Although I have talked about the Roundpen and the positions, those were in diagrams. I thought it would be helpful to show it in still photos (and later in video) to aid in your understanding.

In order to slow or stop the horse, the position is in front. The photo here was one of the few I could get of Z still in motion even though I was in front, because her instinct is so strong to stop when I am in this position.

If your horse rushes by you when you are in front, try increasing the distance and getting further ahead. If the horse still rushes by, step back and let him – that is better then getting hurt by trying to enforce a stop from a horse who clearly is not going too.

In this photo, I’ve stepped out to the front, she has stopped and I have asked for the turn by placing myself in line with her outside shoulder. If you look closely at her body language you can see she is about ready to turn to the inside and go to her left. Since she is facing me for the turn, this is called an Inside Turn.

When asking for the inside turn, if your horse doesn’t give it too you (does an outside turn), try increasing the distance between you – a horse who feels you are too close will feel threatened and give a butt turn. Also, make sure you are aiming your energy and whip to the outside shoulder, not the inside.

The most common driving position to start the horse in motion is at the hip. Most people are actually standing at the ribs, when they think they are at the hip. So it’s best to actually be behind where you think you should be so you do not restrict the horses’ forward movement.

A parallel position is good if you and your horse are doing reciprocal movement. If you are looking for your horse to copy your body language and there are NO dominance issues, this can be a fun partnership position to be at.

In this photo, note how the horses nose is tilted to the outside and the body posture is U-shaped. She is uncertain about my intentions and not relaxed. Unfortunately, this is what you see a lot in the roundpen with the trainer never correcting or encouraging the horse to relax, round, bring the head down, and the back up – these are things we will be working on to improve Z’s self carriage.

Again, photos and video can help you improve as a trainer. These photos show me that I need to work on relaxing and shaping Z’s body posture. Here her back is still stiff, her head is up.

Unlike many RP trainers, I do not work the horse in the circle for long periods of trot and canter. I am more interested in the horse learning to mimic my movements, pay attention to what I’m asking and to seek out to be with me.

Because these are my goals, we do a lot of rest movements to bond. Here I have stopped, ZZ has turned to face me and I am inviting her towards me by having the whip behind and my hand outstretched.

She gets a good rub when she comes up.

For more on Roundpen training, be sure to read the series with detailed instructions and diagrams.