Our pony has been trained exclusively on the round pen method, which uses the horse’s language to train. Monty Roberts, the original horse whisperer, discovered the language of the horse. We are using methods from Christian John Lyons, specifically his book On Horses with Sinclair Browning. It was made to go out to the round pen with you.

We know our pony Ebony’s history because we’ve known her since her birth and purchased her at 11 days old. A local round penning trainer worked with her some with a friend’s son, who was learning to train, so he learned with Ebony. That family also taught us the round penning techniques first hand. Prior to that we gave Ebony regular handling since her birth and we could already mount her.

Round Penning

The round pen is 50’ across (ours is a little smaller than most, but so is she). We send the horse away and she will soon ask to come in and be reconciled to us. That is the same tactic the lead mare does in a herd. The stallion leads, but the lead mare disciplines. We send her away by squaring our shoulders to her and literally walking toward her. She takes flight around the outside of the pen. We are speaking her language and she understands.

The principle rests on the fact that the person in the middle of the ring will push the horse to run until the horse’s lungs tell its brain to acquiesce to the leader in the middle of the ring (the human). The horse will “ask” to come in, in which case she is agreeing to be submissive, but she is also deciding to trust us. The horse asks to come in by snaking her head along the ground as she runs. As soon as we say “yes” with our body (turning our shoulders diagonal to her shoulders- we call it “opening up”) she stops and approaches us.

After she approaches, we turn and lead her around the ring by simply walking. She follows with her head to our shoulder. There are absolutely no ropes or even a halter on the horse when we round pen. This is called “join up.” It is based on understanding their herd behavior. It is a beauty to behold.

After join up, we can move on to the lesson of the day. If she loses concentration, we send her out again. A horse under this training can be saddled without being tied, taught to face fear (instead of running), and any number of things. Older horses who’ve never been round penned still speak horse, so it can be used to re-train an older horse also.

I want to mention that we can switch the horse’s direction in the round pen by stepping back (inside turn) or pushing in (outside turn). It is amazing to me because Ebony completely has her eye on us the whole time and responds to our every que. She is listening to our body because she wants to be reconciled to us. To a herd animal, being cut off is life threatening.

Our safety is in speaking her language and if need be- being able to roll under the fence posts away from her! I had to do this once but I found out later I was speaking to her incorrectly. She was not really charging me down. Horses hate stepping on humans, anyway. They like solid stuff under their feet, and we’re squishy. They are likely to go around us. Right, Mom?

(Family moment: my Mom was standing in the wrong place a year ago at Chincoteague, VA when the northern herd of wild ponies was stampeding in. They were headed straight toward her, but they fanned around her rather than run her down. If only she’d had the video camera on!) So you see, she proved the point for us. 

One time Ebony did confront me but I deserved it. I wasn’t listening to her when she was asking nicely to come in. I had friends watching and was letting them see her run (she’s so beautiful). She didn’t have my concentration and she deserved it at that time. She squared her shoulders to me and faced me. She was right. I didn’t back off (I couldn’t- I have her psyched into thinking I’m the boss) but I did send her away once more and then let her come right back in. I wear my riding helmet when I’m round penning her.

My husband does not wear a helmet, but he towers over her and I believe she respects him more. She can be bratty and has been known to kick her heels up when she is sent away. She also has a favorite direction, so when turned in the opposite direction she rears. We are miles away in the middle of the ring when she does this, so we watch her stop, rear, spin on her hind legs, and gallop off in the other direction. She’s a bad girl when she does that, but it’s breathtaking nonetheless. She gets extra laps for attitude, though!

Ebony is a 7 year old black Morgan cross 12.2 hand pony. I hope to take pictures at her next round penning and post them here.