Natural versus Normal Horsemanship

| April 12, 2011 | 4 Comments
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I am sure many of you have heard the term Natural Horsemanship. How does that differ from normal horsemanship? Normal is doing what everyone else does. Natural is doing what comes naturally for the horse. I have done the normal horsemanship for many years, even so far as raising and training a Supreme Versatility Champion Walking Horse. In the eyes of man, I guess you could say I have been successful in the horse world. Deep inside of me though, I always wondered, how do I really look in the eyes of my horses? Yes, I believed they cared for me, as I always trained with a loving touch, but still I felt there was something lacking in a true partnership with them.

I began to study the works of the great horseman that have passed on. Men like Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt. Then quite by accident I saw Pat Parelli doing a demo and I was stopped dead in my tracks. His horse had eyes only for him, even though he was totally loose and was surround by a crowd of thousands.

As I watched them dance together, I thought, this is what dreams are made of, what little horse crazy girls fantasize about. I did not know their secret but I knew I needed to know more. That was about 10 years ago and to say I am now living that dream is an understatement. I play with my horses at liberty, we dance together and even when I am playing with one, the other one is waiting for his turn. They are more confident, and responsive, and they surprise me everyday with what they have to offer me.

I am not writing this to brag, on the contrary. The exciting news is that everyone can have this kind of a relationship with their horses if they so choose. However it takes some changes on our part. Horses are not going to change who they are, they have survived thousands of years being who they are. It is up to us to make the change. The question is, how do we do this?

First of all, we have to have the heart and desire to become more of what our horses need us to be. If you want something bad enough, you are willing to change and do what is necessary to achieve it. I was, and believe me when I say that after 30 years of doing things like everyone else does, it was not easy to break old habits. I was however determined to develop a true relationship and partnership with my horses that was based on love, and learning their language. Yes, you heard me right, horses do have a language all their own.

Did you ever see a mare guide her foal out of danger, or another horse warn another one to not come near him? Of course they communicate with one another, so we have to ultimately learn how to communicate with them on their level. That starts by knowing how they perceive the world.

They were born natural prey animals. That means they were hunted by predators for dinner. They are very much aware of this, and as a result they are constantly on the look out for danger. The fact that they are so in tune to this danger is what has kept them alive for thousands of years. I know that the modern day domestic horse does not have to worry about this, but remember it is in their DNA to be concerned about this. So with this in mind the first step to having the bond we want with them is to always remember we as humans are prey animals – we do eat meat, but we have to constantly be acting in such a way that our horses never perceive us a a prey animal. To learn true horsemanship, we have to become more horse-like, in learning what they need and how they communicate. Take some quiet time occasionally and just observe horses out in a field, and watch how they interact with one another. You might be surprised at what you learn from them.

I will in the future write more on how this is all possible, but for now I would like to give you some things to remember. The things that are most important to a horse are safety (he does not want to feel threatened in any way), comfort, play (yes, horses do like to play) and food. We do provide their food, but does your horse feel truly safe, at all times when he is with you? Is he always comfortable? What about his play time, does he have a chance to just goof off, and maybe play with another horse, or you? Yes it is possible to play with a horse!

I hope I have given you some food for thought, and I look forward to sharing more of this exciting better way with horses with you in the future.

So till next time, keep it natural,

Belinda

Photo credit: http://sxc.hu

Category: Training

About the Author ()

Belinda has been involved with horses for over 50 years. She has trained and shown many breeds, but her great love is the Tenneessee Walking Horse. She and her husband Bob have spent many years promoting their beloved breed. She has held a Walking Horse Trainers license for a number of years, and has served on the board of the Buckeye Walking Horse Association. Belinda has appeared on a local televison show promoting safety around horses for children and has done many demonstrations with her Walkers in helping the public learn more about them, and their versatility.
  • Tally

    Hi,
    I look after a blind horse once a week and i would love to try this. However you where talking about comnication and iv been told that horses comnicate alot by movement. She cant see a thing, would we be able to do it by touch and voice? If you have any tips then please sheare them.

    Loved the artical

    /Tally

  • Mckenzieb

    Great article, I enjoyed it very much. There’s one thing I would change though…instead of saying “natural vs. normal” I would say “natural vs. traditional”. Comparing it to “normal” makes it sound like it’s not…NORMAL! :) :) The growing trend towards doing things the natural way is HUGE. Parelli, Anderson, Cox, Reis and SO many others are spreading the word to impressively huge numbers. There’s still a big stigma attached to natural horsemanship as we battle traditionalists who poo-poo the entire idea, but we are making strides for the horse. Little do most traditionalists know that many of the techniques they use themselves come from “natural” horse trainers!! One of my biggest and I mean biggest pet peeves are traditionalists who bad mouth natural horsemanship when they don’t know a thing about it. Educate yourself and THEN if you still hate it, okay. I can deal with that. :) And there are many who say that natural horsemen never ride their horse, all they do is “play” with it on the ground. Come to my house! You’ll see some great riding and a roomful of trophies and ribbons and we do everything the natural way. And I’m even prouder of our accomplishments because I know our horses understand us and enjoy their job. They do it because they love it…not because they have a huge piece of hardware in their mouth or their heads tied up all night so they’ll hang low in a WP class.

  • http://onehorsemanship.blogspot.com Suzanne

    Belinda, I am glad you wrote this article to at least make people think. Ray Hunt said it all the time “Think.” Pat Parelli took what Ray Hunt taught and put his own spin on it. He has a way with troubled horses and I am glad that he has been able to touch so many people. Ray had no ego. Many “trainers” out there are still just that…trainers.

    Once you get a taste of the connection you can have with a horse, there’s almost nothing you’d rather do. Agree with Mckenzie B to an extent to educate yourself. But it took me 6 years to find the “feel” that Ray only spoke about. He said “I can’t teach feel.” So true.

  • http://belindahorsesandmore.com Belinda Green

    Thanks for your comments Suzanne. You are so right, in the fact that once you experience a true connection with one of these amazing animals, there is nothing that can compare. The one thing that will help to develop the feel, so you feel for each other, and with each other is by focus. Just like when you drive a car, you focus on when to go straight, turn, etc, so you develop the feel to do these things. You don’t look down at the steering wheel, but where you want to go, it should be the same with riding.
    Yes people have to educate themselves to this better way with horses, unfortunately there is still too many that will not even consider that there might be a better way, but like Pat says, just lead by example, and know that the truth is in the relationship you have with your horses. I appreciate hearing from you. God Bless

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