Natural Horsemanship - Fact or Fiction

Is Natural Horsemanship actually natural?

To be completely honest, there is nothing natural about our relationship with horses. They are prey animals, and we are predatory animals. They rely on thousands of years of inherited instincts to rule their daily life. Even the selected breeding of generations of horses, has not, and will not change this fact.

Some people keep their horses in stables, 24/7 with exercise daily if they are lucky. Some people like me, keep their horses in a pasture to live as close to nature as we can manage. But the fact still remains that horses were made by God to roam great areas in a day in the constant search of food stuffs and water. A wild horse can travel upwards of 20 miles a day in this search.

Now, is there a way to interact with horses that is more natural to them? Absolutely. If you've ever spent much time watching the horses in your pasture, you know that they communicate primarily through body language; the glare of an eye, the pinning back of ears, the picking up of a hind leg, etc, etc...

Granted, we can not imitate some of these behaviors. I don't know about you, but I can't pin my ears back, no matter how hard I try. I can however glare at them, and if I'm positioned correctly, drive them out of my personal space in a safe manner.

So, the answer to this question is simply, no! There is nothing natural about a prey animal allowing a predatory animal on it back to cart it around for hours on end.

What exactly is natural horsemanship about?

Simply put, it's about becoming the leader of the herd. Whether it's a herd of two or a herd of many. It is a position that has to be constantly enforced, and held. Granted, it can be enforce with reason, as it should be.

Being the leader of the herd, has many benefits. It keeps you safe, if you want a horse to move, often a simple look will get it to move. It often makes catching horses, for whatever reason, easier. It makes feeding time easier and safer, as you are the leader and the horse does not get the feed until you tell him/her that they can have it. Those are just a few of the benefits.

Is there a difference between being a leader and being a partner?

To answer this question, I have to explain the difference between being a leader, and a partner. Or at least the difference to me.

A partner is someone or something that has equal say in what is going on. Say a 50/50 division of power. Like a husband and wife. My husband and I are partners, we each have a say in everything that goes on in our household, including everything with the horses; even though he has little or nothing to actually do with them. Do you really want to give your horse that kind of power in your relationship? I don't want a 1,100 pound animal that can tell me no, I don't really want to go riding today, or whatever the case may be.

A leader, is the person that makes the decisions, and everyone follows their directions. Between you and your horse, who do you really want to be the leader? You, who can reason things out, or the horse who reacts first and thinks later? I want to be the leader in my herd, because I can think on my feet so to speak.

What steps are there in Natural Horsemanship?

The following are steps in the process of training with Natural Horsemanship:

1. Ground work - get the horses feet moving
2. Desensitizing
3. Sensitizing

I will explain each in the following areas, though not in depth, just a general explaination of what they are.

How important is ground work in "Natural Horsemanship"?

Groundwork is very important in terms of natural horsemanship. It is were the foundations for your leadership are laid. There are two options for how you can accomplish this.

The first option is round penning, or free lounging. No halter or lead rope on the horse, but instead it is turned into a small paddock with few or no corners for the horse to freeze up in, or an actual round pen if you have one. Keep in mind that horses are different in personality, and some respond better to this option, and some respond better to the second option. I have two horses, and one prefers this method to the second option.

The second option is lounging the horse with a halter and lounge line. My other horse prefers this method of working.

I have a round pen and use it judiciously. Work in the round pen should not be over done. They do come in handy when first getting to know a horse, and when training a horse to work on a lounge line alike. They are also great for the first few rides, but after that, you need to move out of them and into larger spaces. Now, keep in mind that I'm not saying that this applies to every horse that you will encounter, but you should move out of it as soon as you feel confident that you can safely ride and stop the horse. For some horses that may be three or four rides, for others it may take several.

Always keep in mind that no two horses are the same and that is always to be taken into account when working with a horse.

Desensitizing/Sensitizing

Desensitizing and sensitizing are two things that require balance to work properly. You do not want you horse to react hastily to your regular equipment, like your halter and lead rope. You should be able to toss your lead rope over your horses back without it reacting at all. But chances are the first time you do it, the horse is going to react unless it has been trained by someone else.

The more time you spend desensitizing the horse, the more it will learn to completely ignore and have no reaction to what ever it is presented with. If you spend too much time doing this, the horse will get to where it does not react to anything, including what you want it to react to.

On the other side of the coin, you have the sensitizing exercises. Teaching the horse to move off of pressure, as light as possible but as firm as necessary to get the desired result. Spend too much time on this and you'll end up with a hot horse that reacts to everything.

So balancing these two training techniques is crucial to have a horse that is well rounded and well behaved.

Just how many horses am I training, exactly?

Well, in terms of desensitizing there are six, and in sensitizing there are four. Let me explain further.

In desensitizing, the six horses are: to the horse's left, to the horse's right, in front of the horse, behind the horse, below the horse, and above the horse.

Most people work the first four areas, and ignore the last two. Then they wonder why the first time they ride under a limb on a tree and it barely touches the horse or makes a noise because the rider had to move it, the horse flips out. The same goes for a horse that has something blown below it that makes noise, it's not used to it, so it flips out.

In sensitizing, the four horses are: forward, backwards, left and right. Now, a horse can move forward and to the right at the same time, but they need to be taught one at a time.

Again, balance between the two is key.

Can "Natural Horsemanship" actually build a bond between me and my horse?

You bet it can. I get proof of that every time I go to the barn. If I don't feed immediately when I get there the horses will often go about their daily lives as if I was not there, especially if I am busy doing something else. But if I just walk out into the pasture, either with a chair to sit in or just stand around, my horses will gradually make their way over to just hang out.

You will find that after you have established yourself as the leader, that your horse will actually want to be around you, and look for you.

Conclusion

Is "Natural Horsemanship" fact or fiction?

To me, it's fiction, because like I stated earlier there is nothing natural about our relationship with horses. Now, do I believe that there is a better way of training horses? Yes I do, and the type of training that has been coined "Natural Horsemanship" is probably it. It works on the horses' natural means of communication, and is gentler than traditional methods.

That being said, I subscribe to no one trainer's methods. Anybody that says that their way is the only way, is full of you know what!

There are clinicians that are better at training people than others. Clinton Anderson is a prime example of this. He explains things in almost an idiot proof way, his biggest downfall is he often plugs his own merchandise. But the truth be told, whether you spend the $40+ for his halter and lead combination or buy a rope halter for $5 at your local tack shop or feed store, his methods are still pretty solid. He's also one of the few mainstream clinicians that actually has a show record on horses that he has trained himself.

Before I follow any clinician, I look at what his background and outlook are. Other clinicians that I like, are John Lyons, Craig Cameron, Dennis Reis, and I'm sure that there are others too, but they are escaping me right now.

There are only a couple that I absolutely not stand, one is a mainstream clinician, the other is a youtube sensation.

One is Pat Parelli, because I've seen too many clips of him and his wife losing their temper with horses that did not immediately come around to their way of thinking. And because they both think that their way is the only way. This is not to say that they do not offer some good information, because they do. I like the horse personality test that you can find on their website, it's very informative about how your horse thinks.

The other is Rick Gore, because if you can find a video of him riding you will see why. He uses the same two horses for all of his videos, and even those don't behave all of the time. When you see him riding, you notice that he has made no attempt to collect his horse to help them carry him. He also preaches one thing while his horses show that he doesn't even practice what he preaches. If you contradict him in anyway, via the comments below his videos, he will delete the comment and block you from making further comments. That just screams professionalism to me, doesn't it to you. And he makes comments that are laughable to say the least. Watch some of his videos and see for yourself.

The biggest message that I can pass on about "Natural Horsemanship" is to find what works for you and your horse, whether it is from one trainer or many. Everybody is different, and so is every horse.