At its best, riding always involved the mind of the horse. Nearly 100 years ago, a French rider wrote:
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"Therefore, everywhere - out-of-doors or in the haute ecole - success with horses is to him who applies this maxim of Baucher...
'Let him think that he is our master, then he is our slave.' There dwells an eternal equestrian truth!
'The horse is the sole master of his forces; even with all of our vigor, by himself, the rider is powerless to increase the horse's forces. Therefor, it is for the horse to employ his forces in his own way, for himself to determine the manner of that employment so as to best fulfill the demands of his riders. If the rider tries to do it all, the horse may permit him to do so, but the horse merely drifts, and limits his efforts to those which the rider demands. On the contrary, if the horse knows that he must rely on himself, he uses himself completely, with all of his energy.'" - 5 May 1922
-- Horse Training Outdoors and High School, Etienne Beudant (1931)
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About 150 years ago, a cavalry officer wrote:
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"The French say, when speaking of a horse that shows restiveness, "il se defend" - he defends himself...There is much truth in this expression, and it is one that riders should constantly bear in mind, for insubordination is most commonly the result of something having been demanded from the horse that it either did not know how to do or was unable to perform...
...There is another thing to be considered with regard to the horse's character - it loves to exercise its powers, and it possesses a great spirit of emulation; it likes variety of scene and amusement ; and under a rider that understands how to indulge it in all this without overtaxing its powers, will work willingly to the last gasp,which is what entitles it to the name of a noble and generous animal...
..Horses don't like to be ennuye, and will rather stick at home than go out to be bored ; they like amusement, variety, and society : give them their share of these, but never in a pedantic way, and avoid getting into a groove of any kind, either as to time or place, especially with young animals. It is evident that all these things must be taken into account and receive due attention, whether it be our object to prevent or to get rid of some bad habit a horse may have acquired ; and a little reflection will generally suffice to point out the means of remedying something that, if left to itself, would grow into a confirmed habit, or if attacked with the energy of folly and violence, would suddenly culminate in the grand catastrophe of restiveness...
...Here, too, we find a practical hint for the treatment of full-grown horses that shy at particular objects and sounds, or object to passing certain spots. Treat them as the English trainer does his young ones, lead them about as described above, and reward them for their docility with a bit of bread, sugar, or something of the sort ; you will thus avoid all conflicts, the danger and evil consequences of which are enhanced a thousandfold if you attempt to mount your horse under such circumstances. Of course, when shyness arises from defective vision, which is often the case, this method will be of no avail.
-- On Seats and Saddles, by Francis Dwyer, Major of Hussars in the Imperial Austrian Service (1868)
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The above quotes are closer to what I call "Natural Horsemanship" than what I see in Pat Parelli or Clinton Anderson, although those two might agree with the above quotes. Much of what I see in Parelli and Anderson, however well intended, is rooted in harsh dominance. Much round pen work is done in a spirit of breaking the horse's will, rather than shaping it. Baucher and Beudant, too, were both were entirely willing to "break" the will, rather than shape it.
In honesty, for all of MY good talk, I often resort to cussing and "Just DO it!" (Is that the Nike School of Riding?) It is easy to TALK about understanding a horse, and working WITH him, but much harder to actually do so! It is like raising kids. The theory is so much easier than the practice!
But while I dislike the marketing of the popular "Natural Horsemanship" trainers, I'm glad they have popularized the idea of working with the animal and trying to understand it. Unfortunately, their target audience for marketing is the person who hasn't been around horses long, who is overhorsed and/or afraid, and their offered solution doesn't address the root of the problem for those riders -
the need to become more confident by FIRST becoming better riders, AND the need to start with a horse who doesn't overwhelm them. And yes, I write that from personal experience!
I've lived it. I know exactly where the target audience is coming from, and I think many of the solutions pushed on DVDs and in clinics fail to address the cause of the problem.
Wanting to understand horses is great. Expecting to with your first horse...very do-able IF your first horse is the right sort of horse. And then, with time and plenty of "wet saddle blankets" under YOUR butt, you can safely expand your horizons. Lacking the right horse, what many of the followers of NH need is good instruction - but then, good instruction is hard to find, too!
I read Parelli's first book cover to cover, and found almost nothing that I would consider "natural horsemanship".
I'll finish this rant with one of my favorite pictures, taken near the front lines during World War One. In its own way, it says a lot about natural horsemanship: