23rd July, 2008 Your Horse, your horse a kingdom for ....

The first of my answers has appeared in Your Horse magazine - August edition. At first I thought I was going to be the horse sex therapist as a question about a riggy gelding was quickly followed by one about lusty mares! The one they've published was about horse match-making; about as complex as human match making.

I suppose I get three different types of owners contacting me: those who are keen to explore an alternative form of horsemanship away from any violence and based on the horse's own psychology and body language; those who are already experimenting with different types of horsemanship from Parelli through to clicker training; and those who want me to fix a definite problem for them. This last category can be the most tricky given that there is often no quick fix and there sometimes has to be a real shift in mindset before lasting progress can be made - the work I do does have to carry on after I've left and the horse needs to me consistency in patience and technique. Nevertheless it isn't absolutely essential for someone to buy in to the whole of Intelligent Horsemanship and to take it to the nth degree for the work to make a significant difference to their horse. I like to leave the key concepts of prey/predator and pressure and release which form the solid basis of all the work I do. Even for someone wanting to really dive in, they dont need more than a handful of visits to get a really comfortable relationship with their horse and to have covered the key areas: groundwork; de-sensitization; long reining and basic ridden work. Techniques such as foot handling, dealing with head shyness or other quirky problems can be covered on the way. Loading or handling untouched ponies rarely take more than a couple of visits providing the owner is confident to carry on in the same way. For those who have all the basics already there, fine tuning can be useful as can sorting the myth from reality - which body language is really mirroring what the horse would meet in the wild and which is simply a cue. The first doesn't have to be translated by the horse and provides constant communication with the horse - the second does and can allow the horse to switch off between cues. I am happy to have a debate about all horsemanship and only ask that the owner keeps an open mind. It is in the nature of my work that I have to prove myself to every new owner and horse that I meet.

For me, Intelligent Horsemanship was like discovering a new musical artist and then finding that they had a huge back catalogue to wander through and loads of collaborations with other artists. Sort of Peter Gabriel back to his Genesis days and then connections with World of Music Arts and Dance. I like the purity of sound in Kelly's work with it's deep rooted Monty influences and yet I also like the harmonies behind Mark Rashid and Perry Wood and .... oh, you get it, I'm trying to be profound. I've been told I ought to write a book but am afraid to solidify my ideas at this stage - would I be nailed to them for evermore? I also think there is nothing new to say in horsemanship just different ways of saying it. I would urge people to beware of labels such as softness and lightness and to make sure that the actual horsemanship does what it says on the tin.

I could do with a tangent at the moment.....any ideas?