What is Natural Horsemanship?

Wikipedia describes Natural Horsemanship as:

"Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd mentality. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses."

While many practitioners use the term, Pat Parelli coined the phrase to describe the knowledge and techniques he gained from studying with horsemen such as Troy Henry and Tom & Bill Dorrance. Please see the Parelli website for more information.

My idea of Natural Horsemanship is that it is a way for people to learn how to interact with horses in a way that horses understand. It is not about "making" horses do what we want, using bigger bits and harsher techniques to force them into compliance. It is about developing a relationship between horse and human that is satisfying for both, that is based on trust, communication, and understanding. The results, from pet horse through to Olympic competitor, speak for themselves. Horses that offer to do what we want them to do, and humans who put the horses' dignity and welfare before competition goals. Having your horse trust in your leadership enough to go somewhere that it fears, or to choose to spend time with you, is an amazing feeling. Once we learn to look to ourselves for the answers to our "problems" instead of blaming the horse for responding like a horse instead of a human, then problems start disappearing. I could ramble for hours, but I'd run out space!