Liberty Pole

The Liberty Pole

2006 Allen Pogue all rights reserved

The Vaqueros, brought many sophisticated horsemanship methods to this country, one of which was the single pillar or Palo Verde. The Palo Verde was a single pillar used in the basic training of a young riding horse. The early equestrian arts came to the Americas by way of the Spaniards who learned from the Moorish invaders of their homeland, the Iberian Peninsula. This ancient knowledge of classic horsemanship was brought to Europe by way of a one Antoine Pignatelli who visited Constantinople in the late 1500’s and upon his return to Italy he set up a school for young noblemen . One of his students, Antoine Pluvenile, later wrote a book titled Le Menage Royal published in 1633 that detailed the use of a single pillar and then double pillars as training tools for perfecting the expressive gaits of the haute e’ cole. Since that time, very little has been written that details how to incorporate pillars, either single or double, as a tool for horse training. At Imagine a Horse , we are utilizing this obscure training method to help teach high school gaits such as the Spanish Walk and Passage. We have deemed the single pillar the Liberty Pole because it is used as the link between simple in-hand schooling to Liberty Training.

Ranch and cowboy life brought about the use of the snubbing post as a utilitarian short cut to the sophisticated methods used by the skilled Vaqueros of old California. The Vaqueros were true artists in perfecting the finished bridle horse. One of the steps in their process was the use of a ‘Palo Verde’ or single post set in the middle of a schooling area.

The snubbing post was used as a utilitarian approach to the rapid breaking of an untamed horse and not for laying the foundation required for high school horses. Thus the sophisticated use of the pillar degenerated into what was commonly called sacking out. Sacking out was accomplished by tying the horse to a snubbing post and then taming the horse with little regard for the horse’s well being. The goal was simply to break the horse. That style worked well enough when horses were cheap and easy to replace. Cowboys and ranch hands were used to a hard life and took their knocks in stride and the horses were expected to do the same.

In The Revolution in Horsemanship by Dr. Robert M. Miller, he says the old ways of breaking horses has nearly been eradicated in our society. Modern accepted practice includes the use of a round pen to begin the training process of a semi-tame ranch bred horse. In a more domestic situation in which young horses are raised in a more hands-on environment, round pen schooling has become a sophisticated system yielding dramatically improved results. The reason a round pen works is quite simple. The horse is allowed a certain amount of freedom to circle the pen but he cannot escape the pressure until he yields to the handler.

This may happen because horses have an instinctual desire to buddy up rather than face the world alone. In the round pen the horse’s flight instinct is slowly diminished over time and the horse comes to accept the situation and his handler.

The Liberty Pole has an effect similar to round penning in that the horse has some freedom of movement but with the pole he must ultimately return to his track around the pole.

In the Renaissance period, the Liberty Pole was a single pillar or a wooden pole with a horizontal groove about head high. A lead rope was loosely tied into the groove so that it could slip around the post as the horse circled.

At our ranch the Liberty pole is a 4 ½” diameter steel pipe standing seven feet tall. At the top there is a 360° swivel that allows a lead rope to be attached with either a quick release snap or an extra long lead rope be run loosely through a solid brass ring attached to the swivel.

A 16’ to 20’ loose rope is used initially so the handler can instantly yield slack to the horse if the horse panics or rebels and pulls back. This is also an acceptable way of teaching a horse to stand tied although it requires constant monitoring by the handler holding the tail end of the lead rope in a gloved hand to provide give and take of the rope as needed.

The horse is asked to begin circling while walking alongside the handler. The handler stands between the pole and the horse with the lead rope running from the horse’s halter or caveson through the ring attached to the swivel, and then to the handler’s hand. It is similar to schooling a horse in-hand but the rope is connected to the pole and not held by the handler.

The handler can yield slack and the effect is quite different than if the horse were simply pulling on the handler’s arm. The horse quickly learns to submit and not pull away. The initial lesson in compliance is taught with the handler standing inside the track and following the horse as the horse moves away.

A similar method would be to attaching a second lead rope to the horse and walking beside the horse on the outside of the track. The horse is held on the track by the lead attached to the Liberty pole and the lead from the handler’s hand. The horse learns to circle and be responsible for his own movement. As the horse progresses and develops self carriage and self discipline, a shorter lead rope can be used that snaps to the horse’s halter or caveson at one end with a quick release snap on the other end attaches to the swivel on the pole.

After a horse is going nicely on his own around the pole at semi-liberty the handler can direct the horse using two whips while walking alongside the horse, while standing in the middle near the pole, or even outside the horse’s track. The next lesson in the progression is to teach the horse to make half circles or figures-of-eight while always turning inward yet remaining on the far side of the pole.

When half circles and figures-of-eight are confirmed with the horse, the handler can begin to school the horse while standing outside the track. The horse will be directed through complete circles half the time moving away from the handler the other half moving towards him. All lessons begin at the walk. For trot, reverse, and halt transitions the handler will utilize voice and whip aids. Once these lessons are confirmed, the horse can be asked for more stylized gaits with extension and animation of the legs to create the high school steps such as the Spanish Walk and Passage. For the Spanish Walk, the horse will have already been taught separate cues for extending each front leg in a Jamabette while on a pedestal. An intimate understanding of the innate capabilities of each individual horse and a high degree of equestrian tact is required of the handler. Proximity cues, vocal and whip cues should combine with the handler’s body language to encourage and animate the horse into the realm of haute e’cole.

Training with the Liberty Pole is for discriminating horsemen that welcome a challenge. The challenge is to learn from the wisdom of the ‘Old Masters’, and to also “seek what they sought”-- the perfection of a horse’s noble beauty through the awakening of his natural ability to move as in a dance when completely at Liberty. .

Once these lessons are confirmed, the horse can be asked for more stylized gaits with extension and animation of the legs to create the high school steps such as the Spanish Walk and Passage. For the Spanish Walk, the horse will have already been taught separate cues for extending each front leg in a Jamabette while on a pedestal. An intimate understanding of the innate capabilities of each individual horse and a high degree of equestrian tact is required of the handler. Proximity cues, vocal and whip cues should combine with the handler’s body language to encourage and animate the horse into the realm of haute e’cole.

Training with the Liberty Pole is for discriminating horsemen that welcome a challenge. The challenge is to learn from the wisdom of the ‘Old Masters’, and to also “seek what they sought”-- the perfection of a horse’s noble beauty through the awakening of his natural ability to move as in a dance when completely at Liberty.

NOTE: With this arrangement we are working on a simultaneous Spanish walk by all three horses.

In lieu of a ready supply of assistants (a schooling method I have observed many times when visiting with Sacha Houcke at Ringling Bros circus) I have had to come up with an alternative method that gives acceptable results