Natural HorsemanshipNatural horsemanship has become a very popular approach to horse training in recent years. It has introduced thousands of horse owners to a new way of looking at their relationship with their horses. It's a perspective that I hope everyone involved with horses will adopt: Work with the True Nature of Your Horse, but...
What's Natural about Natural Horsemanship?I have my own opinion about Natural Horsemanship, one I'd like to share with you. First of all, I don't think that anything that we do with our horses is natural. The only thing that is natural for horses is to live in feral herds and have absolutely no contact with humans whatsoever. That said, if we want to continue to have horses in our lives, and I certainly do, then horses are obligated to be under our influence. We breed them, house them, and train them for our purposes. I don't think that that is a bad thing at all. Without our passion, love, and enjoyment of equines there would no longer be any place for them in our modern industrialized world.
What is Natural Horsemanship?Is it the rope halter? The stick? The lead? The games? Do you need special equipment to build a relationship with your horse? Absolutely not. Horses are pretty simple creatures with simple needs. We humans tend to complicate things. It doesn't matter what we call it. What really matters is how we treat them. Let's treat them in a way that is the most beneficial by providing them with the most natural, low-stress, and enriching life as possible. Let's turn them out so that they get the free exercise for physical and emotional well-being, breathe fresh air, eat off the ground, and socialize with other horses. 
Let's leave them barefoot whenever possible for optimum hoof health hooves and make sure they are properly balanced for all-over comfort and longevity. Let's feed them properly and understand the connection between nutrition, performance, metabolic function, physical comfort, and overall health. Let's choose equipment for fit and functionality. Let's allow these horses to move and use their bodies the way nature intended, enhance their natural gaits, and help them develop their amazing athletic ability. Let's educate ourselves as riders, handlers, and caretakers of these magnificent animals.
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