So I am new to starting a young horse in the round pen. My husband is not however he is working with a bad knee and so we think part of the issue might be. He’s not able to get across the round pen fast enough to redirect quick enough. Yesterday morning it took 2 1/2 hours to get minor surrender from her, but we quit on a positive note. She’s never had a bad experience in the round pen. She’s usually an in your pocket pony, but she is in charge of her group of younger horses. Her year mate and half brother is the herd “stallion” yes he is a gelding, but don’t tell him that!
My husband’s family has bred, raised, and trained a line of horses specifically
Churchcamp dude string for 30 years. They are cross bread Arabian/ Morgan/QH. Covid shut the camp program down. Now we just have four young horses left and the seniors. So she has no unknown history. She’s 5 1/2 Years old. Her Bloodline produces mares that are always difficult to round pen initially, but once the round pen is mastered, they turn into the most amazing horses for trail riding.
30 minutes into the session it was obvious she knew what was being asked of her. She would start towards him after exhibiting ALL the signs. Then she would shake her head and run off. It’s like she was saying “oh no, I almost surrendered. I can’t do that!” She chose to continue working in circles without being driven rather than complete join up. At one point much like one of her aunts, she started pinning her ears and acting like she would go through him and then she did try and kick him. Her aunt, I’ve been told, was so vicious during her first round pending session she actually tried to kill him, rearing up and driving her feet down in an attempt to drive him into the ground. He had to bail out of the round pen. Ironically, a well known trainer (who also does a lot of round pen work except he runs them into the ground, so they’re too tired to fight) who shall remain unnamed, told him at a clinic during a Q&A session that if he had a horse like that he would take out back and shoot it. My husband disregarded that advice and kept at it, and once she mastered join up, she became one of the best horses he ever had in his camp string and excelled at carrying children and blind people.
I was observing the first round pending session and trying to learn as we have three more young ones to train. I just had shoulder surgery last month and I can’t throw the rope repeatedly so I think when I start doing it, I’m going to use the stick and bag. Might take a couple panels out of our round pan as I think it’s slightly bigger than what Monty usually uses. But my husband felt he couldn’t tap out So he pushed through the pain and finished the session on a good note.
Honey Bee has a sweet nature, but her given name is Miss B…. For a reason! The only trauma in her life was being injured as a newborn by a gelding
who took exception to her presence since she arrived unexpectedly in the pasture. My husband rescued her from the attack, sustaining a significant shoulder injury at the time and she had a chest wound that had to be doctored daily.
My husband is a farrier, certified equine dental tech, and has always trained his own. He’s been using Monte Roberts methods for 30 years since he saw him at a horse expo in the 90s. he sent me here to the Monte Roberts University to rewatch the videos as I haven’t seen them in a decade or two. I’d like to be able to start one from scratch myself.
There are only 2 things I will add that I believe slowed down her join up process. Our round pen is currently in the middle of their pasture so she had lots of supervisors and distractions. I know this isn’t ideal but at the moment it’s the best that we can do. Next spring, the round pen will be relocated to its permanent placement in an area where distractions are minimal. Secondly, she strained a back muscle three weeks ago to the point that she was exhibiting hind end instability and on one occasion collapse. With vet, Chiro, and massage treatment, she is sound now but the 2 1/2 hour round pen session obviously pushed her hard. She is fine today except for a minor amount of stiffness.
I’m sorry this was so long. I just wanted to include pertinent information. Any Helpful training advice is greatly appreciated.
My husband’s family has bred, raised, and trained a line of horses specifically
Churchcamp dude string for 30 years. They are cross bread Arabian/ Morgan/QH. Covid shut the camp program down. Now we just have four young horses left and the seniors. So she has no unknown history. She’s 5 1/2 Years old. Her Bloodline produces mares that are always difficult to round pen initially, but once the round pen is mastered, they turn into the most amazing horses for trail riding.
30 minutes into the session it was obvious she knew what was being asked of her. She would start towards him after exhibiting ALL the signs. Then she would shake her head and run off. It’s like she was saying “oh no, I almost surrendered. I can’t do that!” She chose to continue working in circles without being driven rather than complete join up. At one point much like one of her aunts, she started pinning her ears and acting like she would go through him and then she did try and kick him. Her aunt, I’ve been told, was so vicious during her first round pending session she actually tried to kill him, rearing up and driving her feet down in an attempt to drive him into the ground. He had to bail out of the round pen. Ironically, a well known trainer (who also does a lot of round pen work except he runs them into the ground, so they’re too tired to fight) who shall remain unnamed, told him at a clinic during a Q&A session that if he had a horse like that he would take out back and shoot it. My husband disregarded that advice and kept at it, and once she mastered join up, she became one of the best horses he ever had in his camp string and excelled at carrying children and blind people.
I was observing the first round pending session and trying to learn as we have three more young ones to train. I just had shoulder surgery last month and I can’t throw the rope repeatedly so I think when I start doing it, I’m going to use the stick and bag. Might take a couple panels out of our round pan as I think it’s slightly bigger than what Monty usually uses. But my husband felt he couldn’t tap out So he pushed through the pain and finished the session on a good note.
Honey Bee has a sweet nature, but her given name is Miss B…. For a reason! The only trauma in her life was being injured as a newborn by a gelding
who took exception to her presence since she arrived unexpectedly in the pasture. My husband rescued her from the attack, sustaining a significant shoulder injury at the time and she had a chest wound that had to be doctored daily.
My husband is a farrier, certified equine dental tech, and has always trained his own. He’s been using Monte Roberts methods for 30 years since he saw him at a horse expo in the 90s. he sent me here to the Monte Roberts University to rewatch the videos as I haven’t seen them in a decade or two. I’d like to be able to start one from scratch myself.
There are only 2 things I will add that I believe slowed down her join up process. Our round pen is currently in the middle of their pasture so she had lots of supervisors and distractions. I know this isn’t ideal but at the moment it’s the best that we can do. Next spring, the round pen will be relocated to its permanent placement in an area where distractions are minimal. Secondly, she strained a back muscle three weeks ago to the point that she was exhibiting hind end instability and on one occasion collapse. With vet, Chiro, and massage treatment, she is sound now but the 2 1/2 hour round pen session obviously pushed her hard. She is fine today except for a minor amount of stiffness.
I’m sorry this was so long. I just wanted to include pertinent information. Any Helpful training advice is greatly appreciated.
