by accident., objects like your hands, water bucket, saddle blanket and so on. This excerpted (text version, not video) chapter will show you exactly what to do. I'd suggest you print it out, take it to the barn.
Note: Pick up my book "Round Penning: First Steps to Starting a Horse" for additional guidance. The book goes on to offer even more how-to training, covering the following topics in detail:
Spook in Place (Desensitize your horse to scary objects)
Picking Up Feet
How to Halter Train a Horse
Teaching Your Horse to Lead
Leading a Stubborn Horse
Lungeing a Horse
Horses That Bite
The Intimidating Horse
How to Get Respect
Trailer-Training Your Horse Using a Round Pen
Teach a Horse to Sidepass to You On the Ground [A popular trick]
Is My Horse Hard to Train... Because of His Feet?
