Natural Horsemanship 101

Natural Horsemanship is a big ambiguous label for many different trainers, books and methods. Natural Horsemanship as a broad term can be defined as training based on using the horse's natural instincts to one's advantage. Many Natural Horsemanship principles are based on observations made of herd behavior and of wild horses. With many people getting into barefoot horses and natural keeping, it is only 'natural' to utilize this type of training.

Building bonds is a large part of Natural Horsemanship. Many trainers utilize different 'games' to help bond and build the relationship between horse and rider / handler. For trainers and amateurs alike, strengthening the horse / rider relationship is an ultimate and ongoing goal to work toward. Building trust is such an important part of the relationship. Who can forget photos of Pat Parelli jumping his horse bareback and bridleless over a downed tree?

Be prepared for lots of groundwork. Groundwork is a big part of any Natural Horsemanship program. The widely accepted crucial piece of equipment is the standard rope halter and lead. In addition most work can be done in a round pen or arena. All of this groundwork may seem tedious to somebody who's not use to it, but it does pay off. The idea is that all of these exercises continue to build that bond, and trust, and in addition, there's no rushing of horses that need to take it slow. Training slow and steady means you'll have a well broke horse. There are no cutting corners when it comes to Natural Horsemanship, and no gimmicks.

Which trainer or school of thought is right for you? This question varies between trainers and individual horse owners. Should you go with Pat Parelli's Seven P's? Or are you more a fan of Clinton Anderson's Australian accent? The choice is yours. All of the methods vary slightly, and the best advice is to learn about all of them. Go to as many clinics as you can, see it firsthand. There's no need to pick any one trainer or guru either. It's perfectly acceptable, and probably preferable to learn about as many as you can and pick and choose the methods that work for you and your horse.

At the end of the day it all boils down to education. Read as many books as you can get your hands on. Go to clinics whenever possible, even if you can't afford to take a horse, auditing is never very expensive. Try different things, and find out what you're comfortable with, and which methods work for your horse.

Kelly McInnis

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