Welcome to Barn Banter, the official podcast of Horse Illustrated. In Barn Banter episode 24, hosts Susan Friedland and Horse Illustrated Editor In Chief Holly Caccamise talk with Dr. Elizabeth James, the co-founder of the Liberty Festival and CEO of International Liberty Horse Association. To end the episode, they chat with Rachel Navarro, Equine and Farm Animal Intake Coordinator at Nevins Farm, about this month’s ASPCA Right Horse adoptable ponies, Buggsy and Muffin.

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Listen to Barn Banter episode 24 now to learn more about liberty from Dr. James.

Title Sponsor of Barn Banter: Adequan

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Dr. Elizabeth James, CEO of International Liberty Horse Association

Dr. Elizabeth James was born and raised in Montana where she grew up riding horses working cattle. Upon graduating high school she set out to turn her passion into a career by earning her BS in Animal Science from the University of Nebraska, a Masters degree in Equine Reproduction specializing in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, and most recently a PhD from the University of Kentucky in Experiential Education.

In 2005, Dr. James started her career as an equine instructor at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyo. where she taught Colt Starting and various training classes. In 2007 she accepted the position of equine instructor alongside Chris McCarron at the North American Racing Academy. From there she went on to spend more than ten years as a full time professor in the Equine Department at the University of Kentucky. Dr. James has over 15 years of experience helping students achieve their dream careers, coordinating internships, and working closely with the equine industry to develop what they are looking for in a workforce.

She left the University of Kentucky in 2018 to launch Equine Career Coach which offers resources, advice, coaching, and career services specifically for the equine industry & Equine Business Solutions which helps entrepreneurs in the equine industry succeed. Together with her husband, Dr. James founded the exciting new International Liberty Horse Association in 2018 which is the first ever association for the liberty discipline and the Liberty Festival in 2022 — the first expo dedicated entirely to Liberty horsemanship.

Dr. James currently resides in Midway, KY with her husband, Dan; daughter, Isabella and son, Jesse on their farm, the Australian Equine Performance Center.

◆ Liberty Horse Association website
◆ Liberty Festival website
◆ Follow International Liberty Horse Association on Instagram (@libertyhorseassociation)
◆ Follow International Libery Horse Association on Facebook

Buggsy and Muffin, Adoptable Ponies of the Month

Buggsy and Muffin are best friends seeking a companion-only home together.

Buggsy

Buggsy is a cute and flashy 21-year-old Paint mare who would make an adorable addition to your barn. She is easy to halter in her stall, lead to her paddock, and catch for turn in. She is an easy keeper (as most ponies are) and seems quite hardy and healthy. Nevins Farm does not have a full picture of her history, but as far as they know, she came from an auction in Oklahoma and hasn’t done much ridden work in her life. She would be best suited to just hang out and be your best friend from the ground.

Buggsy is patient for vet care and enjoys being groomed and fussed over. She seems to really like her cozy stall in the winter, but could likely handle living out 24/7 with adequate shelter and blanketing in bad weather.

Learn more about Buggsy here.

Muffin

An 25-year-old pony mare, Muffin was a bit shy and avoidant of touch when Nevins Farm first met her, but she has fallen into a great rhythm with them and is now easy to halter in her stall, lead to her paddock, and catch for turn in. She is an easy keeper and seems quite hardy and healthy. Muffin does well living out 24/7 and stalling overnight with day time turn out; she is super flexible.

Nevins wouldn’t go so far as to say she is a kid-safe pony yet, but it is possible she could get there with some time and patience. She has been straightforward for them to work with and hasn’t offered a bite, kick, or rear. She does require an experienced handler for vet care, but has also improved greatly for this type of handling in the time they’ve had her. She stands well for the farrier and tolerates grooming; Nevins Farm thinks she’ll enjoy it one day when she finds a family who will dote on her.

Learn more about Muffin here.

In addition to Barn Banter episode 24, you can check out all previous episodes of Horse Illustrated’s podcasts.

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Partnership with your horse, fun with friends, the opportunity to showcase your skills: the International Liberty Horse Association (ILHA), a new organization dedicated to liberty training, now offers opportunities to liberty fans worldwide.

From Roman riding bareback to jumping without tack, liberty training brings horse and trainer together with a special connection, whether individually or with other horses, ridden or on the ground.

Creating a Showcase

Formed by trainers Dan and Elizabeth James with the mission of celebrating liberty horses and their people, ILHA offers an organized venue to promote liberty training through recognized shows with tiered levels, competition rules, and an emphasis on safety coupled with creative expression.

“The idea behind the association was threefold: both Dan James and Dan Steers [of Double Dan Horsemanship] do liberty clinics, and people come back every year,” explains ILHA CEO, Elizabeth James, Ph.D. “Everyone is excited to show what they have achieved with their horses over the year; this is almost as big a highlight as progressing on from the clinic itself. We see people put a lot of time into it. They are talented, their horses are talented, and the clinic [was] the only place they [could] showcase it.”

Elizabeth, a Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) Thoroughbred Makeover contestant, realized trainers preparing Mustangs and Thoroughbreds for makeover events often include liberty in their performance. These equestrians didn’t have a public venue to school their act beforehand as other disciplines would, such as going to a schooling show to practice a dressage test or ride a full hunter course.

Camaraderie in Training

The final catalyst in deciding to found the organization occurred, Elizabeth says, when Dan was a member of the Australian reining team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, N.C.

“The camaraderie between the participants and getting to compete at that level doesn’t exist for the trainers who do liberty,” says Elizabeth. “There are exhibitions and clinics, but there isn’t anywhere for them to compete and be recognized for their hard work and talent in liberty.”

Like all good horse training, liberty work incorporates a systematic, step-by-step approach.

“I’ve always considered liberty to look more like a discipline,” says Dan. “It’s very similar to other disciplines in that you’re developing a foundation, and from that foundation build up through the different levels of tasks. A good liberty horse is really just a well-disciplined, well-broke, patient, easy horse to be around.”

Cross-Training Benefits

To that end, liberty training may also greatly benefit horses working in other fields.

“There are multiple benefits, especially in the sport horse and performance horse world,” says Dan. “We get sent horses for dressage, jumping, racing, and reining that may have other issues. The liberty goes into a deeper level of thinking for the horse because he has to do it at liberty, so it’s much less mechanical. Teaching them to be liberty horses addresses a multitude of problems that we see that happen in the performance world.”

Many horse owners are drawn to liberty work to strengthen their bond with their horse while enjoying new avenues.

“What I think is exciting about liberty is that not everyone who owns a horse wants to ride or can ride, but they are looking for something more to develop the relationship with their horse,” says Elizabeth. In addition, Dan explains
liberty training is truly open to all sizes, breeds, and ages, unlike many other disciplines.

“In liberty, you have a lot more opportunity, regardless of the type of horse you have,” he says.

Competitive Classes

The ILHA will offer its first competition, the International Liberty Horse Championship, Oct. 18-20, 2019, at the Kentucky Horse Park.

“What we are looking to do is to bring all styles, techniques, and trainers together,” explains Elizabeth. “We want to offer a platform for people to showcase their horses and have a goal to work toward. The idea is to be all-inclusive, from beginner to professional. We offer levels from leadline to working one liberty horse, working one liberty horse off another horse, working a team, bareback and bridleless, bridleless for people that don’t want to ride bareback, and obstacles.”

Going forward, the ILHA will begin coordinating online competitions, as well as support for others to put on their own event.

“We’ve had people in France, Canada, Australia, and Sweden contact us wanting to host competitions,” says Elizabeth. “Once we get the format ironed out this year, there will be international shows available.”

This article about liberty training originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Freedom to Shine: Liberty Training with Your Horse appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.