Ground Work At Liberty

Work your horse at liberty to build his trust, enhance his responsiveness under saddle, and boost your confidence. Top trainer/ clinician Julie Goodnight shows you how.

- Julie Goodnight With Heidi Melocco

Working your horse at liberty gives you a superior level of connection with him. At liberty simply means that he has no restraint — no lead line or tether.

Building a trusting relationship with your horse will teach him to respond to your clear, consistent cues and will enhance your bond with him. It’ll also boost your confidence.

When your horse will respond willingly to your leadership and direction without a means of reinforcement, he’s tuned in to your gestures, postures, and movements, willing to follow any direction you give.

In the herd, horses follow the cues of their herd mates to know when to turn, stop, and move. In this way, your horse is programmed to tune in to your cues and work well at liberty. We’re the ones who need to learn the skills, become aware of our own body language, and be consistent with our cues.

When your horse learns that your body-language cues — your gestures and position — have meaning, he’ll love responding to them, because that’s his language. Give him clear cues, then reinforce those cues with a lead line or flag.

If you’re consistent over time, you’ll no longer need to use reinforcement, and you’ll be able to work without the tether. Your horse will learn to trust you to provide consistent cues, and you’ll show him that you trust him.

Your horse would much rather get a cue from your body language instead of first feeling a pull on the lead. He’ll learn that you’ll provide a body signal and a gesture before adding reinforcement.

And when your horse learns to trust you to ask before forcing him, he’ll respond to that same improved relationship in the saddle, tuning in and responding to your cues.