Natural Horsemanship

6657 Kimesville Road | Liberty, NC | 27298 | (336) 565-9723

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." Sir Winston Churchill

While this quote has much truth that has proven itself over the years, it is not complete. For there is something about the inside of a horse that is good for the heart of a man, too. It is getting into a lasting, encouraging relationship with your horse (the inside of your horse) that makes working with horses so rewarding. Many people can physically force (whether through abuse or bribery) a horse to preform a certain physical action. But you cannot gain your horse's full trust and confidence until you have invested in and built a good relationship with it. And then, when you totally give yourself to your horse and its good, your horse will totally give you everything it has, even when it is terrified, uncertain, or unsure. The goal of natural horsemanship is to connect and bond with your horse to build and maintain a positive, rewarding, and lasting relationship for both horse and human.

Many of Kopper Top's horses have been donated over the years, and we have been blessed to receive many well-trained, solid, steady horses that work well in our therapy program with children and adults with and without disabilities. Kopper Top has always been blessed to have a good core of horses to work with. However, in the fall of 2006, after attending our first Pat Parelli Natural Horsemanship conference, Kopper Top decided to "go natural." This was a new idea to most of the volunteers and staff, who came back and "invented" their own carrot stick with the end of a broken whip, a long dog tie-out leash, and duct tape. That was our first carrot stick. We are very grateful to the companies who have donated wonderful, high-quality REAL natural horsemanship equipment for our horses (although we are still proud of our first carrot stick:-)).

Now, four years later, as we look back over the long, sometimes tedious process, we are amazed at how well it works. Because of the nature of our program, our horses are not always handled by one particular person, so we have had to adapt miscellaneous natural horsemanship methods to work best with our farm. But the underlying concepts are the same: gain the horse's trust and confidence, and the horse will do anything for you. Communicate with the horse how horses communicate with each other, versus how humans communicate with each other. We watched our calm, well-behaved horses become even more loving, docile, and willing as we spent time with them and taught them Parelli's 7 Games. The difference is amazing. As we get new horses in, or watch other horses trained and handled "the traditional way" we are continually amazed at JUST HOW WELL natural horsemanship works.

Truly relationships are one of the most important, rewarding aspects of life. If one is to invest much time, effort, and money into horses, why not do it the natural way? Yes, natural horsemanship is not always easy. It requires a lot of time, effort, and much, much patience. It is not about expecting immediate outward physical actions. It is about gaining the horse's heart. But in the end, the results of natural horsemanship will be powerful, long-lasting, and satisfying. At Kopper Top, our horses are living proof to us that natural horsemanship works!

(For more information about natural horsemanship or to purchase natural horsemanship equipment, check out www.HorseFriendly.com!)