"Actually, I am not training horses to do anything. They already know how to do most anything I would ask. What I am doing is developing enough trust that the animal will try to do what I ask because it WANTS to. This means I have earned its trust and respect through my leadership and not any training. I know this would be a radical change of mind for most 'trainers' out there." ~ F.Levinson
Liberty lessons - Chipilly (click on individual photos to enlarge)
...So we went for a walk in a neighbour's 40 acre paddock today (2018), with 10 year old Waler mare, Chipilly. We took her halter off for the first time during a 'liberty' walk. (Up to now we have simply unclipped her halter.) This is also a paddock she has only been in twice before.
Chipilly followed quietly for a bit, wandered back to the fence (where she could see the rest of the horses some distance away), and just generally trotted about, keeping near us. We went back and forth. We didn't ask much of her today as it was her first time halter-less outside of her comfort zone. We mostly just gave support.
Leading up to Chipilly's liberty walks has been a great deal of groundwork, round yard ground games, online lessons, bush walks and walks off-property, to past breed shows, farms, etc. Chipilly is also under saddle but (due to her health issues), only a few times and just at a walk, to date. She actually enjoys it and it's added stimulation and learning for her. My main point being...you don't just release a horse to liberty. It's not necessarily that it isn't right but possibly that it isn't responsible. I believe that being herd animals, they appreciate their boundaries. Releasing a horse anytime, anywhere, when that horse has no connection to you and hasn't learned to be haltered or lead properly is just asking for trouble for all concerned. Instead of enjoying themselves you will probably have an anxious bolter on your hands. Liberty, in the human world, requires trust, connection and consistency.
Anyhow...at the end of our 20min walk Kevin managed to capture a nice little bit of footage of Chipilly following me back to the gate then standing for the halter. I've shared some of the stills with this blog. I did have pieces of sweet potato to give her today but only used them for some of the walk. We were encouraging calmness today. I also practised a bit of targeting and signalling with my forefinger to indicate to Chipilly that I would like her to follow. This is the signal I personally use with all the horses. Chipilly did choose to ignore me a couple of times, but again, that was her choice and we were respecting that today. We simply waited until she was ready to move again, because she was very relaxed as well and that was part of what we were aiming for.
I am sharing this simple stuff because it's something everyone can do with their horses - enjoy a walk in a large, safe location, give the horse some enjoyment and some choice, and teach them a few things as well. Little, fun lessons that will be remembered even if they aren't taught every day.
As some of you will know, Chipilly is an anxious mare, largely due to her particular health issues. (She's a 'roarer' and has the use of only 50% of her trachea, so can't take in the same amount of air as other horses when she breathes. I have shared another blog on her story.)
It's taken us years of short, consistent, affirmative lessons to get Chipilly really comfortable with separation from the herd and trusting us in new locations. She has also taken longer to mature mentally and emotionally compared to several of our other horses but again, we always try to work with the individual. Some humans take longer to mature as well...I am probably one of them!
I thoroughly enjoyed today and I'm fairly sure Chipilly did too.
If Chipilly can do it, I reckon any horse (and human) can do it.
