A round yard may otherwise be known as a lunging ring or a round pen. It is an enclosed circular area in which you can do liberty work (the horse is free to move without a lead rope or reins attaching it to a person). It is possible to also lunge horses in this area and first introduce them to a saddle.
Because horses are expected to trot and canter in this area at times, it is important to make sure the diameter of the yard is at least 20 metres. Asking them to do canter work on a smaller circle can be very difficult, particularly for uneducated (green) horses.
A round yard was one of the first things that the King family set up on their property Genesis. This was so that agistees (people who kept their horses on the property) could make use of it to exercise their horses. Round yards can be made out of many things – tyres, rubber, wooden rails. It just has to be an enclosed circular area that a horse and human can get in and out of. Some people choose to have them with high walls and a roof. Others create them so that horses can see outside.
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