Natural Horsemanship on Your Trail Ride -What to Expect
Now that you know exactly what natural horsemanship is, you might be wondering how your experience will differ when you’re out on trail rides with us. You’ll notice some subtle differences from the moment we go to ‘catch’ the horse out in the field.
Natural horsemanship, different from the start
Instead of walking into a barn where horses are kept in stalls that don’t even give them enough room to turn around, all of our horses roam freely on 160 acres of untouched backcountry. We strive to simulate their natural environment as much as we can, and as a result our horses are happy to work with us. When they see us, they walk over to us freely, excited to head out on a trail ride.
But before we head out to the field, we will take careful consideration in matching you with the perfect horse. We always think about your level of experience, as well as the temperament of the horse. After the horse joins us, we’ll proceed to the arena to teach you about energetic communication. We’ll demonstrate pressure and release of pressure to encourage the horse to go in a particular direction, and show how gentle movements, intention and looking in the direction you want your horse to go is more than enough. With natural horsemanship, less is always more. Most importantly, we make sure you know how to view your horse as an extension of yourself, as opposed to your servant.
Respecting your horse and finding common ground
Horses are extremely intuitive beings, and as soon as the rider is able to demonstrate their ability to work with them, they can feel it. All of the communication brought forth by natural horsemanship is non-verbal, and in fact, you might be able to apply some of the things you learn to your everyday life. It’s about more than just going for a trail ride, it’s about understanding, compassion and the ability to connect. All things that we need to be more focused on in our day-to-day experience. We believe in natural horsemanship for so many reasons, but most importantly we believe it’s the example that needs to be set for the ethical treatment of animals in the industry. No longer is acceptable to work with brute force, or to encourage dominion over our animals. Now we know, there’s a better way.
Utilizing natural horsemanship means both horse and rider get a relaxed and enjoyable experience. You’ll go from being a passive rider, to an active participant, and isn’t that something that we all strive to do in our lives? When you really get down to it, we all want to take an active role in our own existence. We all want cooperation and understanding, because it’s those virtues that will truly lead us toward total harmony.
Our philosophy at the Campbell Hill’s Guest Ranch is simple; we want our natural horsemanship programs and trail rides to act as ambassadors for harmonious living. We believe that horses, humans and nature can all live together peacefully, and we want to show you how. Book a trail ride with us today and be well on your way to an experience that will last a lifetime.
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