Horses!

[Peaches Lee]

@Ponypoor that's so cute! What a sweet and kind horse. My horse has always been super jealous of my chickens and would try to stomp them if they got into his pasture!

 

[Ponypoor]

@Ponypoor that's so cute! What a sweet and kind horse. My horse has always been super jealous of my chickens and would try to stomp them if they got into his pasture!

I think my geegees find the chooks entertaining, and found another egg in Reenie’s hay net this morning, it seems to have been dirtied with a broken egg so I chucked the remaining hay just in case.

 

[paintedChix]

All good! My understanding is that it is basically working with the horse with no tack, ropes, or anything like that. Relying on communication and a strong bond to guide their behavior. If you look it up it will probably give you a good overview and it is really interesting! I have a book about it but have yet to do anything.

I will preface this with i have not read this whole thread.

But after this post, i wanted to say that the many, many natural horsemanship type trainers have always graduated to some type of liberty training during their teachings. At least here in the USA.


I've noticed that once again, the term "natural hrsemanship", is starting to fall into disuse as well. The trainers are using different terms, style is still similar or the same.

I remember riding with (once) John Lyons (we had a family horse in Hawaii for 2 yrs, trail rode in VA for 2 yrs at several stables around Richmond & VA Beach & owned horses in CO for 11 yrs) in CO & followed him in the Horseman magazine.

Dave Jones, Monte Foreman, Ray Hunt, Tom & Bill Dorance, John Richard Young (more hunt seat than western), Dr Miller (imprint training foals) are all trainers that encouraged gentler training methods than the western scene of "bronc busting/breaking". Their methods were all used by many of the ranches, horse breeders & trainers in CO when I was growing up there - mid 70s through mid - 80s. Many didn't have books, though some would in future. Seemed you could find them in Practical Horseman, Western Horseman, Horse of Course and others. Western Horseman had trainers put out easy to understand books that they published for many years.

I followed a couple of different dressage trainers & received lessons from both a hunter/jumper trainer (competed jumping an Appaloosa mare all over the states 5' jumps were gymnastic hops for her) & a Meridith Manor dressage graduate that was also competing in 4th level dressage, but had a 5 yr old mare she was working in liberty. Those lessons were rough!! Working on core (wasn't called that then) muscles to better balance & ride. Hours on a lounge line or in a round pen w/o stirrups or reins, learning to follow horses' moves... Couldn't afford those lessons, so at different times of year for about 3 yrs each, I worked for them as a teenager/young adult before joining the Army at 21. Some lessons were done on my own horses, some on the trainer/instructors. But the riding/training we did would also fall under natural horsemanship. Neither trainer believed in harsh training aides & both did a lot of tackless riding as well.

There were others, including women. Unfortunately, i dont remember other names... For many years, OH had a GREAT equine 4H program. I ended up w/ some of the basic book (lets), though that program never took off in CO.

Shoot, I've read "dime store" westerns, written before I was born, that utilized some type of natural or gentle training. I have worked hard at finding some of those books, because they are GREAT reads & can actually be applied to training horses still.

I find it hilarious that what was old is new again.