• Round pen trainingwoman with her dog and horse image by monamakela.com from Fotolia.com
  
  Traditionally, horse trainers used square fenced areas to train or "break" their horses. Many experienced trainers now prefer round pens for taming or training horses because they believe it helps to foster an atmosphere of trust between trainer and animal while keeping the horse confined.
  
  

The Trust Factor

• Trust and respect are key factors in horse training. Today's experienced horse trainers believe that the old method of "breaking" a horse---that is, taming a horse by force or intimidation---is less effective than using the time and patience to teach the animal to trust people. A horse has far more strength than a human, and a frightened horse can inflict great harm to the trainer as well as himself. The limited area of a round pen causes the animal to focus more closely on his trainer. Both horse and trainer can more easily read each other's body language and mood. Creating an atmosphere of calm and confidence not only speeds the training process but is safer for both horse and instructor.
  
  

More Effective Training

• Round pens lend themselves well to the process known as "hooking on" because the rounded curve of the pen fosters better communication. "Hooking on" or "joining up" in horse training refers to the point in the process where the horse begins to see the trainer as the leader or more dominant personality. This process involves taking an action that will startle the horse into moving away from the trainer, usually at a trot, and then encouraging him to feel comfortable or curious enough to move toward the individual. As this process is repeated, the horse will usually lower his head, slow down to approach the trainer, and begin to respond to the trainer's instruction. Subsequently, he becomes submissive and eager to please sooner than if he had the opportunity to retreat into a corner in a traditional square pen. The sooner the proper relationship is established, the faster the training can be completed.
  
  

Easy to Set up

• Round pens are relatively easy to build or set up because they are usually held together by a series of clamps. They have smooth surfaces and use minimal hardware. This makes it less likely that the horse's legs or hooves will get caught on anything, and there is nothing protruding that can harm either the horse or trainer.