To get off to the best start with your horse, I like what Karine Vandenborre from Horsefulness Training<\/a> offers. Being a good leader or partner to your horse is one of the most important things to develop and her tips are a good reminder that leadership is indeed a partnership!<\/strong><\/p>\n This makes total sense, and in this article, Karine explains how to:<\/p>\n Karine also offers 2 free e-books<\/strong> as a place to start your journey, and her online courses are very popular. Read the full article here.\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Another inspiring teacher I’ve followed in her journey to take a mustang and train her at liberty without tools<\/strong> of any kind, is Elsa Sinclair.<\/p>\n In her article ‘Love it or Change it’<\/a><\/strong> Elsa writes a detailed account of what training means to her, and how she gains both freedom and connection with her horses.<\/p>\n She says: “We all, horses and people alike, instinctively reach for freedom. Freedom is our ability to be unique and individual<\/strong> and reach out to live a life that suits us” \u00a0and “Training is also part of everyday life because training is simply the development of habits. I believe habits form regardless of intention, and, if we can be conscious, then we can form the habits that may serve us.”<\/p>\n Elsa’s Equine Clarity blog<\/strong> has so many great posts that I’m hoping one day her writing will be turned into a book for there is so much to read and learn here. Her movie Taming Wild<\/a>\u00a0is very inspiring to watch and beautifully filmed and available as a download.<\/strong> Another of my favorite blogs is from Jini Patel Thompson and her daughter Kesia, who share very thought-provoking posts about horse care and horsemanship.<\/strong> If you read the comments at the end of the review<\/a>, you will also come across Jini’s recommendations for books and articles<\/strong> to read about better ways to be with horses. Again there are so many great posts to read on this blog, I’m sure you will never run out of inspiration.<\/p>\n As far as training techniques go, I prefer those based on positive reinforcement,<\/strong> and the Hippologic blog<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>fits this category beautifully. Sandra Poppema posts many great training tips that are so very helpful whether you’re into clicker training or not. This is such a great guide for all aspects of training. Her example of lining up to a mounting block<\/strong> helps you see the steps in an everyday situation, and is an easy exercise to start with on the ground. The video takes it a step further showing how to do it at liberty as well.<\/p>\n Sandra says: “This is the general \u2018recipe\u2019 I use in teaching my horse new behaviors<\/strong>. You don\u2019t have to use positive reinforcement training to use this in your training.”<\/p>\n Learn how to teach your horse anything here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n For reflective inspiration with a real moral stance, I look forward to reading the musings of Anna Blake in her Relaxed and Forward blog<\/a> which she describes as a horse\/life blog.<\/strong><\/p>\n Again there are so many great stories here you could collate them into a book, and indeed that’s what Anna has done in her two books, Stable Relation<\/a> and Relaxed and Forward<\/a>.<\/p>\n In amongst the weekly photo challenges (very entertaining) and reflections on life with horses, there is plenty of training advice<\/strong> that comes from Anna’s many years in the saddle, both as a ‘cowgirl’ and ‘dressage rider’. She regularly instructs riders and rescues horses, donkey’s goats, and dogs.<\/p>\n One of the posts I enjoyed reading is Admitting You’re Wrong<\/strong> where Anna says “So much about good horsemanship is perception gained from hindsight<\/strong>\u2013the other side of the experience. Needing right-ness narrows that view and chokes down the opportunity for learning. And for those of us with insecurities, needing right-ness about our own shortcomings might be the most limiting thing of all.<\/strong>”<\/p>\n In Reciprocity: A Softer Ask, A Softer Bend<\/strong>\u00a0Anna poses: “Of course riding well is a challenge. It\u2019s addictive and frustrating<\/strong> and sometimes counter-intuitive. It involves an outlandish level of control of own our body, which is easy to confuse for trying to control the horse\u2019s body.\u00a0Then some loud-mouthed trainer (me) says, \u201cBreathe, let it be simple<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong> Like there was even one easy thing about simple<\/em>.” and concludes with “Reciprocity is the true name of all horses and it\u2019s a sweet place, riding on the kind side.<\/strong>”<\/p>\n While I’m not a dressage rider, I do love the way Karen Rohlf<\/a> trains her horses and writes so much about horsemanship and horse behavior in general. Karen’s weekly emails feature many helpful tips on horse and human training that are relevant no matter what form of riding you do. I hope this gives you some insight into the type\u00a0of horsemanship<\/a> I follow and enjoy reading about. I’d love to hear of other blogs you have found helpful and inspiring too.\u00a0Please add their links in the comments below so we can all take a peek and learn more.<\/p>\n And remember to get my news and views first, subscribe to my blog (at the top of this page), and share this so your friends can enjoy more good reading too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There is so much advice available online that it’s sometimes hard to know which horsemanship blogs to follow. I subscribe to quite a few and these are some of my favorites for working ‘with’ horses using methods that are generally positive and considerate of the horse’s needs and feelings. To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thinkrank_schema_form_data":"","_thinkrank_selected_schema_type":"","_thinkrank_additional_schemas":"","_thinkrank_canonical_url":"","_thinkrank_og_title":"","_thinkrank_og_description":"","_thinkrank_og_image":"","_thinkrank_twitter_title":"","_thinkrank_twitter_description":"","_thinkrank_twitter_image":"","_thinkrank_imported_from":"yoast","_thinkrank_focus_keywords":["horsemanship blogs"],"_thinkrank_focus_keyword":"horsemanship 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Tips for natural leadership<\/h3>\n
![\"Karine](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/KarineVandenborre-300x284.jpg\" "\\"My")
Karine says: “When you are together with your horse, during the daily interactions or during training you can talk about a \u201cherd of 2\u201d <\/strong>and just like in a real herd someone has to take the lead\u2026.<\/strong>” but “Only when both may and can lead, both human and horse, you can speak of partnership.”<\/p>\n\n
Freedom Based Training<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ci6.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/ksiyhZa220h5r7vqkM-reGOEzcfdNmRVzQJ1j4pO8a1MnHV-6545-iBbLW34rWyiYuEGi-QeoFyDg8QTJSwr2V5giEZvk_k1eV40NoNwiojeS3V3sTe_AS8=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/equineclarity.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/06\/e0a7857.jpg?w=560\" "\\"My")
\nTo learn more about Freedom based Training, Elsa runs online <\/a>classes where<\/strong> you can take part in live Foundation and Confidence courses.<\/p>\nListen To Your Horse<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.listentoyourhorse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/jini-zorra.jpg\" "\\"My")
\nJini has reviewed Taming Wild<\/a><\/strong> and brings up a debate on the topic of ‘choice’ – she\u00a0asks “Is true choice even possible?” and “So now we\u2019re back to the question of how much choice is really present during manipulative training techniques<\/a>?<\/strong>\u00a0Much as I am drawn to and open to the possibility that true choice could exist, I also feel the pressure of preparing my horses to be functional in captivity. And I too have been unable to bypass that default.”<\/p>\nHippologic – 100% Horse Approved<\/h3>\n
\nThis post gives you a sample of her teaching style and it’s a great place to start.<\/p>\nHow To Teach Your Horse Anything<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hippologic.files.wordpress.com\/2016\/04\/mountainblock_hippologic.jpg?w=540\" "\\"My")
\nSandra shows how once you have your goal, a\u00a0plan is laid out in logical steps<\/strong> so you can focus on what you need to do, and how you’re going to do it.
\nThen the stages of learning and practicing are explained, with a video added to give you the visual picture.<\/p>\nRelaxed and Forward<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/annablakeblog.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/eyeblog.jpg?w=640\" "\\"My")
![\"Karen](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/KarenRohlf-400x262.jpg\" "\\"My")
Dressage Naturally<\/h3>\n
\nHer goal is to help you create a happy athlete and you can read her ‘seriously light-hearted musings’ in her blog<\/a>.<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h3>\n
\nThe other reading I do is books – lots of them, and if you want to see what I recommend for horsemanship and training,<\/strong> check out those on the shelf in my store here<\/a> and my book reviews here<\/a>.<\/p>\n