The Principles of Ethical Horsemanship
Physical and emotional safety of the horse and the rider is our number one priority
- Healthy and content horse is calm and trusting
- Calm and trusting horse is a safe companion to people
- Safe horse can teach you safely and the right things
- You can only teach a horse that is calm and trusting
Horse is calm when people around him...
- feel calm; feelings are contagious. To horses the ability to intuit fear in even a distant heard member is a lifesaving skill. Learn to calm yourself down and attempt only exercises in which you can stay calm. Never ride angry. When your horse tenses up, move to slower gait until both are relaxed again.
- make sense; understand and ‘speak’ the horse’s nonverbal language. Learn to ride with correct, light aids based on it. Ride with your mind, not force and dominance.
- know the basics of horse physiology and psychology; Study how to keep horses healthy and content. Know how they learn and how not to end up teaching the wrong things. Understand the principles of horse behaviour. Learn to think like one and, most importantly, to recognize his feelings.
- recognize and manage own emotions; even the most secure horse knows that any two-legged creature conveying the gestures of one emotion in order to hide another is either lying and up to something bad, or delusional enough to be dangerous to him/herself and others.
- join our Emotional Agility Skills for Equestrians - workshops.
A calm horse …
- stops when you stop, follows you and goes away from pressure with minimal effort
- waits for your signals and aids
- tries to understand you and expects you to do the same
- will never run you over when you lead him
- will stand quietly for grooming, tacking up and climbing to the saddle
- will walk, trot and canter, jump fences and execute dressage movements with grace and balance.
- will work correctly ‘on the bit’ without any special tack or gadgets, with or without a bit in his mouth
- will be less likely to take off in case something frightens him
- will help you reach a state of mind that integrates feeling, intuition, relationship, nonverbal body-language, focus, will, inventiveness and problem-solving abilities
- Join our HorseTalk™ - workshops.
The horse's body and mind is designed for nomadic grazing in a herd. In the wild he eats grass around 16 hours a day wondering slowly over a wide territory. The horse has developed over more than 50 million years and it is only when we remove him from his natural environment and way of life, and use him for our own purposes, that he needs our care, attention and grooming. He’s needs and instincts haven’t changed. Every foal born in a stable is in essence wild until tamed by man. Try to permit your horse as natural life-style as possible and, if you are worth it, he will call you his friend.
See HorseTalk™ in action here!
HorseTalk ™ - everything towards true communication
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