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Horsemanship Philosophy

RESPECT The human respects the horse and the horse respects the human.

CONFIDENCE The human is not fearful of the horse and the horse is not fearful of the human.

COMMUNICATION The human listens to the horse and the horse listens to the human.

I look at the horse and this is what I know:

• It lives by a nature that is honest and pure
• It is an individual with feeling
• It values its’ quality of life as much as I do mine
• It has inherent fears
• It has the right to be free
• It connects to other living things

And it is I who needs to fit in with that first before I ask the horse to fit in with me.

To not take anything away from the spirit of the horse
but to create a friendship that allows that spirit to shine.

"We Must First ..."

We must first embody within ourselves what we would like to see in our horse. The patience, consistency, understanding and inner balance must come from us first before we ask of it in the horse. As we find these things in ourselves the horse will respond in the same way. It all starts with us and where we are coming from on the inside - our attitude.

"We Must Then ..."

We must then care for our horses to the best of our abilities. Proper stable management based on how a horse naturally lives combined with an understanding of natural horse nutrition is the foundation of a happy horse. A happy horse is much easier to work with in all facets of its’ training. In the daily care of our horses we can also spend time with them and become friends. This goes a very long way in the relationship and paves the way for the training.

"Then We ..."

Then we look at where we are coming from with our training technique. A positive attitude and a healthy, happy horse is the start, but it must be balanced with the knowledge of how to handle horses and a feel for working with them. This feel for horses and horse training will complete the foundation of trust with the horse.

In the training, I try to establish a feel with the horse in three distinct areas:

1. RESPECT: The human respects the horse and the horse respects the human.
2. CONFIDENCE: The human is not fearful of the horse and the horse is not
   fearful of the human.
3. COMMUNICATION: The human listens to the horse and the horse listens to
   the human.

From this all else will grow – the trail riding and reining, the jumping and the dressage. We will develop a strong bond with our horse that will lead to many amazing things. The idea is to be the horse’s guide in a relationship they can trust and to work with them in a way that unlocks their true pride and grace within themselves.

To not take anything away from the spirit of the horse but to create a friendship that allows that spirit to shine.