What is "Natural Horsemanship"?Natural horsemanship can be defined as, working with or training horses in a kind manner, which is consistent with a horse’s natural behavior, instincts and personality. Natural horse training does not consist of force. Instead, pressure is applied by the horse trainer in such a way as to get a specific response. When that response is achieved, or at the slightest try, the pressure is immediately released. Always make sure, you have the proper horse training equipment and horse training aids to get the job done effectively. Not sure exactly what pressure and release is? I will use, teaching a horse to lower his head, as an example. One way of teaching a horse to lower his head, is to place your hand on the horse’s poll, just behind his ears. To the horse, this is a form of pressure. He will do whatever it takes to get your hand off his head. Do not remove your hand, until he lowers his head. At the slightest drop of his head, immediately remove your hand. Keep repeating this process, and pretty soon, when you place your hand on top of his head, he will immediately drop his head. This is what pressure and release is. Do not stop what you are doing until you get a desired response, but always remember to reward even the slightest try, by releasing. Then start again. Even though natural horsemanship has become a preferred method of horse training, there are still those who believe in “breaking” a horse. Breaking a horse is dominating or forcing a horse to do something that is un-natural to him. Let’s use, horses that are afraid of being tied, as an example here. With traditional training methods, horses are tied to trees or post and left to fight it out until they give up and stand quietly, sometimes for hours at a time. If they survive it, then they are supposedly broke from the fear of being tied. Imagine this for a moment…. You have been kidnapped and your captor has left you tied to a tree. Picture yourself struggling and fighting to get free before your captor comes back. Imagine the fear and confusion, not knowing why you are tied to a tree and what is going to happen to you next!! After a while, you no longer have the strength to fight, so you just sit there quietly until your captor comes back and releases you. The next time he comes back, are you going to sit quietly or risk being tied to that tree again? Remember this, horses are “prey” animals by nature. We are predators. Natural horsemanship is about teaching the horse, that he can trust you not to harm him in any way. A horse will only give himself to you freely if he trust you completely. When a horse puts his trust in you, he is literally turning over his life to you. A natural horseman wants his horse, to want to, be with him. Not out of fear, but out of trust, loyalty and mutual respect. This is the greatest honor your horse can give you, his trust. Natural horsemanship is also about communicating with a horse using his own language. Learning to speak a horses language is not easy, but it can be achieved by watching the way horses interact with each other. If you are a horse lover, you will try to achieve this.  Horses communicate with each other through body language and through the sounds they make. Watch your horses behavior in the field and you will see. When a less dominant horse gets to close to the “lead mare”, all she has to do is pin her ears back, and he knows to move… now! Horses will sometimes, pair off, and become buddies. Even buddies will only allow so much. Natural horsemanship is much the same way. Using body language and maybe voice commands, a trainer will give the horse a “cue”. If he gives back the wrong answer, then there must be a consequence for that action. A wrong answer leads to more work, while a right answer gets a release or rest. Just as in the above scenario, if the lesser horse doesn’t move when the lead mare pins her ears, he risks getting kicked. He will know the next time that there will be a consequence for his action, and he will learn the right answer very quickly. In becoming a natural horseman or woman, it is very important to establish yourself as “lead mare”. Set boundaries for your horse and do not compromise on them. A good example of setting boundaries is to keep him out of your personal space. Not only for safety sake, but also for respect. Keep a 2ft perimeter around you that your horse is not allowed to enter without permission. If he starts to push into your space, throw your hands up and shhhssss him back. If he has a halter on, grab the lead rope right under his chin and bump him back until he is out of your space. Be consistent. If he is allowed to get away with this one time, he will try you again and again. Before starting any training program with your horse, especially a new horse, spend time and build a bond with your horse. Get to know his personality first. A timid or shy horse will need a much gentler hand than one with an overly dominant personality. Learn your horses limits so that you don’t make him blow up. Always end a training session on a good note. If your working on something that he is just not getting, go back to something that he has already learned, and end there. Start fresh the next day. The bottom line of natural horsemanship is that communicating with your horse, through his own language, will result in a much better relationship between the two of you. Horsemanship is rider and horse working together.
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