Is Your Horse a Partner?

By Lindsey Forkun, www.LFEquestrian.com

There are many different styles of training and working with horses. Some people fawn over their horses with praise and affection, others take a more military style approach with defined boundaries and little affection, and most people fall somewhere in between.

Natural horsemanship professes a balance of boundaries and praise. Horses that…

Margaret wrote:

I have just read your book and loved it. I’ve been ploughing through various horse training methods and ideas with some positive outcomes but not without feeling like a perfectionist, pushing up the pressure in getting the job done. I was left with a feeling of anxiety every time I went to work with a horse. I read “One with the Herd” which led me next to your book and related toit in…

Natural Horsemanship in the Grand Prix Ring – is there a link?

By Lindsey Forkun, www.LFEquestrian.com

Natural horsemanship is a training phenomenon that has been gaining popularity all over the world. Primarily it seems that mostly Western riders and pleasure riders are the ones to pick up this new technique, but what about the English and Jumper riders? What about in the Grand Prix Show Jumping…

I have a student I want to tell you about today because she has used my Method in an interesting way and it might help or inspire others to use it this way. To…

It started last Saturday. Although we’d had what seemed to be a quite successful session, with Brody circling much more consistently and in a more relaxed manner, I could see the first signs of annoyance during handgrazing afterwards. On Thursday, Brody had surprised me by responding to every “Aaaand UP!” by lifting his head from grazing and looking to me for the next direction. But now only…

Let's Talk Natural Horsemanship -

with Amy Millar, Stacey Westfall, McLain Ward, Leslie Howard, and more!

What are people saying about natural horsemanship? Does it have a place in the Grand Prix ring?

Grand Prix show jumpers like Amy Millar and Leslie Howard, reining champion Stacy…

Things are really moving with Brody! In a sometimes baffling, inconsistent way, but I’m enjoying the progress and trying to recognize Brody’s ideas and efforts to help me understand how to improve our communication.…

Once you have introduced your horse to a variety of things, it is important to try and give the objects a purpose or make them part of your play.

This is were you get to be creative and think of ways you can incorporate your ground and riding cues into challenging games that can test your communication, build confidence, and ultimately build a better…

This week Brody and I got back into a pretty steady routine of nightly play, and Brody seems happy about it. The other night I stayed up ‘til about midnight, and when I went to shut off the outside lights I could see him at the gate, peering through the back door at me! I went out a gave him a carrot. We’re having so much fun, I’m finding it hard to tear myself away from our sessions at the end of the…

Some horses are naturally braver than other, and some horses tend to be fairly skittish and flighty. Horses can become more confident when they are exposed to many different things – when they associate positive

experiences with the different objects/ environments.

Getting your horse to touch different objects is one way to build confidence. Provided the…

Let me explain what I mean about having natural leadership ability and the importance of this when working at liberty.…

After a hectic week and a couple days of rain, Brody and I were both ready for some playtime. Wanting to make the most of it, I popped in my “Level 2 On Line” DVD for some inspiration and heard Pat Parelli talking about the importance of fun, for both human and horse. It’s like he’d read my mind—working on various exercises had begun to feel like……

As a protective and great leader, it is also your job to provide a focus to your partnership. Everything you do should be because you provided that focus or goal. Your focus can be as simple as ‘lets graze’ or

more complex like ‘lets perform alternating flying lead changes.’

No matter what you choose for your focus, you need to know what you are doing, and your…

2. Protect Your Horse:

While protecting yourself and your space, you need to protect your horse. This means protecting your horse from any human, animal, or objects that could hurt him.

This responsibility starts as soon as you enter the paddock – you need to make sure that no other horse…

After 33 years of marriage, I decided to leave my husband in June of this year. We are still living together and our farm is up for sale so we can go our separate ways. This is why you have not heard from me for a while, it has been hell to say the least, and very hard on both of us. Sometimes people just grow apart and I realized that I wanted more out of our relationship than just being business partners. It has been the saddest and hardest decision of my life, but I feel a right and…