From: Ariane
Dear Jessica, please help me, I need to know this because I just bought a filly of sixteen months old. I plan to train her in the round pen at my boarding barn. The round pen is 45 feet across. I know not to lunge her because that could be stressful to her legs. But the person who teaches lessons at my boarding barn told me that I shouldn't do much round pen work either because it can be stressful too. She is a nice person (although I don't take lessons with her, it's a long story but mostly I need all my money to pay for my horse) and it seems like she should know what she's talking about, but why would it be stressful for the horse to work free in a round pen? She won't have anybody on her back and she won't be wearing a bridle or a lunge bridle or sidereins, so where will the stress come from?
I'll be waiting for your answer. Misty will be delivered to the barn in one week, so please answer me soon.
Your fan!
Ariane
Hi Ariane!
The problem with round pen work is that, like longeing, it puts stress on the horse's body. It's the circle-work that causes the stress, and the smaller the circle, the more stress there will be. Small-circle work of any kind (on longe, long-lines, or mounted) puts strain -- torque, actually -- on the leg joints, especially on hocks and fetlocks. It puts even MORE torque on the joints of a young/green/unbalanced horse, which will be putting more weight on its inside legs anyway.
It's possible to break down a horse of any age by overdoing circle work.
Condition matters, of course -- bone and tendon and ligament strength, plus integrity of joint cartilage, all play a part.
FOOTING matters a good deal -- ANY horse will eventually become lame if circled endlessly on a circle, but it will happen much more quickly and obviously if the longeing is done on a hard/rocky/uneven surface.
SPEED matters too, since it affects balance and impact. Since most people don't know how to longe, and do it far too fast and without understanding that the horse needs to learn to BALANCE on the circle, this is a very familiar problem.
Circles stress the horse's inside leg joints -- ask any vet, and you'll find that this is exactly why vets want to see horses longed on a circle during a prepurchase exam or soundness check: they know that the circle will bring out subtle lameness that might not have been apparent on the straightaway.
It's also why those vets will STOP the circling the second they see any unevenness; they know that asking the horse to keep moving under those conditions will make the problem worse.
So if you want to work your filly in circles, try to use that round pen for short sessions at walk and jog, and only if the footing is good. She's quite young yet, so you have plenty of time. Teach her good ground manners, let her learn to like and trust you, and take as many lessons as you can so that when she's old enough to start real work, you'll be able to bring her along gently and keep her happy and sound.
By the way, that instructor gave you good advice. If her teaching is equally good, why not ask her whether there is some way you could have an occasional lesson with her? I understand that your money is limited, but the question isn't really how you can afford lessons, it's whether you can afford NOT to have lessons. Maybe you could get a few lessons as an early birthday present (talk to your family), or perhaps the instructor would let you do some work in exchange for lessons. Do whatever you can -- you and your filly will have a much better time together if you can take advantage of someone else's knowledge and experience.
Good luck!
Jessica
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