Thank you for this (and for the text that follows). I am new to horses having only had mine for a couple of years even though I am in my late 50s. Having always been an animal lover (especially of cats - thus your kitty in this video particularly touched me...he/she thought you were talking to him/her...not the camera), I have loved horses mostly from afar then I came across Friesians and now own one who is my friend, my teacher and my inspiration. Like most people new to anything, I have been researching all sorts of various horse-related topics and have discovered many interesting and thought provoking videos (such as yours). As a result of my cyber wanderings and even some soul wandering, I truly believe that my horse came into my life because I needed him to teach me. He is an old soul in a 12 year old gelding's body and he has made me realise the importance of breathing, slowing down, honesty, kindness, patience, humour, generosity and courage (and surely many other things that I have not put here). Due to their size, horses can be intimidating teachers yet they have the ability to say volumes with simple gestures. This being said, in all fairness, each animal is a teacher whether the animal is a cat, dog, horse, bird or even an insect...we have to just be open to feeling their form of communication and to listening to what they want to teach us.
Hi Cat, thank you for responding to the video, I love that you recognise how horses come into our lives as the best teachers we will ever have , their feedback is always more direct and simple than what we can get from humans.. and it gives us much space to practice humility and listening then finding ways to creatively apply the lessons I also think later in life is a magical time to start with horses Susan x
I think it is about using the nature of the horse to educate them in performing the tasks we ask of them. It is understanding our horse/human differences more than our similarities. It is about horse -ism versus anthropomorphism. It is us joining them in their world and ways more than them joining us. It is understanding that we need them more than they need us. It is about developing a relationship that is 'attractive' to them. You mentioned it in a way when you spoke of the horse as a partner rather than slave (or tool).
Exactly, our job is to meet them where they are at. By nature we are all emotional beings who on occasion think but us humans ( mostly all ) have become thinking beings who on occasion feel.... or not thank you for engaging , it is such fascinating work
Thank you Susan. I've been thinking about this too and how watching the expressions of all the horses in a herd and the interactions between them can tell us so much about how a horse is feeling and getting on. A lot happens away from humans and I think having a settled herd like yours goes a long way to help our horses feel content in other scenarios if and when we work with them. Xx
oh yes you are spot on there, if their stress levels are low they can cope with challenges so much better, just like us I suppose . Thank you for commenting
I think you're correct, in that, the nuance of the term doesn't matter. In talking with one of my mentors, Patti Haddon, she worked with Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt directly. Patti explained that neither Tom nor Ray cared for the term "Natural Horsemanship". To them, it was just horsemanship. Natural Horsemanship became a buzz word that just stuck and here we are. Is it an accurate term? No. But neither is one-rein-stop. There's a lot more to it than just pulling a rein. So, what's a more accurate term than "Natural Horsemanship". As Tom Dorrance said, "There's a lot that goes into it". It is distinctive and, in my opinion, far better than the horsemanship that is practiced without it. "Superior Horsemanship". "Clear Horsemanship". "Transcendental Horsemanship". "Empathic Horsemanship". "Common Sense Horsemanship". The list goes on. Does a horse really want to be ridden? Do any of us really want to go to work? Let's say we don't go to work. Let's even say that we're billionaires and we don't have to go to work. Let's say that the world is our playground and all we do is what ever we want...all the time. I've met several people like this. They don't strike me as happy individuals. They still get bored, despondent, and lose a sense of meaningful purpose. Horses get bored out of their gourds in the pasture. They're smart animals. Put a smart person in a jail cell, and they get clinically depressed. I've seen horses get depressed in pastures. They want something to do. They come up to me in the pasture as though to say, "Let's do something today". If a person makes themselves a miserable entity to be around, then who would want to be around them? I like to go to school when the teacher is a good teacher. And that doesn't mean that the teacher doesn't challenge me. It's the way in which they challenge me that makes the learning exciting. If the teacher sets me up to succeed, and I work at it and win, then I feel great. If the teacher sets me up to fail, and I work at it and can't win, then I don't need that frustration. So, does a horse like to be ridden? I say that a horse loves to be ridden and craves to be ridden if the teacher is a good teacher. Horses notice a lot more detail than we think, and they go back to the pasture and think about those details. When they learn that learning exists, they get very engaged in the process of learning. That's when the conversation is a lot of fun. You are one of those very positive teachers, Susan. I can see in your videos that you've mastered having the horses enjoy communicating with you. That feels natural. So, maybe the term is not so off.
Such wise words Tina. It is so much about the WAY we do things than WHAT we actually do. You express that so well. It is good news that things are definitely changing for the better and there is so much more awareness about how the horse is experiencing things along with a new interest in the idea of following a feel to a place of good feeling rather than moving away from pressure looking for release .... Its all so fascinating and I am delighted you like the videos thank you for commenting, it really means a-lot Susan x
😂😜😂 The cat chose to sit on me , the cats here live free to roam where they want and have a very natural life. My point was about unhelpful labelling and what we really mean by " natural " in relation to horses education. As I said the horses only cares how we make them feel . I believe it is good to be aware of " greenwashing " and we can do best by our horses by always aiming to be aware of their expression to see how our interaction comes across to them . thank you for engaging Susan x
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Thank you for this (and for the text that follows). I am new to horses having only had mine for a couple of years even though I am in my late 50s. Having always been an animal lover (especially of cats - thus your kitty in this video particularly touched me...he/she thought you were talking to him/her...not the camera), I have loved horses mostly from afar then I came across Friesians and now own one who is my friend, my teacher and my inspiration. Like most people new to anything, I have been researching all sorts of various horse-related topics and have discovered many interesting and thought provoking videos (such as yours). As a result of my cyber wanderings and even some soul wandering, I truly believe that my horse came into my life because I needed him to teach me. He is an old soul in a 12 year old gelding's body and he has made me realise the importance of breathing, slowing down, honesty, kindness, patience, humour, generosity and courage (and surely many other things that I have not put here). Due to their size, horses can be intimidating teachers yet they have the ability to say volumes with simple gestures. This being said, in all fairness, each animal is a teacher whether the animal is a cat, dog, horse, bird or even an insect...we have to just be open to feeling their form of communication and to listening to what they want to teach us.
Hi Cat, thank you for responding to the video, I love that you recognise how horses come into our lives as the best teachers we will ever have , their feedback is always more direct and simple than what we can get from humans.. and it gives us much space to practice humility and listening then finding ways to creatively apply the lessons
I also think later in life is a magical time to start with horses
Susan x
I think it is about using the nature of the horse to educate them in performing the tasks we ask of them. It is understanding our horse/human differences more than our similarities. It is about horse -ism versus anthropomorphism. It is us joining them in their world and ways more than them joining us. It is understanding that we need them more than they need us. It is about developing a relationship that is 'attractive' to them. You mentioned it in a way when you spoke of the horse as a partner rather than slave (or tool).
Exactly, our job is to meet them where they are at. By nature we are all emotional beings who on occasion think but us humans ( mostly all ) have become thinking beings who on occasion feel.... or not
thank you for engaging , it is such fascinating work
Thank you Susan. I've been thinking about this too and how watching the expressions of all the horses in a herd and the interactions between them can tell us so much about how a horse is feeling and getting on. A lot happens away from humans and I think having a settled herd like yours goes a long way to help our horses feel content in other scenarios if and when we work with them. Xx
oh yes you are spot on there, if their stress levels are low they can cope with challenges so much better, just like us I suppose . Thank you for commenting
I think you're correct, in that, the nuance of the term doesn't matter. In talking with one of my mentors, Patti Haddon, she worked with Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt directly. Patti explained that neither Tom nor Ray cared for the term "Natural Horsemanship". To them, it was just horsemanship. Natural Horsemanship became a buzz word that just stuck and here we are. Is it an accurate term? No. But neither is one-rein-stop. There's a lot more to it than just pulling a rein. So, what's a more accurate term than "Natural Horsemanship". As Tom Dorrance said, "There's a lot that goes into it". It is distinctive and, in my opinion, far better than the horsemanship that is practiced without it. "Superior Horsemanship". "Clear Horsemanship". "Transcendental Horsemanship". "Empathic Horsemanship". "Common Sense Horsemanship". The list goes on. Does a horse really want to be ridden? Do any of us really want to go to work? Let's say we don't go to work. Let's even say that we're billionaires and we don't have to go to work. Let's say that the world is our playground and all we do is what ever we want...all the time. I've met several people like this. They don't strike me as happy individuals. They still get bored, despondent, and lose a sense of meaningful purpose. Horses get bored out of their gourds in the pasture. They're smart animals. Put a smart person in a jail cell, and they get clinically depressed. I've seen horses get depressed in pastures. They want something to do. They come up to me in the pasture as though to say, "Let's do something today". If a person makes themselves a miserable entity to be around, then who would want to be around them? I like to go to school when the teacher is a good teacher. And that doesn't mean that the teacher doesn't challenge me. It's the way in which they challenge me that makes the learning exciting. If the teacher sets me up to succeed, and I work at it and win, then I feel great. If the teacher sets me up to fail, and I work at it and can't win, then I don't need that frustration. So, does a horse like to be ridden? I say that a horse loves to be ridden and craves to be ridden if the teacher is a good teacher. Horses notice a lot more detail than we think, and they go back to the pasture and think about those details. When they learn that learning exists, they get very engaged in the process of learning. That's when the conversation is a lot of fun. You are one of those very positive teachers, Susan. I can see in your videos that you've mastered having the horses enjoy communicating with you. That feels natural. So, maybe the term is not so off.
Such wise words Tina. It is so much about the WAY we do things than WHAT we actually do.
You express that so well. It is good news that things are definitely changing for the better and there is so much more awareness about how the horse is experiencing things along with a new interest in the idea of following a feel to a place of good feeling rather than moving away from pressure looking for release ....
Its all so fascinating and I am delighted you like the videos
thank you for commenting, it really means a-lot
Susan x
Sound thinking from a lovely lady 🤘
Why thank you kindly ! I so appreciate your feedback
Susan x
Doesn't look like the cat had much choice, where does this idea start and stop?
😂😜😂 The cat chose to sit on me , the cats here live free to roam where they want and have a very natural life.
My point was about unhelpful labelling and what we really mean by " natural " in relation to horses education. As I said the horses only cares how we make them feel . I believe it is good to be aware of " greenwashing " and we can do best by our horses by always aiming to be aware of their expression to see how our interaction comes across to them .
thank you for engaging
Susan x
so much grass!!