NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP

Natural horsemanship has many faces and many forms, but they all have the same basic concept. Start slowly, build the horse's confidence, build his trust. Break each lesson into as many steps as possible. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing harder. Use the horse's natural instincts to help you. Use body language, use energy. Become the leader that your horse wants to follow.

Round Penning: The horse can be at liberty, but still close enough that the handler can influence the horse's movement. Teach respect and gain better attention by moving the horse and having him yield to your space.

Halter / leadline work: This has many of the same benefits as round penning, but you can fine tune your signals for more precise movement. You can also do this work anywhere, in a stall, arena or field. Halter work can help to teach a pushy horse to give you some space or a spooky horse to look to you for guidance instead of running you over. It also helps to teach coordination as you ask the horse to move their body, front end and hindquarters, forward, backwards and laterally.