Empowered Horses: Learning Their Way Through Independence, Self-Confidence, and Creative Play

With illuminating text, this study explains why it is necessary for riders to carefully build a relationship that eliminates the traditional rider-as-oppressor dynamic and instead empowers the horse to behave as an individual. To begin achieving this relationship, riders learn to transform a horse s work space into free space by giving their horse choices; by understanding how horses live and prefer to spend their time; by observing, sensing, and reflecting with the horse; and by using visual language to win the horse s friendship. The result is a surprising dialogue with the horse that yields an indomitable partnership unparalleled improvement in the horse s attitude, health, balance, and movement, as well as mutual enjoyment of what was once the often dull, frustrating grind of daily training lessons.