Natural Horsemanship demonstration

[The Bandit]

There is a natural horsemanship demonstration in Athlone and I am thinking of going. This guy Walter Badet is coming over from Arizona to give a couple of clinics and is having a demo on Sunday. I know very little about natural horsemanship and I am just wondering if many of you have seen these types of demonstration "in the flesh" and if you enjoyed them?

[KainerAndJenny]

We regularly go to clinics or 'fun days'.

They are very informative and very enjoyable. Especially if you can take part!

I took Kainer to one about two weeks ago and we both learned tonnes

[intouch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R76zN6oHub4
He sounds pretty good.

[The Bandit]

Thank you Intouch. I am definitely going to get my ticket in the morning. :nod:

[storm]

Did you get your ticket Bandit? This guy did a demo at Moate Show last week :nod:

[intouch]

Any reports?

[minimadness]

When is it on in Athlone ?

[storm]

Any reports?

It was the first time I had ever seen a NH Demonstration so didn't really know what to expect! The horse being used was "a one year old stallion" (a very nice looking horse I might add) :nod:

The horse was in a halter with a long rope attached and there was a lot of 'desensitizing' with said rope being draped around the horse. Also, he was putting his hand into the horses mouth and getting a sort of "chewing" action (sorry...I'm probaly not explaining this very well) :blushing: The horse followed him at times (although still held by the rope) and at other times plunged and kicked.

Then came the bit that completely knocked me for six, he first lay across the horses back and gradually built up until he was sitting astride. Now granted, this was all done very gently but I was quite shocked. It can't be good for a year old horse supporting the full weight of an adult...can it?

As I've said, this was my first NH Demo I'd ever experienced so I'd be very interested feedback from 'those in the know' :)

[rambling]

I agree it can't be good for a one year old to have someone on its back, for any length of time, granted this may have only been a few minutes.
I think doing it at this age is taking advantage of the trusting nature of a baby, maybe the hand in the mouth was the " sucky calf " thing,
pity it wasn't an eleven year old instead!

I think the problem with this sort of showmanship is that people watching, especially hardy young lads, will go home and try it themselves and won't stop after a few minutes.
Also some people will think the horse is now backed and will ride on from there and the horse will never have learnt to carry himself properly never mind a rider.

[laura Domenica]

I read all the comments re the demo and about looking at natural horsemanship methods and just wanted to post this note in the hope that it might be of help to those of you exploring the subject.
During my studies over the last few years i have watched many practitioners and watched hundreds of demos and I think i now have some insight into the subject.
While it is good to watch as much as you can one of the pitfalls for most of us when we are starting out is not really being able to assess the quality of what we are looking at. Everything can look great to our inexperienced eye, it may even look impressive, but just because a result is achieved or a task gets done doesn't mean that the “quality” of what is achieved or "how " it was achieved is consistent with good training and the true well being of the horse.
When i was training several years ago with my Dutch warm-blood , I watched my horse being worked by the instructors who were teaching me. At times i found it hard to watch. It seemed to me to be wrong, crude, even forceful, yet I ignored my gut instincts and trusted the judgement of those who were supposed to know far more than me.
I rationalised this because I reasoned that natural horsemanship had changed my horse, from a horse who people, including instructors, were unable to control and who had inspired fear, into a fairly manageable one.
It took several years of training before i was truly able to understand what had gone on then and to understand the inherent value in “how” things were done rather than “what” was done, in short how to tell the good from the bad and the crude from the refined.
So how do we as beginners proceed to tell the difference? In a sense we cannot but we can be you be guided by

Firstly - Trusting our instincts- your gut reaction is usually right. I didn’t listen to mine, idiotic I know, but i did it nonetheless. You should feel good about what your are watching and you should feel the well being of the horse is uppermost. This doesn’t mean you will understand why things are being done, but at this stage, this is not important.

Secondly –read as much as you can about the subject “in general” don’t get bogged down early on in one particular methodology or ideology. Try to get a broad understanding of what the subject is about first. This is best gained from reading anecdotal material rather than “how to” material

Thirdly - look at as many different people and practitioners as you can before you decide to study any particular methodology or with any one practitioner in particular.

Fourthly- look to work with practitioners who are good teachers, who explain what is being done, who demystify the process and break it down into manageable chunks that you as a learner can get to grips with. While it is impressive to watch a really good practitioner effect a change in a difficult horse in a manner of minutes, if you try to emulate this you will not succeed. As beginners we don’t have the skills to understand what we are looking for let alone employ the subtleties and nuances of the work. At best we will manage to emulate some of the gross motor skills, but the art, the finesse and well being of the horse lies in the former.
There are many good trainers out there. I do not believe it matters whether they are traditional or “new” What is important is “how “ they do what they do and not so much “what” they do. My best advice is to become a good student, to stay open in your mind and your heart to learning.
We need to be patient with ourselves, for it is us who needs the education, us who needs to change, to learn to listen, to understand how to use our bodies in a way that makes sense to the horse, and to think in a way that he understands.
Good luck and enjoy the journey, the good thing is, it never ends.