What is Natural Horsemanship?

What is Natural Horsemanship?

While there are many different opinions about what natural horsemanship is or isn’t, some a little more hysterical than others, I like to give my what my personal take is on horsemanship & natural horsemanship. 

In order to understand what natural horsemanship is, first let’s take a look at what the definition of horsemanship is. 

According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, the definition of Horsemanship is, “Horsemanship, the art of riding, handling, and training horses. Good horsemanship requires that a rider control the animal’s direction, gait, and speed with maximum effectiveness and minimum effort.”

I love this definition because it states ‘the art of riding’, and I believe that horsemanship is an art form. No two horses are the same, just as no two horsemen are the same. You can even have one horseman with ten different horses in training at the same time and he/she will handle them all slightly differently to match their unique personalities. 

So, what is Natural Horsemanship?

Natural Horsemanship is communicating with a horse in a way that is natural and easy for them to understand. 

I find that when we take time to understand how and why a horse thinks, acts, and moves the way that they do. We can become a confident leader by utilizing clear communication, which leads to a happier, more willing partnership.

An example of this is understanding how a horse has been a prey animal for 55 million years and how their vision is designed to be peripheral, meaning they can see all around them except directly in front or behind them. Then using this knowledge when training to make sure that any visual signals given to a horse are not in their blind spots, and that we don’t approach them in those blind spots with sneaky predator energy. 

Horses are also naturally herd animals with the alpha ‘boss mare’ being the leader. As a trainer, I like to utilize groundwork to move their feet, similar to how a boss mare would move their feet away from danger or to safe food and water, to gain control of their mind to establish leadership.

Horses also need a sense of purpose. When the boss mare redirects their feet away from an area, it could mean a snake in the grass, a hole, or even a cliff is hiding on the other side. So when I am working my horse, I will keep this in mind and make sure that for example, I change direction every time I stop, or when I give them a job to do, I leave them alone once they figure it out. 

With that said…

There and thousands of trainers out there, and you will find that some you agree with more than others, and that’s fine. I just ask that you always keep an open mind to the possibility of learning new things even from the most unexpected source.

And it’s also ok that you have your own story, unique experience, and story unlike anyone else because horsemanship is an art form after all!

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