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The Approach There are many different approaches to horsemanship, both traditional and natural. The philosophy underpinning Just Equus is that there is no one particular approach that is better than another. Instead, a “tool box” of methods and techniques can be tailored to the individual horse/owner partnership. These contribute to the development of a fifty/fifty partnership based on leadership, communication, respect and responsibility. All methods and techniques are developed from an understanding of communication, equine psychology and behaviour, human psychology and behaviour and work with the horse's natural instincts, not against them.
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Thoughts on "Natural" Horsemanship I use the term "natural horsemanship", as it is something that most people recognise. But what is "natural horsemanship"? The generally recognised term "natural horsemanship" doesn't sit comfortably with me and there are many different points of view of what it is and isn't. Some people use the term to describe how they keep their horses or to describe particular types of training methods. I believe that the general term of "natural horsemanship" is misleading and can be open to manipulation. Looking at the purest sense of the word there isn't anything "natural" about our interactions with horses. We catch horses, put head collars/halters on, lead them and ride them etc. For me, it's more important to think about good horsemanship that is based on working with the horse's natural instincts and not against them. Above all using ethical approaches and techniques, based on an understanding of their psychology and how they learn, as well as considering the horse's own individual characteristics. It's about us learning the feel of the horse and for the horse learning the feel of us. The horse world is full of divisions and it's far too easy to pigeon hole approaches into traditional versus natural. I strongly believe that there is much to learn from many different approaches and by having an open mind we can embrace the knowledge of many. Most importantly, if we learn to listen, the greatest teacher of all is the horse themselves. For us to get the best from the horse, we as humans often need to adopt different behaviours to those that come naturally to us, and therein lies the challenge!
Just Equus is based near Market Rasen in Lincolnshire. Telephone number: 07905 623758. E-mail: caroline@just equus.co.uk |
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