When you think of liberty work, what comes to your mind? Some girl on Instagram running around barefoot in a dress with her horse chasing after her? It is unfortunate that many people have a faulty understanding of liberty, and write it off as useless or just something fun you could do with your horse if you have an interest and extra time on your hands. However, liberty work is essential to the training of a well-rounded horse.
Liberty builds connection like nothing else and shows you clearly where you are and aren’t communicating adequately with your horse. As Pat Parelli says: “When you take off the halter, you are left with the truth.” It is very difficult to force a horse to do something they are afraid of or can’t understand when the option of an exit is present. Liberty keeps you honest with yourself about where you are at in your training journey with your horse and keeps you from relying too heavily on artificial aids.
An old trainer I used to work with was fond of saying “Horses don’t speak Spanish, and they don’t speak English, they speak body language.” When you start to play with your horse at liberty, you will learn to become an expert at reading body language; this is essential for a good horseman. If you can’t accurately read how your horse is feeling, how can you ever work with him in a way that is fair and makes sense to him? How can you even keep yourself safe, if you are unable to catch the precursor signs to a fight or flight reaction?
Something important to understand about liberty is there are three different types, which I label as: partnership, play, and performance. Partnership liberty is the type I believe everyone ought to do a bit of with their horse. It deepens connection, establishes a harmony between horse and handler and of course, builds partnership. This liberty is a private conversation between horse and handler, you don’t need an audience or fancy tools, it’s simply a training method to help you and your horse that you can work on together at home.
Play liberty, the second type, is something I recommend using caution on. Horses play rough and they play hard, so if you are going to play at liberty with your horse, you need to do it in a way that keeps yourself safe. I would never play at liberty with an overly pushy horse because the risks involved outweigh the benefits. Your horse needs to have a healthy respect for your space and a strong relationship with firm boundaries should be established through partnership liberty beforehand.
Performance liberty, our third and final category, can take on many different forms. This is the one most people think of when they hear the word “liberty” and can give the discipline the worst or the best rap. Liberty performances were mostly seen at shows and events in a freestyle of some sort. These performances would sometimes wow the crowd and others leave them rolling their eyes, depending on the skill level of the performer. Luckily for liberty lovers however, there have been some recent advancements for liberty in the competitive world. Cowboy Dressage was the first discipline to officially include a liberty division in their show ring. Not long after, the ILHA (International Liberty Horse Association) was formed to give liberty recognition worldwide as a discipline. The ILHA is designing tests for all aspects of liberty, to include: on the ground, in the saddle, one horse, multiple horses, and more! Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing how they will progress the competitive liberty world and brings liberty lovers from all around the world together.
Returning to the idea of partnership liberty, I believe this creates for happier horses and a long-lasting relationship. Long beyond the time when your horse can be ridden, you can still work with them on the ground and at liberty. When I’m having a stressful day and need to unwind, I find liberty with my horse to be relaxing and soothing even. Liberty keeps me from forcing my negative emotions onto my horse, I have to create a positive environment for him to want to stay with me. I heard Julie Goodnight say earlier this year: “Horses dwell primarily in the present while people dwell in the past or think of the future and are rarely in the present.” Liberty, I believe teaches us better than any other aspect of horsemanship, to stay in the present with our horse and let go of our baggage. If you don’t clear your head and let go, your horse won’t choose to be with you. I’ve found liberty to be almost therapeutic, an excellent way to self-examine and consequently grow as a human being.
I hope I have piqued your interest in this discipline, the art form, of liberty. There are many resources available to learn more about liberty training techniques and how to begin working with your horse in this way. If you are in the local area, I teach groundwork and liberty lessons for those who desire to further their education and partnership with their own horse. I meet you where you are at, whether you’ve never taken the halter off or you’ve played with it some and run into a wall. I strongly believe in the power of connection you will find in liberty and would love to help you discover this with your horse!
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