Uniting 4 Hooves and 2 Minds

This is some of the philosophy, global concepts in horsemanship and hoof care, combined with scientific education and twenty plus years of experience that allows me to work with a horse from a holistic approach. This approach incorporates physiological, mental, emotional, behavioral, and therapeutic viewpoints. I work on the horse from the inside out. While building trust I am nurturing the spirit of the horse, enabling that spirit to rise to the surface.Once the reservoir of confidence, trust, and willingness is full on the inside of the horse then changes can appear on the outside of the horse, changes that are readily visible to the observer.

A horse has so much willingness to offer the human it is immeasurable. Yet, if it is not recognized at the start by the human, the horse will not continue to open up to the human and will operate in a manner that is at a subsistence level- mentally and emotionally they are shut down. Walk into a boarding stable where horse spend a lot of time in solitary confinement you can see that look in their faces and eyes, the eyes are vacant of life. Horses have to have contact with other horses to achieve happiness they are a herd animal, that is the nature of their spirit. Once you see horse in a free-range environment with the herd dynamics, in their natural state, you will understand what I am talking about. There are techniques I utilize to create herd dynamics in a boarding stable environment, to revive the spirit of the horse, and to rekindle the life in their eyes.

A horse will do everything in its physical ability to do what the human asks of it, if it understands what the person is asking! Horses do not speak English; they cannot be treated like a human or a dog that is a pet. You must learn to speak horse. Sounds absurd but it is true. Horses operate by body language, sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, pressure and release, instinct, hormones, pheromones, and a sixth sense that is razor sharp. They also have an innate gravitational curiosity for the human; this is the part of the horses?

Nature that never ceases to amaze me. This description is what is referred to as operating through feel. A horse communicates, lives, and learns through feel. Tom Dorrrance brought this idea to the world and created the renaissance in horsemanship we know today. The contributions to the world of horse and human relationships this man has made is beyond description in words, it is truly immeasurable. Every horse comes with a different dialect and has to be approached on an individual basis. Try to understand where the horse is at and then begin working with them. This takes time, to open a line of communication with the horse, develop some rapport and then proceed with helping them learn what is going to be asked of them in there particular discipline.

You cannot force a horse to do things with gimmicks, gadgets, leverage, pressure- these things have no place in working with a horse. When you interact with a horse in their language you can see an immediate recognition and response, even on a horse that has been shut down to the human for years. If you approach a horse in a way that honors their spirit, the depth of their understanding is unfathomable. When you get grasp on this and get it working for you there is no greater feeling in the world, having a horse rather be with you than anyplace else.