Horsemanship

The name says it all! Naturally, the following articles focus on topics that will enhance your understanding and practice of horsemanship - a blog for the horse rider/horse owner who wants a rewarding relationship with their horses.

We don't favour any training method over another, we have everything from horse whisperer to good horseman but the focus is based on kinder and more empathetic and intelligent horsemanship.

If you enjoy this blog, you'll love Horsemanship Journal magazine, delivering the best of horsemanship to your door bi-monthly in a beautifully designed magazine.

The blog and magazine feature training advice and more from the UK's leading horsemanship trainers and coaches and the worlds most popular horsemanship teachers.

Many articles are free to read in this blog - if you would like unlimited access, subscribe today! You can also buy single issues or gift subscriptions for friends and family members who love horsemanship too.

Tools for Building Your Riding Confidence

Are you struggling with your riding confidence? You are not alone, nearly everyone will be affected by a stage of low confidence. Here are our tips for working through low confidence to achieve the horse riding experience you desire.

What Do You Need for Natural Horsemanship?

Natural horsemanship is not a new concept but one that goes WAY back, even as far as ancient Greece. It involves utilisation of the concept that horses are not simply a beast of burden or one that should be treated like a machine. Instead, horses are treated like the delicate creatures they are, intelligent, sensitive and capable of emotion. Horsemanship seeks to develop a partnership between horse and rider that leads to a deeper connection and commitment to one another.

The effect of mindfulness

Before we can speak of stress within horses, we first need to understand the natural behaviour of the horse. Horses are herd animals. A herd has a leader, the leader takes the initiative to graze or rest and the other horses in the herd usually follow. The rest of the herd always has a choice to follow or not, it depends on how confidently the leader sets her intention.

5 of the Best Online Clinicians for Natural Horsemanship

Natural horsemanship training skills may not be so 'natural' to some and nor are they the 'traditional' ways of horse training. Learning and adopting these techniques and principles, is a journey for both you and your horse that helps develop a kinder method for encouraging cooperation and an overall better relationship with your horse.

Cure for Rearing

If you have ever had a horse rear on you, then you know how dangerous and frightening it can be. It is essential to understand the cause of rearing and what to do to stop it from happening again. Horses rear for many reasons, but there are some steps that people can take to help prevent this behaviour from occurring.

There is a lot of advice about how to stop a rearing horse, which can be tricky. You do not need to use fear or force, there is a better way.

The Rope Halter: an indispensable piece of horsemanship equipment

Brandon McAuslan takes us through his views on the rope halter, and its use as a tool in our horsemanship.

In the last couple of decades, the modern rope halter has been popularised by and associated with the natural horsemanship movement. However, the knowledge of how to make rope has been with mankind since prehistoric times, and rope has been used in one form or another for the handling and haltering of livestock and horses for thousands of years.

Self-Awareness is paramount in becoming a horseman

Take a moment to consider self-awareness and the effects on your horse with this thought-provoking article by Joel Conner

One gift the horse has illuminated for me in this world is their ability to be present; they aren't thinking about their mistakes from yesterday or contemplating the vast number of situations that could befall them in the future. They are beautifully consumed with the right now.

How early should we start to handle foals?

Ross Cooper tackles the subject of foal handling, should we handle them early or leave them be?

I have always enjoyed working with foals; it is so very rewarding to be part of their early stages of training. They are a complete canvas, with an innocence yet the mischievous quality that can never fail to make you smile. Though being as blank a canvas as a young foal is, it does put a level of responsibility on us as handlers or trainers to do them justice and to do the best by them, for them. Here, I hope I help you to do just that!

Motivation in Training

Have you ever started a new training method with your horse and found that initial spark of communication has petered out? In October's magazine, Phillippa Christie helps us find our way through these sticking points. In this follow on article Phillippa provides some helpful case studies.

CASE STUDY EXAMPLES

So, all the science sounds great and maybe a bit technical, but what does it look like in reality when we apply it? Here are a few scenarios you may relate to. Names have been changed, but these are real-life client examples.

EXAMPLE 2 – JUMPING OUT DILLAN

Sherri loves to jump her OTTB Dillan, but Dillan has been building up a habit of running out of fences. All the pain checks have been made, and his tack is fitting him well. I ask Sherri to warm up and show me some jumps. I notice on approach to every jump that Sherri uses a lot of leg pressure and sometimes Dillan jumps and other times he runs out. Sherri tells me her jumping coach encourages her to put her leg on coming up to every jump.