By Cody Deering

Whenever a horse is started either on a lass rope or free in a pen, free movement should be allowed.  This gives the person a chance to see where the horse is at in his understanding of things.  you should learn to recognize when the horse is troubled mentally so you can adjust your presentation to fit the horse's individual needs.  Say you're in the corral and the horse feels the need to race around real fast as if to try to escape.  Well that's probably not a good time to bring up a lot of energy in your body, that would be overexposing him for sure if you did.  With every horse and every situation being different there would be a number of approaches you could use for getting that horse to settle down, that is the goal you know.  The settling down part shouldn't be missed on a horse that wants to "Race Around".

I also wouldn't want to think about making racing around difficult by doing a bunch of body blocking as he runs by either.  This actually adds energy, and isn't safe.

I would want to set up a situation where he could find the comfort I am offering him.  Again, I will say that trying to stop or trying to make it difficult for the horse to run around is NOT beneficial when our goal is to allow him to find comfort.

You are feeling of the horse and at the same time getting the horse to feel of you.  Your quick movements combined with pressure you add by excessive turns, posturing and body blocking all add to the horse's already heightened self-preservation.  He's racing around because he thinks he needs to escape, and you are confirming his beliefs with these types of actions.

To have a calm horse requires a calm approach.  Let's take for example that you brought your horse into the corral and turn it loose and stand in the middle.  Say he starts to race around without your driving him off.  Well you could immediately take steps away from the center of the pen, walking in the same direction as the horse.  Calmly.  This would mean that while the horse is running laps looking for his escape, you walk to the fence and begin confidently walking in the same direction that the horse is going.  You'll find that although you did begin following the horse, because you are traveling the same path along the fence and he's traveling faster than you that your horse ends up with you in front of him in a leadership position.

Now there are three things that would happen next.  First, he could keep running over the top of you and keep going (unlikely in most horses, but not impossible if he's already learned how to mow any obstacle in his path over and has no respect).  Second, he could stop.  Then you would stop and build something from there.  Finally, the most common response would be that he wheels around and goes the other way.

When the horse does decide to turn around and go the other way, simply, calmly, confidently turn around and follow him.  Once again the horse will find you in front of him in a leading position, and once again the horse will respond in one of the three ways aforementioned.  You'll do this with low energy, but this doesn't mean SLOW energy.  At times, you may need to quicken your steps or lengthen your stride, the opposite way of how a parent will slow down so the child can keep up.  This eases the pressure the horse feels when he starts to get close to you, and you are moving at a speed that would be a leisurely walk for the horse.

This job for the horse gets the leaving part and the following part very clear in the horse's mind.  You see, in between the leaving and the following is the slowing which leads to the staying.  Soon the horse will start to slow down and maybe even stop for you when he sees you in front of him.  If that's what your intent is.  Your intent may be to get the horse to "lead up" to you, perhaps even have him follow you around for a while, like you're taking a stroll through the park together enjoying each other's company.  This is state of mind you want you and your horse to be in, it's not about getting the horse to perform a specific action, but to achieve a state of mind where he is calm and confident in your companionship, and the only way to do this is to be calm and confident yourself.

In all of this, one thing is for sure:  A horse is about association.  Does he associate you with calmness, something he can be sure of and follow, or does your mere presence cause him to leave in fear and self-preservation?  It may not be your fault he responds like this, something may have traumatized him in the past.  Or you may have done some things that made the horse see you as a predator.  Either way, the important thing is now you have the tools to choose a better mindset and better actions that your horse can start to associate with today, and build from there.

After you've done this exercise through a few times, and come to a place where your horse doesn't seem to be racing around anymore, you might try going back to the center of the corral.  Does he act a bit different, or does the cycle start over again?  If it does, that's okay, repetition is key in learning anything, for both humans and horses.  Remember, you don't have to get the 100% in one day, there's always mãnana.

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