One major principle of NH is to move the horse out of your space and learn to control his space until the horse accepts you as his revered leader, will happily follow you anywhere and is obedient to your every request. This kind of relationship is often known as a horse that is 'hooked-on', 'joined-up' or 'in your back pocket'. In my mind, there is no other kind of relationship to have with the horse than one based on trust and leadership.

Groundwork is done for the purpose of controlling the horse's space, developing a line of communication between the horse and you and creating a respectful and willing attitude from the horse. There are many useful tools for accomplishing these goals and I'll elaborate on some of the most common tools of the NH trade.

The round pen is a 50-60 foot enclosure with high rails and good footing. The round pen is one of the first tools used to help establish the leader/follower relationship and encourage the horse to team-up with you. Basically you will drive the horse in a circle, controlling his direction and speed, until he begins to understand that you are in charge of his space. The round enclosure simply levels the playing field between you and your horse so that he does not leave you in the dust. It really does not have to be round, but it takes a little more skill to work a horse in a square pen.

Round penning is one of many horse activities that looks a little easier than it actually is. There are many complicated steps to go through in the process, which I will elaborate on next month, but done properly, round penning results in a horse that is relaxed, willing, focused and looking to you for guidance. He will stand quietly at your side waiting for orders and will leap into action with the slightest gesture of your hand.

For safety reasons, you must always have some sort of tool with you in the round pen, so that you can keep a safe distance from the horse. When you drive a horse off, it is expected that he will kick out in defense, just like what happens in the corral when you introduce a new horse into the herd. You must use some sort of tool to extend your arm and be able to stay well out of the way of the horse's feet. One of the most commonly used tools in the round pen is a lariat; it is useful for waving and shaking at the horse and can also be thrown at the horse if needed.

Many people prefer to use a 4' stick of some sort or a 'flag', which is simply a rigid stick with a plastic bag or piece of tarp on the end. The flag is used initially as a negative stimulus to shake at the horse to move him out of your space and later used to 'sack out' the horse or desensitize him to touch all over his body. There are a few commercially available sticks on the market from the NH gurus, but you can buy a cattle-sorting stick for a lot less. The stick should be rigid so that you can use it to poke the horse out of your space if needed.

A tool that does not work well in the round pen is a longe whip, because it is too long and cumbersome. Your stick or rope should be considered an extension of your arm and should be used with communicative gestures; the temptation with the whip is to use it as a whip rather than as an extension of your arm in a gesturing manner.

Another very useful tool for NH is the rope halter and training lead. Until you have used a rope halter, it is hard to comprehend how useful it is for controlling your horse and sending subtle signals. The rope halter is a far superior tool than the flat nylon halter and chain around the horse's face. The chain causes pain and fear in the horse because of the pinching and constant pressure. The rope halter gives you better control over the horse and since you can manipulate the pressure better, the horse is not frightened, tense and resistant in the rope halter.

Again, there are many popular styles and brands of rope halters out there, so know what you are buying. There is certainly no need to pay a lot of money for one just because it has someone's name on it. I prefer a halter rope that is a little stiff and a wider diameter, so that the halter holds its shape and is wide enough not to put too much pressure on the horse's tender face. My halters are specially designed for strength, durability, training effectiveness and style and are available on my website.

Along with the halter, you'll need a training lead, which is a 12-15' lead with a lash on the end. It is useful for both lead line and round pen work. Different trainers prefer different lengths and configurations, but I like a 12' lead (15' for horses over 16 hands) with a knot or spliced-loop end. Some trainers prefer to have a heavy buckle on the end, but I find the buckle to be unnecessarily harsh on the horse's sensitive chin when you snap the rope to get the horse's attention. There are many different qualities of rope available for training leads and the serious horseman will want a high quality yacht rope, for its balance and feel.

Armed with a rope halter with a 12' or longer training lead, there are many exercises you can put the horse through on the lead line. By controlling the horse's space and showing him his boundaries, your horse will learn and accept many important ground manners and will learn to follow your every action and movement. You'll learn to control the horse's entire body: his feet, his nose, his shoulder, and his hip. In the third article in this series, I'll explain exercises that teach the horse to stand quietly, to lead from both sides at the speed you designate, to back, turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand, side pass and work in circles. Once the horse is responsive, you can also accomplish all of these tasks with the horse at total liberty, using nothing but hand signals.

Sounds great, right? Who wouldn't want a horse that was responsive, respectful and relaxed? Who wouldn't want a horse that was mannerly and obedient and looked up to you as his fearless leader? Once you realize that this kind of relationship with your horse is possible, it is only a matter of getting educated in the techniques.

There are many great books for educating yourself on the principles and techniques of natural horsemanship. Mark Rashid is the author of several of my favorite books, with an anecdotal look at the principles behind NH. Rashid's books are easy to read and very touching; his titles include A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color, Horses Never Lie, and Considering the Horse.

True Horsemanship Through Feel , authored by Bill Dorrance with Leslie Desmond, is truly a gift to the horse world and an inspiration to anyone who is searching for a better understanding of the horse. It is a very weighty book, both literally and figuratively; one that will take many years to finish reading, as every paragraph contains a lifetime of wisdom and deserves to be pondered over time.

One of my favorite books on horse behavior is Equine Behaviour: Principles and Practice , by Daniel Mills and Kathryn Nankervis. Although it was written as a veterinary textbook, it is a fairly entertaining read and chock full of scientific information on the horse's evolution and behavior.

Also on the must-read list is The Art of Horsemanship , by Xenophon, first written thousands of years ago but a translated version was compiled by Morris H. Morgan and is published by J.A. Allen & Co. Ltd. This is not a book on natural horsemanship, but is a significant work on the training of war-horses, which shows us that classical horsemanship, at its roots, has a great connection to what we now know of as natural horsemanship.

My videos on ground work with horses, Round Pen Reasoning and Lead Line Leadership , offer important insights into the horse's behavior, as well as step-by-step processes for working your horse from the ground to achieve a meaningful relationship with the horse and teach him good ground manners. In the videos I work with several different types of horses, both hot-blooded and cold-blooded, to show how different horses may respond to the same process. These videos, as well as my other educational products, are available from my website, www.JulieGoodnight.com.

Natural Horsemanship is not just the tools and the techniques, but is a philosophy and an attitude. The first step in being a successful NH trainer is to make the decision that you want something better for both you and your horse. The next step is to study and understand the horse's language and its natural behavior. Finally, we can employ specific techniques that the horse will understand and respond to in a natural way. Next month, I'll show you some specific techniques that you can use to start on a better relationship between you and your horse.