Thoughts on Natural Horsemanship

Many people claim to practise natural horsemanship, myself included.  It is a trend that has been gaining momentum over the last 20 years or so and has found its way into the daily routines of many horse people.  There are many synonyms and sidelines of natural horsemanship.  You may have heard of “horse whispering”, “join-up”, “dancing with horses”, “légèretée”, “classical dressage” etc.  But what exactly is natural horsemanship?  
 
Extremely put, one could claim that horsemanship is by definition unnatural.  Wild horses were just fine by themselves, without having to put up with us.  In prehistoric time, the relationship between human and horse was that of hunter and prey.  We could say that this is the only true natural relationship, but one cannot disregard the long history of domestication.  Pretty soon, humans found that horses were more useful as providers of labour rather than a source of meat, especially once agricultural societies replaced the ones based on hunting and gathering.  So there is a long tradition of redirecting the strength and intelligence of the horse for the benefit of us humans, providing labour for tending the fields and mobility for travel and the military.   In fact, the latter is probably the area where horsemanship developed first and to a relatively high degree.  Already around 1600 BC the Hittites and Egyptians were accomplished horsemen fighting wars with their horse-powered chariots, and the first known detailed manual of horsemanship was written in ancient Greece by Xenophon (431 BC – 354 BC) for the cavalry.  Warfare was where the close relationship between human and horse became the most practised and probably quickly reached a height of sophistication that may have endured into the middle ages.  After all, a knight’s life depended on it.  The rider had to become one with his horse.  Holding a sword or lance in one hand and a shield in the other, he had to be able to direct his horse without using his hands.  
 
Sometime between the 18th and 20th centuries, this close relationship seems to have been lost or became the prerogative the privileged at royal courts, i.e. in France, Spain and Austria.  Industrialisation introduced the machine as a new companion for the human that quickly took over in mining, manufacture, agriculture, transportation and warfare.  In the process, the horse was reduced to just another machine, a source of power that became less and less important.  Especially in the cavalry, horses had to be trained and ready within a short amount of time, and the methods applied were reduced to a mere process of mass production.  As a consequence, physical control became the dominating factor in how humans related to horses. 
 
The birth and development of modern competitive equestrian sports happened toward the end of this era.  It is thus not surprising to see that they are dominated by physicality and efficiency, rather than the understanding of the horse’s mind.  Unfortunately this is still the standard in modern horse training.  
 
So where does the current revival of natural horsemanship come from?  It is no coincidence that its pioneers or “gurus” come from a western riding background.  Many of them started out as professional cowboys, horsemen that had to work efficiently with cattle and needed a horse that they could rely on to work with them all day long.  It was important that the rider was able to communicate efficiently with the horse.  Modern natural horsemanship is thus recalling the ancient relationship of human and horse, where the rider is developing an understanding of the horse as an individual.  To loosely quote Bill Dorrance: “The rider needs to develop an feel of the horse and the horse needs to develop a feel of the rider”.
 
So again, what exactly is natural horsemanship?  It is about how we relate to horses in the most natural way possible.  In order to achieve that, we need to understand how horses think, feel and communicate with each other and with us before we attempt to interact with them.   This does not require each of us to have a degree in animal psychology (a lot of books have been written on that, but they don’t help the average horse person to get better at communicating).  It does, however, entail a lot of observation.  Only when we observe how horses interact with each other can we begin to understand their way of communication.  We notice how they establish a pecking order and how they enforce it.  We can observe how a more dominant horse can move a subordinate one by using minimal gestures and body language.  Or we see how two horses groom each other to express affection.  In natural horsemanship, we emulate these gestures using our own body language.  It doesn’t take a horse very long to learn and understand those subtle signals.  This is what “horse whispering” is all about, establishing a one-on-one relationship with the animal by connecting to its mind through how we express ourselves.  
 
Natural horsemanship has been re-introduced by and for people who were working with horses as a hobby, and for whom competition was secondary.  This is no coincidence since establishing a relationship with a horse’s mind takes a lot of time and patience.   Many people who compete in modern equestrian sports don’t have the patience to establish such a relationship and take shortcuts.  They are applying force and concentrate on the physical aspect of riding.  They use mechanical means to train their horses and replace them quickly when they don’t perform to their expectations. Such an approach often leads to traumatised horses and riders who will never be able to unlock the ultimate potential of their animals.  Modern horse breeders are producing some amazing equine athletes, who still perform well, even though their riders do their utmost to restrain their potential with their unnatural methods.  The underlying communication problems are often masked by the good nature and tolerance of the horses.   Unfortunately, competition rules have been changed over the last 50 years or so to support a more physical approach and have put true natural horse people at a disadvantage in competition.  Just imagine what those horses would be capable of if they were given the time and opportunity to live up to their potential.
 
So let’s go back to the basics of natural horsemanship and then take it from the home pasture and pleasure riding into competition.   The possibilities are endless.  If we put our mind to it with determination, maybe some day we may be able change modern competitive equestrian sport to promote a more natural environment for our equine athletes.  

Thomas Kubli, August, 2021

 

Thoughts about Thinking

In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman makes a convincing case that two systems compete in the human mind to deal with our environment.  Simply put, one system is more intuitive, prone to simplification and substitution, while the other is more analytical.  We need both to survive in a challenging environment.  The fast System 1 helps us react to situations quickly, but can easily lead us astray and to make rash judgments and decisions.  The slow System 2 lets us apply reason and analytical thinking, but may not be fast enough to deal with situations where quick decisions are called for.
 
Can we extend that to horses as well?  One may claim that horses don’t think, that they are naturally intuitive, live in the moment and react instinctively and according to their current emotional state.  So, they are mostly working in something like our System 1, but can they reason or be analytical as well?
 
It is obvious that your horse will react to your aids or cues.  It will also detect the mood you are in at the moment.  It will be responsive to your body language when you are doing ground work.  All this behaviour can be explained with System 1.  But when we ask a horse to perform a more complicated task, such as stepping up to and standing still at a mounting block, jumping over an obstacle instead of going around it, lateral work, collection etc., there is more than intuition at work.  The horse needs to understand what we ask it to do.  This can be very difficult when there is no immediate need for the horse to do something for us that goes beyond reacting to our cues.  So, how does a horse begin to understand what we want? 
 
You may have noticed that some horses are very quick to respond, sometimes with the right reaction and sometimes not.  They seem to offer answers that may not be the correct ones for the question we asked, but have a certain logic to them.  An opening rein, for example, could be understood by the horse as “move your feet” or “bend your neck” or “give softly to the rein”.  If we wait long enough, the horse will eventually let go of the ones we don’t want as long as we are consistent with the aid.  It will gradually tune in to our personal way of asking a question. There are also horses that don’t seem to “get it” right away, but they may eventually give us what we want if we only give them enough time to reflect. 
 
All this requires a certain amount of analytical capacity.  The horse seems to sort out various interpretations of a question and then choose the “right “ one.  I would say that this corresponds to a slow thinking process, akin to our System 2. 
 
So, it is important that we give our horses the opportunity to “think” and analyse a situation.  Don’t rely on physical cues only or physical reactions to our aids.  Let things sink in and give the horse time to reflect on something that has just happened.  If the horse has done something for us for the first time, exactly as we asked, take a break as a reward, let the horse know that this is what you wanted.  This is a good place to either call it a day and continue tomorrow, or to move on to another exercise.   
 
In conclusion, our questions, demands or aids, whatever you want to call them have to be clear for the horse to understand. They have to be logical and consistently applied for the horse to “tune in “ to our personal and individual way of asking. To catch the moment when this happens and to give the horse positive feedback is crucial to making any progress.  One thing that most of us sometimes forget is to give a clear signal to the horse when it has done exactly what we asked for.  Frequent and long breaks are some of the most important tools we have to reward our horses and to give them the time to “think” about what just happened. 

Thomas Kubli, January, 2020

 

Questions and Answers

Have you ever asked yourself why it appears to be so hard to be a good rider.  Why you seem to never be able to get that perfect flying change, that clear round, that winning spin or sliding stop, or simply to get your horse to walk past that scary bunch of flowers?  Well, you are not alone.  These are questions that have haunted me for my entire career as a horseman and amateur competitor.  If these questions have never bothered you, you are likely an Olympic Champion, a professional horse whisperer or you have never tried to get a horse to do what you really want.
 
It has taken me a long time to come up with an answer, but once I found it, everything became clear.  Most riders try to connect to their horses through physical cues or aids.  This is the traditional way of teaching riding, which is still very common today.  You are taught the technical intricacies of a half halt or the correct use of a supporting rein.  These are all terms that emphasize the physical influence we exert on the horse’s body.  What is missing in this approach to riding?  It is the connection with the horse’s mind.
 
Unfortunately, we are able to sit on a horse while we train it.  Try sitting on your dog or cat to teach it tricks and you will soon find out that this is not the right approach.  Horses, however, tolerate us sitting on their backs, which is already a detriment to the proper connection to their mind.  Traditionally, our contact with the horse starts out as being physical rather than mental. 
 
If we literally take a step back and approach the problem with a bit of distance, amazing things start to happen.  If we can teach a horse tricks, even simple ones like stop and go, without sitting on them, we can establish a true connection with their mind and their tremendous intelligence.  Horses are very sensitive and can detect out moods, body language, and even guess our intentions.  Let us not get sidetracked by the physical activity of sitting on a horse but start to communicate with the animal.  Riding then becomes a logical extension of our communication and not the principal approach to it. It is the last step in training our horse to perform for us.

This is why we spend a lot of time on the basics, such as ground work and developing a centered seat. Expect no miracles, but once you have put in your time building a solid base, amazing things will start to happen.

Thomas Kubli, December, 2018