![Camargue naturally approached 1a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Camargue_naturally_approached_1a.jpg)
Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of
horse training
Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse ra ...
techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s.
The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler cowboy" to develop a rapport with horses,
using methods said to be derived from observation of the natural behavior of
free-roaming horses and rejecting abusive training methods.
Natural horsemanship practitioners often describe their principles with
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
zeal, describing the approach as being a radical departure from "traditional" techniques, which are often portrayed as being based in the use of unnecessary force.
[ Users and practitioners tend to relate benefits both in relation to the quasi-scientific narrative of the ]ethology
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objectiv ...
of horse behavior, viewing the horse as "other", but also to the idea of an anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
partnership. High-profile practitioners of natural horsemanship such as Monty Roberts
Marvin Earl "Monty" Roberts MVO (born May 14, 1935) is an American horse trainer who promotes his techniques of natural horsemanship through his ''Join-Up International'' organization, named after the core concept of his training method. Roberts ...
and Pat Parelli market their methods and equipment extensively through books, television appearances, live shows and other media.[ The natural horsemanship movement is controversial in the mainstream ]equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
* Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
community, with criticism leveled at practitioners on a number of levels, while natural horsemanship advocates in turn are highly critical of more traditional methods. Natural horsemanship promoters face criticism that their techniques are not "new" and are classical concepts that are simply renamed or repackaged in order to be able to sell products and merchandise.
History
The idea of working in sympathy with a horse in order to obtain cooperation is not new, with documented instances as far back as the two part treatise ''On Horsemanship
''On Horsemanship'' is the English title usually given to ', ''peri hippikēs'', one of the two treatises on horsemanship by the Athenian historian and soldier Xenophon (c. 430–354 BC). Other common titles for this work are ''De equis alendis' ...
'' by Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
(c. 430 – 354 BCE), which amongst other points, emphasized operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
and emphasized reassurance over punishment.[ Later ]classical dressage
Classical dressage evolved from cavalry movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse.
Correct c ...
practitioners such as Antoine de Pluvinel
Antoine de Pluvinel (1552, Crest, Dauphiné - 24 August 1620) was the first of the French riding masters, and has had great influence on modern dressage. He wrote ''L’Instruction du Roy en l’exercice de monter à cheval'' ("instruction of t ...
(1555–1620 CE) and François Robichon de La Guérinière
François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) was a French riding master who had a profound effect on accepted methods for horse training, and one of the most influential writers on the art of dressage.
History
De La Guérinière w ...
(1688–1751) also emphasized gentle techniques. However, gentle training methods have always had to compete with harsher methods, which often appear to obtain faster, but less predictable results. In particular, the cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
tradition of the American west, where the economics of needing to break
Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to:
Time off from duties
* Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties
* Break (work), time off during a shift/recess
** Coffee break, a short mid-morning res ...
large numbers of semi-feral
A semi-feral animal lives predominantly in a feral state but has some contact and experience with humans. This may be because it was born in a domesticated state and then reverted to life in wild conditions, or it may be an animal that grew up in ...
horses in a short period of time led to the development of a number of harsh training methods that the natural horsemanship movement specifically has set out to replace.
The modern natural horsemanship movement, though not originally described as such, developed primarily in the United States Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
and Rocky Mountain
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
states, where the "buckaroo" or ''vaquero''-style cowboy tradition was the strongest. Brothers Tom and Bill Dorrance Brothers and horsemen William "Bill" Dorrance (January 19, 1906 – July 20, 1999) and Tom Dorrance (May 11, 1910 – June 11, 2003) are considered among the founders of the modern natural horsemanship movement. Born and raised on an Oregon cattle r ...
were early modern practitioners, who had background in the Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
buckaroo tradition. They had a particularly strong influence on Ray Hunt, who in turn became a significant influence upon Buck Brannaman
Dan M. "Buck" Brannaman (born January 29, 1962) is an American horse trainer and a leading clinician with a philosophy of handling horses based on classical concepts from the vaquero tradition; working with the horse's nature, using an understandi ...
. Many practitioners claim influence from the Dorrance brothers and Hunt, some having trained directly with these individuals. Other practitioners, such as Pat Parelli, came from the rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...
world.[
In Europe a number of variations are practiced that developed independently of the American model, influenced by ]Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
or Hungarian horsemanship traditions as well as the teachings of Classical dressage
Classical dressage evolved from cavalry movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse.
Correct c ...
. Some include work rooted in the use of human body language to communicate effectively to the horse.
The growth in the modern acceptance of the techniques (and the growth in marketing of them) has been increasing since the 1970s, with initial slow growth accelerating through the 1980s and 1990s.
Nomenclature
The term "horse whispering" dates to nineteenth century Europe when an Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
horseman, Daniel "Horse-Whisperer" Sullivan
Daniel Sullivan (died 1810) from Mallow, Co. Cork, Ireland, was an Irish horse trainer who specialised in rehabilitation of horses that were unresponsive to traditional methods. A large portion of his work took place in England.
Not very much ...
(d. 1810), made a name for himself in England by rehabilitating horses that had become vicious and intractable due to abuse or accidental trauma. John Solomon Rarey
John Solomon Rarey (1827–1866) was a nineteenth-century horse whisperer, an important figure in the rehabilitation of abused and vicious horses during the 1850s. Originally from Groveport, Ohio, Rarey trained his first horse at the age of twelve. ...
, a nineteenth century American trainer, was summoned to Windsor Castle in 1852 by Queen Victoria to demonstrate his Rarey technique on her wildest horses.
Some natural horsemanship practitioners do not use the term "horse whisperer" to describe themselves, and some horse trainers dislike the "horse whispering" moniker to the extent that they openly ask that the term not be applied to them.
"Natural horsemanship" is a more recent term, originating in the western United States, and not coming into popular use until around 1985. Its origin is widely attributed within the movement to Pat Parelli, who wrote a book using the phrase in the title. The term became linked to "horse whispering" in the 1990s, when the popularity of Nicholas Evans' book '' The Horse Whisperer'', and the later Robert Redford film of the same name, promoted popular awareness of natural horsemanship.[ However, some trainers linked to the movement, such as Mark Rashid and Tom Moates, have stated their discomfort with the term "natural horsemanship."]
The movement has led many people in the horse industry to question "traditional" practices and to look at learning theory and equitation science
Equitation science is defined as "the application of scientific methods to assess objectively the welfare of horses undergoing training." It promotes an evidence-based understanding of horse-rider interactions. The goal is to apply valid, quantita ...
to better understand horse behavior.
Within the Natural Horsemanship movement, the phrases "traditional" or "traditional methods" generally refer to brutal methods of horse-breaking that trained horses by dominating the horse and breaking its spirit. Some of these techniques are attributable to simple human failings such as ignorance or machismo
Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...
. Others were derived from certain types of military training that insisted upon complete submission and learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is the behavior exhibited by a subject after enduring repeated aversive stimuli beyond their control. It was initially thought to be caused by the subject's acceptance of their powerlessness, by way of their discontinuing atte ...
from the horse, with misbehavior attributed to deliberate acts by the horse instead of a reaction to pain or fear of the handler.[ Still others were attributed to equipment and methods used on rodeo horses in the speed events such as ]calf roping
Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismount ...
and barrel racing
Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur a ...
.[
However, some practitioners of more classical training methods take issue with the characterization of "traditional" methods of training as "inhumane",] noting that gentle techniques have always existed.[ Some natural horsemanship advocates acknowledge that there are "traditional" techniques that can be used in a humane manner, even suggesting that multiple styles can be used together in a complementary fashion.]
Common theories
Techniques and precise theories vary between practitioners of natural horsemanship, but the central theme is that they advocate training and handling techniques which they assert are kind and gentle.[ Part of the premise of natural horsemanship is that teaching through pain and fear does not result in the type of relationship that benefits both horse and handler.]
Like almost all horse training, the principal teaching aid is the use of operant conditioning
Operant conditioning, also called instrumental conditioning, is a learning process where behaviors are modified through the association of stimuli with reinforcement or punishment. In it, operants—behaviors that affect one's environment—are c ...
to reinforce desired behaviours. The most common conditioning method is the use of pressure and release, with physical pressure being applied until the horse complies, or tries to comply, at which point the pressure is released as a negative reinforcement
In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...
to the action. Punishment by physical force is rarely used in natural horsemanship, and many practitioners caution against the misuse of aids such as whip
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...
s.
Many techniques focus on the extensive use of ground handling to build rapport and mutual understanding with the horse. Methods include the use of leading and suppling exercises, and training the horse on a lunge line or loose lead in a round pen
The round pen, sometimes called a bullpen, is a round enclosure used for horse training. They range in diameter from a minimum of to a maximum of , with most designs in diameter. Footing is usually sand[halter
A halter or headcollar is headgear that is used to lead or tie up livestock and, occasionally, other animals; it fits behind the ears (behind the poll), and around the muzzle. To handle the animal, usually a lead rope is attached. On smaller ...]
that has a thinner noseband and heavy heel knot reminiscent of a bosal
A bosal (, , or ) is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the ''vaquero'' tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to ...
style hackamore
A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of rid ...
for groundwork, and, for some, riding. Usually use of a lead rope
A lead, lead line, lead rope (US) or head collar rope (UK), is used to lead an animal such as a horse. Usually, it is attached to a halter. The lead may be integral to the halter or, more often, separate. When separate, it is attached to t ...
is promoted, which doubles as a lead line and a short longe line. Some, though not all, practitioners work horses bridleless, or consider bridleless work to represent the culmination of their training. Once a horse is under saddle, most practitioners advocate use of either a loose-ring or a full cheek style snaffle bit
A snaffle bit is the most common type of bit used while riding horses. It consists of a bit mouthpiece with a ring on either side and acts with direct pressure. A bridle utilizing only a snaffle bit is often called a "snaffle bridle", particu ...
, and rope rein
Reins are items of horse tack, used to direct a horse or other animal used for riding. They are long straps that can be made of leather, nylon, metal, or other materials, and attach to a bridle via either its bit or its noseband.
Use for ...
s that include slobber straps and a lead rope section on the left side characteristic of a hackamore's mecate, sometimes called a "McCarty outfit." All practitioners emphasize that communication should be possible through light or minimal rein contact with the horse's mouth, encouraging primary use of weight and leg aids. Natural horsemanship and riding disciplines that emphasize steady, light contact are not incompatible, however. One practitioner has suggested that use of a patented design of bitless bridle can create more effective control of the horse, and solve other problems related to bitting. However, the benefits of a bitless bridle have been questioned in light of recent studies showing that the cross-under design puts significant pressure on the poll
Poll, polled, or polling may refer to:
Figurative head counts
* Poll, a formal election
** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts
** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions
** Polling places o ...
and under the chin, while soft tissues such as the tongue are actually better suited to handling pressure from a rider's hands than hard tissues like the nose bone and the palate, though bitless designs may still be suitable for horses with mouth injuries.
Efficacy
A 2009 small-scale study of the efficacy of natural horsemanship techniques compared to "traditional" exercises indicated that natural horsemanship exercises could be more efficient at improving the human–horse relationship and reduce stress on the horse during training without compromising technical performance. A 2012 study, however, questioned some types of round pen training on the grounds that pressure-release methods do not enhance horse-human interaction (as remote-controlled cars were used to elicit similar responses) but actually control the horse through fear and for that reason may be less humane than originally thought.
Criticism
The natural horsemanship movement has been criticized from a number of angles. The first criticism is that claims of natural horsemanship being something new and different are wholly unfounded, that similar methods have been around for a very long time. Some practitioners, particularly in classical dressage
Classical dressage evolved from cavalry movements and training for the battlefield, and has since developed into the competitive dressage seen today. Classical riding is the art of riding in harmony with, rather than against, the horse.
Correct c ...
and other English riding
English riding is a form of horse riding seen throughout the world. There are many variations, but all feature a flat English saddle without the deep seat, high cantle or saddle horn that are part of a Western saddle nor the knee pads seen on an ...
disciplines, consider much of the movement to simply be the application of humane methods of classical horsemanship that have been practiced for centuries. However, many natural horsemanship practitioners acknowledge that they did not invent natural horsemanship and credit earlier work in humane horse-handling techniques.
Another common concern is that the movement has been promoted with too much hype and marketing. In particular, there are concerns that stories of near-miraculous results can mislead beginners to believe that they can accomplish miracles with their horses with little effort, education, or experience in horse training. A related concern is that practitioners rename common pieces of horse equipment and then sell their branded versions for premium prices. Some trainers view the use of particular brands or styles of common equipment as having more to do with personal preference than anything else.[ Others view certain tools as unneeded or prone to misuse. Practitioners counter that the equipment that they sell, such as rigid sticks and yachting-braid rope, have distinct characteristics that lend themselves to natural horsemanship training.
In particular, the characterization of traditional methods of training as inhumane does not accurately describe classic training methods.] Though some critics acknowledge that some historical techniques were not always gentle, they point out that gentle techniques have always existed as well.[ Others express concern that natural horsemanship fails as a complete method of horse training.
Other trainers point out that the very act of catching and training horses is not "natural" at all, that everything people do with horses is not actually "natural" to the horse.][ Other authors such as Lawrence Scanlan suggest that "Domestication f the horsewas a natural consequence... for those.. who were more curious, less territorial, less aggressive, more dependent ndbetter able to deflect human aggression through submission".
Overuse of negative reinforcement in any training method to increase rates of desired behaviors can produce anxiety and stress in the horse until the ]aversive
In psychology, aversives are unpleasant stimuli that induce changes in behavior via negative reinforcement or positive punishment. By applying an aversive immediately before or after a behavior the likelihood of the target behavior occurring in ...
stimulus or "pressure" is released.[Sidman, M. (2001) Coercion and its fallout Boston: Authors Cooperative] Failure of the horse to emit the desired behavior, or failure of the trainer to relieve the pressure after a correct performance, will only prolong this stress.
See also
* Domestication of the horse
A number of hypotheses exist on many of the key issues regarding the domestication of the horse. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BCE, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat.
How and when hors ...
* The Horseman's Word
* Rarey technique
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natural Horsemanship
Horse behavior
Horse training