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Some say the finest horsemen in history were also the most natural…

The Cherokee Native Americans set what seems an unreachable bar in horsemanship.

But for the beginner? Are we ready for treeless saddles?

Riding with a treeless saddle is not the same as riding bareback  – that would be completely ludicrous. But is a similar level of horsemanship needed?

The tree is built to provide support, even pressure and comfort – for the horse and the rider.

A treeless saddle cannot offer these same benefits. Instead, it leaves the horse vulnerable to abnormal pressure points. The rider’s seat bone can dig into the horse, causing its back muscles to tighten.

Isn’t the tree there to help, where we lack the supreme ability the Native Americans had?

Perhaps not? Perhaps you ride your horse treeless? Even bareback? Does it work for you? Somebody please help me!

Karen”

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Many don’t think their horse can get trapped in a 90-degree corner. Even though this is where 90% of horse injuries at pasture occur. It’s easy to miss paddock shapes, while obsessing over nutrition, or the early stages of hoof damage.

So I’m beginning a series of free simple tips. They’re all mercifully short. Just one of these might change your horseback life immeasurably.

If you have any simple tips to add along the way, I want to hear them. Please, please comment below!

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I have to say, when I see Pat Parelli, I see a master horseman. Every time I watch a new Parelli video, my jaw drops at the sheer control and understanding he has. But I was shocked to read this…

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=224279

Apparently the Parellis claim they don’t need to wear helmets. Instead they deal with behavioural problems at the source. Well, my jaw dropped at this too.

Kids. If you’re reading this, always wear a helmet. Even if you’re lucky enough to ride a Parelli trained horse.

The post Love or hate the Parellis – but do wear a helmet appeared first on Natural horse care and training tips.

A horse is an intelligent animal. Head rocking is common equine behaviour in a stall. It’s to alleviate the boredom.

And whether a horse is barefoot or shod, zero movement can only result in a starved white line.

What I dislike most about stalls is that it’s real human intervention in the horse’s natural life.

The owner using horse shoes might say it’s because they ride on roads 90% of the time.

The owner using a bit might say it’s the only way to control their horse.

But the owner locking their horse in a stall 12+ hours a day can only say it’s for their own convenience.

Of course, the stall is sometimes our only option. But let’s always live and work around giving our horses as much time at pasture as possible.

Horse gentler, Ray Hunt, had a blissfully simple mantra for keeping horses. “Make the wrong things difficult and the right things easy”.

Why make the wrong things unavoidable?

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As a teenager, Roberts observed wild horses through binoculars. He noticed they spoke to each other using body language – a language he called ‘Equus’. When a horse lowered his head and made chewing motions, he was asking to be accepted into the herd. “Can we talk?” he seemed to say.

How lucky we are, this knowledge survived. Monty’s father, who told him “hurt the horse before the horse hurts you,” certainly hadn’t inspired this thinking. And when Monty first spoke out against his father’s methods, he was beaten with a stall chain.

But who took the right approach towards the horse? The father or the son? The father’s methods certainly broke the horse, but some would argue the horse’s spirit went with it. Lawrence Scanlan, author of The man who listens to horses wrote this…

‘As part of sacking out, one hind leg was tied up with ropes and connected to a rope collar around the horse’s chest. With the horse’s foot off the ground, bucking was impossible. More sacking ensued, and finally a saddle was put on. The end result may well have been a cooperative horse, but something precious, Monty Roberts came to believe, had been lost.’

You might think it cruel. You might not. But compare this to Monty’s methods, and you’ll probably think it unnecessary. Why work hard to break a horse’s spirit, when that spirit is ‘willingness’. Work with it.

In 1997, Monty Roberts met the manic Happy Go Lucky. He rubbed the horse’s head as he talked. Using a line, he encouraged the horse to power around the perimeter of where he stood. Eventually the horse calmed, ‘maybe this man isn’t so bad’. Before long, Happy Go Lucky lowered his head and made chewing motions.

In 15 minutes, Monty Roberts achieved more than traditional horse breaking methods could achieve in 6 weeks.

“Can we talk,” Happy Go Lucky seemed to say.

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