If you’ve ever seen a display of liberty horses at a show or on the TV, you will likely have been astounded by what these horses and their trainers can do. You may have seen liberty trainers who will work multiple horses as a group, performing incredible routines and tricks, all without the help of a saddle or bridle. But the good new is that absolutely anyone can learn how to do liberty horse training! In fact, liberty horse training is a great training tool for novice horses and riders. Liberty horse training can help the horse and trainer develop a deep connection and bond. Do you want to work at liberty with your horse? Where would you find a great liberty horse trainer? And what is liberty horse training & where can you find liberty horse training exercises?

Let’s take a look at this incredible natural training method and learn how to start at liberty horse training.

What Is Liberty Horse Training

Liberty: The quality or state of being free, with the power or scope to act as one pleases

Liberty horse training does exactly what the name implies – it gives your horse the liberty and freedom to move around at will. This type of training takes place in a large riding arena or paddock. The horse is free to move around at will, with the idea that you develop lines of communication to teach your horse.

Professional liberty horse trainers will work with their horses to perform tricks and movements, such as rearing, bowing, and pirouettes. This can all be achieved without any tack or aids.

Liberty work gives us a great opportunity to connect with the horse, and uses the natural instincts and behavior of the horse as the primary teaching tool. The horse is free from tack and lines during liberty training and can leave or move away from the trainer if they choose to. This is where the ‘liberty’ part comes in – the horse is cooperating because they wish to, not because we are forcing them to.

Natural horsemanship and liberty training often work hand-in-hand, with both methods understanding and using the horses’ natural instincts to teach them. This also enables the trainer to develop a strong bond with the horse, creating a connection that is only possible when the horse is allowed to express himself naturally.

This can seem like a huge leap of faith for those of us familiar with traditional training methods – how can we get our horses to do what we want if they are loose around us? This is where liberty training takes your natural horsemanship skills to the next level. Free from artificial aids such as tack and lines, the trainer needs to become someone the horse chooses to be with and follow, rather than relying on force.

So, how is this achieved? A liberty horse trainer will understand the horse’s natural instincts and behavior, and use these to develop a deeper bond.

The trainer must, first of all, emulate the herd behavior of horses to earn the trust and friendship of the horse. This bond then enables the trainer to become the natural leader of the horse, creating a strong connection and partnership using the unspoken principals of equine body language.

How To Start Liberty Horse Training

The first steps towards liberty horse training are all about learning:

• Learning about natural horse behavior
• Understanding your own behavior and emotions
• Getting to know your horse’s personality, likes, and dislikes
• Learning about natural liberty horse training methods

To succeed with liberty horse training you first of all need to integrate yourself with the herd. Spend some time just hanging out with your horse – yes, you can just chill out in the field with them! Use this time to watch and observe how your horse interacts with other horses at first, then start to build a connection with the herd.

It is important to learn how to read your horse’s body language and cues and understand how to encourage desirable traits and behaviors. Most liberty horse trainers favor a positive reinforcement method, where the horse receives a reward for making the correct choice – this can be a treat, scratch, or simply a kind word. Negative reinforcement methods, where constant pressure is applied until the horse makes the correct choice, can also be used. The overall training session should be as positive as possible – this is supposed to be a fun experience for both of you!

There are several different approaches to working with horses at liberty. Some trainers prefer to start in a smaller area such as a round pen initially, with fewer distractions. Others will train the horses in a large arena or field right from the start. Most trainers advocate that a good level of groundwork with a halter and lead is essential first, so don’t neglect the basic training.

Whatever your preferred method is, the goal is the same – your horse needs to decide that hanging out with you is his preferred place to be!

Liberty Horse Training For Beginners

The best thing about liberty horse training is that it is open to everyone – you do not need to be an expert horse trainer to try this method! In fact, beginners and novice riders have an advantage over more experienced horse owners, as they will not have to overcome any ingrained training habits. Looking at a horse with fresh eyes and learning together is the absolute best way to build a long-lasting and strong partnership.

Liberty horse training is also open to everyone as it does not require any specialist equipment or facilities. You do not need a round pen or even an arena – this training method can take place in the field or anywhere where your horse can move around safely without any restrictions. However, the area must be secure – otherwise your horse may just exercise his free choice to leave and disappear over the horizon!

To begin liberty horse training, you will need to spend time observing your horse. So, just take a chair, sit back, and watch the natural behaviors unfold before your eyes. Many of us have never taken the time to just do nothing with our horses, but this is one of the most invaluable training sessions you will ever have. Learning to be comfortable in each other’s company while doing nothing can be harder than you think!

Liberty Horse Training Exercises  

So, you’ve sat and watched your horse in the field, and hopefully learned about what makes them tick. What is the next step?

It can be hard to know where to start with liberty horse training – we’d all love to get to the fun stuff like dancing, but how do we get there? Let’s take a look at some basic and more advanced liberty horse training exercises:

At liberty horse training – Groundwork

Many horses are taught how to walk on a halter and rope as a youngster, and then this training is never revisited. But groundwork training is essential for all horses – they have a far better understanding of what we expect from them under saddle if we learn how to communicate with them on the ground!

A great place to start with groundwork on the halter is teaching your horse to move back and away from pressure, so you can ask them to leave your space. When your horse responds and moves away from the lightest pressure, you are ready to take the halter off and do it at liberty. Work on getting your horse to move in different directions by applying pressure in different areas.

Walking

This liberty horse exercise starts with the horse on the halter and rope, and once mastered you can then progress to loose walking.

The goal is to teach the horse to walk next to the trainer, shoulder to shoulder. He should not stomp off ahead, lag behind or veer off sideways. As always, he should be doing this because he wants to – the aids are used to give direction, not to force the horse to comply.

Start by walking with your horse on a loose rope. If he walks ahead, slow your body posture and use a calming voice to ask him to slow down. A flag can be used in front of him if needed to place a visual barrier. If he lags behind, ask him to move forwards again with a strong body posture and verbal encouragement.

Stopping and turning

Once you and your horse can walk smoothly as a pair, it is time to start walk to halt and halt to walk transitions. As before, start on the halter initially – these are the basic commands which must be accomplished to ensure that liberty training can be undertaken safely.

Use exaggerated versions of the body language and verbal cues used for walking to get your horse to start and stop. Over time you can make these cues more and more subtle, until your horse will start and stop with just a slight change in your body posture.

To turn, firstly stop the horse then move around the outside of the horse. A flag can be used if you wish, to help guide the horse initially, until he understands what is being asked of him. Once he has turned then walk on again, and work up gradually until you can turn without stopping.

Walking, stopping, and turning your horse can take a long time to master, but it is a fantastic feeling when you can guide your horse in any direction and pace without the use of a halter and lead!

Liberty horse training exercises: Teaching your horse to bow

This liberty horse training exercise is not as difficult to accomplish as you may think! The trick is to work up to it gradually and use plenty of positive reinforcement. Start by picking up a leg, then apply pressure to the chest to rock the horse backward and forwards. Over time, you can build this up so the horse rocks right down to the ground – impressive stuff! Once you have mastered this you can start to work on teaching your horse to bow when you give a signal, such as a tap on the leg.

Liberty Horse Trainers Near Me

Sometimes we all need a little one-to-one support from a trainer, but how do you find a good trainer? It can be hard to find local liberty trainers, and the best place to start is normally through word-of-mouth recommendations. Asking at local equestrian shops or facilities or posting on local social media horse groups may bring up some recommendations.

It is also a good idea to look for liberty horse trainers online, via Google or other internet search engines. Look for trainers with good testimonials and recommendations, and ideally you should be able to see videos of the trainer at work. Not every trainer is right for every horse and rider combination, so don’t worry if you don’t click straight away with the first one you find.

If you are drawing a blank for local liberty horse trainers then you may need to look further afield. Many liberty horse trainers hold residential training weekends or holidays, so why not treat you and your equine best friend to a little trip away? An intensive training weekend can be a great way to create a unique and unbreakable bond between you and your horse.

Liberty horse training exercises: Liberty Horse Class

Luckily, in the modern-day and age, there are a huge number of online resources available to help and support you on your liberty training journey with your horse.

Our recommended program is Dancing At Liberty, available at www.dancingatliberty.com. This innovative course is perfect for all levels, from complete beginners to experienced horse riders and trainers.  Dancing At Liberty will help you and your horse to create an inspiring bond and connection, leading to a happy and successful partnership.

The reason this course is so effective is that it breaks the liberty horse training process into easy-to-understand steps, making training fun and interesting for both horse and trainer. The classes start right from the beginning, learning how to observe and understand your horse, and progress right through to creative liberty sessions and dancing with your horse!

People who have tried these liberty horse classes rave about their effectiveness, and their feedback speaks volumes about the quality of this liberty horse training course:

“Dancing at Liberty™ has given me a purpose and a plan on how to spend time with my horse. This is nice since we haven’t been riding due to hunting season and weather. I am always looking for ways to connect to him, and these are a little different than what I have done before. Most people are in too much of a hurry. These exercises help us slow down as humans, and help us connect to our horse.”

Laura, Pennsylvania

Ready to get started with our liberty horse training exercises? Join Dancing at Liberty & create a deep bond & friendship with your horse.