If you’ve ever been to a major equine exhibition or international horse show, you may have seen horses competing at liberty: wearing no tack, a horse (or multiple horses) follows the directions of a handler. Liberty horses may gallop the length of the arena, collect themselves, and then perform a piaffe. Some liberty acts even involve bowing and rearing. And while watching horses at liberty is both entertaining and awe-inspiring, liberty horse training has the potential to improve your relationship with your horse as well as your performance–regardless of discipline.
What is Liberty Horse Training?
As the name suggests, liberty horse training involves considerable freedom for the horse–he’s free of any tack (true liberty work doesn’t even incorporate a lunge line), and you as the trainer can’t use your leg, the bit, or a whip to control him. Liberty horse training simply can’t be successful without a bond between you and the horse–he has to respect and trust you enough to listen to your commands when he could simply trot away or stop to graze.
Depending on how involved you want to get, you can keep liberty training to discipline-related tasks–if you’re an eventer, you may want to work on jumping at liberty. Or if you ride on the hunter circuit, you may want to work on getting your horse to easily collect at the trot when you ask. If your horse seems to enjoy the training, you can teach him to do tricks like lying down or rearing on command.
Most horses seem to enjoy liberty horse training–it gives them a chance to bond with you, and it also adds some variety to their training regimen. Even if you don’t compete at all, liberty work is an exciting challenge for you and your horse to work on together.
Why Is Liberty Training Worth Doing?
Obviously, liberty training is necessary if you want to compete in liberty events. But regardless of discipline, liberty work has several benefits for you and your horse.
It Improves Your Bond
When you’re in the saddle, it’s hard to tell whether your horse is listening to you because he wants to. But once you’ve removed the bridle and are standing on the ground next to him, you can tell if he’s engaged and wanting to work with you. And sometimes, riders are disappointed to see that their horses are less than cooperative at first.
As you begin liberty work, your horse will learn to respond to to subtle cues. And as he finds that training comes with plenty of positive reinforcement, he likely will be more willing to work with you. Liberty work is a lot like playing with your horse, and many horses end up enjoying their training sessions. It is widely regarded as the most ethical form of horse training.
Liberty training makes it so you and your horse have to work as a team. And as your horse begins to further trust you and pick up on small cues, you’ll likely start to see a difference when you’re in the saddle. When you and your horse have a partnership, it shows, and the result is often improved performance.
It Helps Develop Your Horse
Liberty training is a great tool to help develop your horse’s body and carriage. Since you aren’t in the saddle guiding him and correcting when he becomes off balance, working at liberty offers a way to help your horse improve his carriage.
Liberty work also helps your horse’s musculature develop. This is especially helpful for horses who are too young to be ridden and for those who are recovering from injuries. By carefully planning the exercises you plan to teach, you can prepare younger horses for under saddle work or help recovering horses maintain condition.
Since horses are often more relaxed when training at liberty, their movements will likely become more supple over time. With enough practice, this is likely to translate to more supple, fluid movement when under saddle.
It Lets You Evaluate and Refine Your Horse’s Movement
If you work with a trainer, you probably already receive feedback on your horse’s movement. But sometimes, there’s no substitute for evaluating your horse yourself. When you’re on the ground and working with your horse at liberty, you have an opportunity to assess his strengths and shortcomings. Maybe your horse has a beautifully scopey jump but fails to collect himself after. Or maybe he carries himself with a hollow back. In either case, liberty work allows you to use positove reinforcement to encourage your horse to correct his movement.
Over time, your horse will quickly self-correct in anticipation of a reward–whether that reward is praise, a pat, or a treat. And with enough practice, your horse will also improve his movement when you’re in the saddle. And because liberty work helps strengthen your bond with the horse, he’ll be more likely to want to listen to you and work with you.
How Can You Start Incorporating Liberty Horse Training?
When you watch a liberty horse perform, you might initially be discouraged about your prospects with your own horse. Highly-trained liberty horses can perform what seem like impossible tasks in response to barely-perceptible cues from thir trainers. If you want to start liberty training, it’s important to remember to start small and then gradually expand the tasks you ask your horse to do.
One of the central concepts of liberty work is that it involves positive reinforcement–you praise and reward your horse when he does something you want him to do. This is much different than what typically happens when you’re in the saddle. If you want your horse to listen to you as you ride, you typically make bad behavior uncomfortable and good behavior comfortable or neutral. For example, if your horse repeatedly turns his head to the outside of the arena, you probably tighten your inside rein. This adds pressure from the bit (discomfort), which is released as your horse returns his head to a normal position (comfort).
Beginning Exercises
There’s no single way to start liberty training. However, one way to start simply is to work on getting your horse to come to you. Try walking out into the paddock, but don’t walk right to up to him. Wait for him to notice you, and when he does, give him a few positive, encouraging words. He may walk up to you–if he does this, praise him and pat him. You may even want to offer him a treat.
This seems extraordinarily simple, but it may take time to learn. Once your horse is comfortable coming to you, work on “leading” him without the lead rope. The goal is to get your horse to follow your movements. In the early stages of liberty work, you may want to carry a dressage whip–this can work as an extension of your arm, which helps exaggerate your body language. Remember that it will take your horse time to learn to read your body language, and that it’s important to reward him when he does.
From here, you can progress to “liberty circles,” which are essentially lunging your horse without the line. Many trainers prefer to start in an enclosed space like a round pen or riding arena. As your horse begins to get the hang of what you’re asking him to do, you can work with him in larger spaces.
Rewarding Good Behavior
Some trainers like to incorporate clickers into training, too. A clicker (or even a certain word, like “good”) lets your horse know exactly when he’s done what you want. By pairing the clicker with a pat or a treat, you’ll encourage your horse to connect the sound with a reward. This will incentivize him to pay attention to you and to try to do what you ask him sooner rather than later.
Above all, be patient–liberty work isn’t something most horses are used to, and some learn faster than others. The exercises above may seem basic, but they’re providing a vital foundation. As your horse learns your body language and continues to build his trust in you, you’ll be able to ask him to perform more complex movements.
Final Thoughts
Particularly if you have a difficult horse, the beginning stages of liberty training may be challenging or even frustrating. And even though training might take time, it’s well worth the effort–you get to build a stronger bond with your horse and build a partnership that leads to better performance under saddle. Keep your training consistent and your reinforcement positive, and you’ll be well on your way to a responsive, focused partner.
