The Liberty Troubleshooting Room with Ryan Rose

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Episode Summary

What do you do when your horse anticipates the next maneuver, struggles with a stop, or becomes worried when the physical connection comes off?

In The Liberty Troubleshooting Room, recorded live at Liberty Festival 2026, host Cinelle Claassens sits down with trainer and clinician Ryan Rose to work through questions about liberty training.

Ryan shares his perspective on connection, drawing on his experience as a trainer and liberty competition judge. The conversation explores emotional fitness, the preparation behind individual maneuvers, and how liberty can support a horse’s foundation training.

We also discuss handling setbacks, deciding when to end a session, and choosing a horse for liberty. It’s a practical conversation for anyone looking to better understand their horse and work through the places where training gets difficult.

Highlights:

• What liberty and connection mean to Ryan

• Ryan’s experience judging liberty competitions

• Using liberty as part of foundation training

• Developing emotional fitness and assessing your horse’s emotional state

• Troubleshooting anticipation, stops, and preparation cues

• Handling setbacks and deciding when to finish a session

• Preparing for complex maneuvers, including flying lead changes

• Breed considerations when choosing a horse for liberty

Key Moments:

00:00:00 Introduction to the Liberty Festival and Ryan’s background
00:01:12 What liberty means to Ryan
00:02:29 Ryan’s experience with ILHA and judging
00:05:02 The development of liberty and its community
00:07:16 Common liberty training challenges
00:08:30 Liberty as part of foundation training
00:10:15 Developing emotional fitness
00:12:30 Assessing your horse’s emotional state
00:15:50 Managing anticipation and preparation cues
00:18:52 Ending on a good note and handling setbacks
00:20:32 Preparing for flying lead changes
00:21:21 Choosing a horse for liberty
00:22:11 Clinics and future possibilities

Summaries:

00:00:00 Introduction to the Liberty Festival and Ryan’s background
Cinelle welcomes Ryan Rose for a live Life at Liberty recording at Liberty Festival 2026 and introduces the troubleshooting conversation.

00:01:12 What liberty means to Ryan
Ryan shares his understanding of liberty, with a focus on connection and the horse’s willingness to participate.

00:02:29 Ryan’s experience with ILHA and judging
Ryan reflects on his involvement with the International Liberty Horse Association and his experience judging liberty competitions.

00:05:02 The development of liberty and its community
The conversation explores liberty’s development as a discipline and the community forming around it.

00:07:16 Common liberty training challenges
The discussion turns to difficulties people encounter during liberty training and how to approach troubleshooting them.

00:08:30 Liberty as part of foundation training
Ryan explains how he incorporates liberty into foundation training, including everyday interactions such as catching and connecting with a horse.

00:10:15 Developing emotional fitness
Ryan discusses emotional fitness and the role training can play in helping horses develop the skills to handle challenging situations.

00:12:30 Assessing your horse’s emotional state
The conversation considers how a horse’s emotional state can inform training decisions and what to ask for next.

00:15:50 Managing anticipation and preparation cues
Ryan addresses anticipation and discusses how preparation and cues can help clarify what the horse is being asked to do.

00:18:52 Ending on a good note and handling setbacks
The discussion explores setbacks during training and the decisions involved in bringing a session to a close.

00:20:32 Preparing for flying lead changes
Ryan discusses the preparation involved in complex maneuvers, using flying lead changes as an example.

00:21:21 Choosing a horse for liberty
The conversation turns to breed preferences and considerations when selecting a horse for liberty work.

00:22:11 Clinics and future possibilities
Cinelle and Ryan close with a discussion of potential clinics and opportunities to work together again.