I also got to watch a lot of Tommy Turvey that does liberty work. There were a few big takeaways from him:
- horses understand vocal cues more than I gave them credit (I started using the command "here" to get Zeke to come at liberty)
- never be mad when your horse comes back
- name your horse a one syllable name
- make sure your horse knows its name
I did these methods with Zeke. Alex would too. Zeke knew when you caught his eye and backed up he should come. When he got rusty or didn't listen then we would chase him more to reinforce the come cue. However, I had a lot of trouble doing circles around me at liberty. Often on when going to the right he would just decide to leave. But he didn't just leave he PEACED OUT. He knew that once he left he would get chased, so he just committed to the chasing at the very moment he left. It was frustrating and didn't make me into a safe space. At this point I stopped doing liberty as often.
More research came out showing that the chasing methods were more fear-based and were not emotionally healthy for the horses. I also started following trainers that had different methods that value connection and relationship in ways that would not involve chasing or forcing the liberty relationship.
I still loved ground work then. When they announced the Cowboy Dressage Liberty Division I originally wasn't that interested. At some point last year I decided I wanted to pursue the Liberty division and advance through the phases. After qualifying for the Liberty division the tests are done with a neck rope. That didn't phase me. The tests can be performed at full liberty with nothing on the horse after passing all tests with a neck rope, Zeke's habit to peace out would need to be conquered by then.
One of my favorite trainers is Lindsey Partridge, the founder of Harmony Horsemanship. She does a lot of liberty work with her horses including a liberty restart on an Off The Track Thoroughbred, winning liberty freestyle routines at the Thoroughbred Makeover, and taking her horse through NYC at liberty. I have followed her resources including the Connection Club. She had many courses I wish I could afford, especially her "Be the Centre of Your Horse's Universe" course that included her unique liberty join-up games or the course of the liberty restart.
I was super excited when a new liberty specific course was announced! Not only was it going to be a great course on liberty, but it involved more focused attention from Lindsey including live Facebook Q&A sessions, catered extra content, a private Facebook group, and individual video feedback on four videos. The course shows her work with a new OTTB and recently wild mustang. The final video that was shot for the course was at a public beach! As soon as I could sign-up, I did.
I couldn't wait to see all of her join-up games (I only knew of a few from other videos). I also was really excited to see what a method with no whip, no round pen, and no chasing looked like. Unfortunately, I did the course during a busy time in my life with the start of COVID and lots of virtual competition videos to film. I was still able to work with Zeke and learn a lot. It didn't take long for me to realize the deep impact that the chasing had on his emotional state. He was a MUCH different horse when working at liberty. The same things he would do easily and in a stable emotional state like turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, or sidepass, caused him a lot of anxiety at liberty. |
The twelve weeks flew by and before I knew it, the deadline to submit my videos for feedback was approaching. I didn't have much time (or clean jeans!), but we went to the barn and got very candid videos of what a typical liberty session looked like for where we were at due to having to repair a broken liberty relationship previously built on chasing. Her feedback was great and will help us continue on the right course to progress with liberty work. I'm very excited for this avenue to continue to grow in partnership with Zeke.
Below are links to my submitted videos. My explanation of what is being shown and Lindsey's feedback is in the YouTube video description.
- Harmony at Liberty 1
- The beginning of the session where he tries to leave multiple times
- Harmony at Liberty 2
- More where he tries to leave
- Harmony at Liberty 3
- Working on moving the shoulders and he is mouthy and anxious (not typical for him with a halter and lead)
- Harmony at Liberty 4
- Working on boomerang and you can see his dominant side surface