Horsemanship
‘Horsemanship’ means the art or skill of caring for and riding horses.

So accordingly, I define good and natural horsemanship as “the care, training, and riding of horses in harmony with their natural behavior, diet, movement, and physical wellbeing.”
This means that someone truly practicing good and natural horsemanship will be doing the following things:
- They will understand or be learning about horse psychology and social systems (ethology).
- They will provide a herd situation for the horses to live in – other equine companions they can touch (no isolation from others), with natural breeding and weaning practices.
- They will keep the horse in as large an area as possible for most of the time with access to shelter from all types of weather – no constant stabling, small paddocks, or confinement to yards for more than a couple of hours at a time unless absolutely necessary (eg. severe injury).
- They will be feeding a varied diet of horse suitable (low sugar) grass, hay, and grain (when required) with correct mineral supplementation to balance any deficiencies – including providing salt at all times.
- They will care for their hooves with barefoot trimming and/or enough movement to self-trim, and using hoof boots when protection is needed – no metal horseshoes!
- They will provide appropriate veterinary treatment, including worming on a regular basis as required for the man-made environment they must live in.
- They will train/educate the horse in a compassionate, respectful way that gives them confidence and allows them to move freely as nature intended – no bits, spurs, other equipment, or methods that compromise the horse’s ability to perform at their best.
To find horsemanship programs I recommend please read the post ‘How Can I Learn Better Horsemanship?’
The following articles explore aspects of training and riding horses while their care is covered under the Horse Care menu at the top of this page.
Horsemanship Articles


















Inspiration - Mutual Trust Friendship Training https://www.friendshiptraining.org More information available from: naturalhorse101@aol.com Charles H. (Chuck) Mintzlaff
Inspiration - Nirvana – a Rocky Mountain horse showing his reportiore – looks like a nice combination of Parelli and Nevzarov. His owner Laurie Neron lives in Quebec, Canada and is a photographer who says she has been inspired by Parelli, Nevzarov, Monty Roberts and others.






New Online Magazine - A seed was planted about 9 months ago to develop an online publication that brings like minded horse people, trainers, therapists, artists and self development coaches together to help “Change the conversation we have with our horses” and hopefully improve the conversations we have with ourselves. Mindset is everything when it comes to horses and [...]

