natural horsemanship

Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler cowboy" to develop a rapport with horses, using methods said to be derived from observation of the natural behavior of free-roaming horses and rejecting abusive training methods. Natural horsemanship practitioners often describe the approach as being a radical departure from "traditional" techniques, which are often portrayed as being based in the use of unnecessary force. Users and practitioners tend to relate benefits both in relation to the quasi-scientific narrative of the ethology of horse behavior, viewing the horse as "other", but also to ...