To Become Better People

We do not use natural horsemanship only because it gives us better horses. We use natural horsemanship because it makes us better people. Natural horsemanship teaches patience. It teaches gentleness. It teaches lightness. Most importantly, it teaches empathy. The basic principle of natural horsemanship is to simply communicate with the horse in a manner that the horse can understand. We focus on understanding the horse's body language, psychology, and social organization. In short, we seek to understand how the horse feels. They learn something that so few horse people ever learn: that a horse should never be punished for acting like a horse.

It works. Everywhere we go my little riders are complimented not only for their first rate horsemanship, but also for their maturity and compassion. Their parents are the first to notice the improvements in the rider's degree of responsibility in every aspect of their lives. They notice the increase in confidence.

My riders learn the importance of remaining in control of their emotions. They quickly see that demonstrating fear creates fear in the horse. They learn the pointlessness of anger and the destructive nature of retaliation.

These lessons are not learned in conventional "riding lessons" that focus on teaching children how to win ribbons in horse shows. That is one more way that the "established horse world" fails to serve kids and horses.