Holistic Horsemanship

Holistic horsemanship is an approach to horse care and/or training, which considers the whole picture. Looking at everything you have in place, and how what you are doing with your horse influences your relationship. For example:

  • the terrain your horse has access to
  • whether they live in a herd
  • if they have horse friendly shelter
  • how natural their diet is
  • whether you give them a lot of medication
  • if they are barefoot

These are some of the management questions that are important in holistic horsemanship. There are also handling and training considerations such as:

  • whether you use equipment for control or connection
  • do you ride with your posture
  • if your training is results based or for therapeutic purposes

It is important that this approach is free of judgment of ourselves and others, and rather that it is a wish to learn alongside the horses for the sake of the partnership between us.

 

The Energetic Merge With Horses

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Discovering the Energetic Merge Discovering the energetic merge came about by integrating a therapeutic approach into my horsemanship as opposed to sticking to ‘horse training’ mentality. The main difference between the two is the intention behind them. In the therapeutic approach the intention would be to improve the well being of the horse. A horse … Read more

Becoming Horse Conscious

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Becoming Horse Conscious is an exciting journey. It is the process of liberating ourselves from old rules that no longer have any value. We are only following them still because we are stuck in old patterns of thought. It is not only about our equine management practices becoming more holistic, there is a whole new world of communication to discover.

Start by considering how often you sense your horse’s energy field when you approach. Can you feel your gelding’s mood, do you ever decide what you might introduce that day because he indicated what he might enjoy? When you groom do you listen to the sensitivity of your stallion, how he is experiencing the brushes? How do you respond if your mare resists, do you ask her how she is feeling in that moment?

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What Makes You Safe With Horses?

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We often think that to be safe with horses we have to be aware of the dangers. Most of us were told before our first encounter with a horse never to stand behind them because they kick. To always to present the palm of our hand when feeding a treat because they might bite our fingers. It is better not to sit on the ground, but crouch if you have to, or you might be trampled.

This advice is certainly sensible in a world where events are random and horses and their actions are strangers to us. Yet there is a different way to perceive the world. There is a way of being around horses that is safe because it feels safe. Then all the events that happen are in alignment with that feeling.

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Engaging With This Moment

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Engaging with this moment is nothing more that accepting how you feel and being with it. A lot of the time we set up different ways to avoid feeling how we are feeling. Distracting ourselves with books, television and computers. When we are spending time with horses it can be a great opportunity to let go of those defence mechanisms and become still.

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