Connection Horse Training, LLC

 Why do we use natural horsemanship?

Imagine your first day of kindergarten, you know nothing about school, nothing about the set up, the other kids, and you especially know nothing about this new adult at the front of the room.  Now imagine if that adult grabbed you by the arm and pushed you down, making you sit, at a small plastic desk, along with all of the other kids. No verbal communication, no gesturing towards the desk, nothing; just throwing you into the seat. You might get the idea that that teacher wanted you to sit in the desk, but immediately you would be apprehensive of this new person. You might stare at him, you might cry, you might start to ignore him, or you might be afraid of him.

Now, imagine if that same teacher continued to throw you into the seat day after day. Some students may immediately run to their seats, trying to avoid the teacher, others might try to hide from him, some may even say no and fight back. It's not that you don't understand what the teacher wants, it's that you can't understand why he is asking so harshly and so abruptly.

This is the way many people try to interact with their horses. We as humans in the technologically advanced world, like things to get done as quickly and easily as possible. However, as one can see from the teacher analogy, the fastest way isn't always the best way. The students' reactions were inconsistent among themselves and very likely to change over time individually. These are qualities most people do not want in their horses. We don't want a horse who moves off his rider's every little cue because he is afraid of his rider and then suddenly becomes lazy and won't walk forward at all because his distrust has turned to disrespect. We want to learn to speak to the horse on a level that he understands, using body language that he uses with other horses. 

Imagine if that same kindergarten teacher had verbally asked the students to choose a desk or gestured for the students to take their seats. It may  have taken a few minutes the first day, and he may have had to raise his voice a little, and be firm, for the students to listen. Yet after they were all seated if he smiled and talked kindly to them the students would have positively associated sitting in the desks. Also, as the students grew more used to the environment and the teacher's authority, the students would have learned to take their seats at the beginning of each day without the teacher having to even ask.    

This is the kind of consistency and willingness we want in our horses, so we try use body language cues that are uniform with the body language that he already knows and use positive reinforcement when he does the right action so his mind stays willing on the task at hand.