As the horizon rises to meet the sun slipping behind cloud into evening, I ascend the hill behind the house with my equine friend. The other two horses are already snacking on the soft straw covering the level section where we arrive. Looking down, the valley opens green and inviting before rising to the small white village perched on a hill at its extremity. In a time of faceless death, this is a soothing exit. Pip seems to be ready. Within minutes I am cradling the head of my dying mare, whispering reassurances to the friend I am wrenching away. The growing emptiness is vast and heavy. I choke on my tears. Enough self-indulgence. I bend my lips to Pip’s brow and thank her for all the joy that she has shared with me. How fortunate I am to know such pain for without it there could have been no joy.
Pip and the Pain of Joy
May 16th, 2020 by Andrew
Do We Know the Physiological Horse?
May 8th, 2020 by Andrew
There is a tendency amongst some humans to romanticise the wild. Let us resist the temptation, for the wild can be a hard, uncompromising place. We may also want to bear in mind that the truly wild horse is extinct. All the horses that currently live in the wild are actually feral. This is to say that they or their ancestors used to live in captivity, if only briefly, as in the case of the Przewalski horses. This may appear to be a shortcoming, a detraction from what might otherwise have been a living historical record of horses that are truly wild. And perhaps it is.
Tags: horses, humans, physiology
The Horse-Human Relationship: Control or Choice?
Apr 23rd, 2020 by Andrew
Around the world there is a growing tide of humans in search of a new way of being with horses, one that is in tune with their needs and requirements as equines and which also contributes to their psychological and emotional well-being. No longer are these humans prepared to accept conventional horsemanship’s insistence on horse care and training regimes which are utterly opposed to the horse’s intrinsic nature as a fellow sentient and cognitive being, and a highly sensitive and sociable one at that. As far as possible these humans seek to keep their horses in conditions which are in line with their understanding of the nature of the horse. Continue Reading »
Being Human(s) for Horses
Apr 5th, 2020 by Andrew
After several years of writing and reflection, I have just finished the first draft of Being Human(s) for Horses. This is the book that I was meant to write about horses. The others are simply meaningful milestones along the way. If all goes according to plan, it will be published in the northern hemisphere summer.
Tags: Being Human(s) for Horses, horses, humans, Pip
Equine Bodywork and the Challenge of Choice
Feb 19th, 2020 by Andrew
So what could happen if a horse encounters pain in the course of an equine bodywork session in which you are the practitioner and the horse is not restrained in any way whatsoever, meaning they have a choice? What is the horse likely to do? Stay or walk away? What would you be more inclined to do or refrain from doing? And perhaps more importantly, why would you even consider an equine bodywork session without any restraint on a horse with whom you have only conducted two previous sessions, during which they have clearly shown that they are experiencing pain while restrained with a halter and a lead rope held by another experienced bodywork practitioner? Why present the horse and yourself with the challenge of choice?
Tags: Anaïs, Equine Touch, Farinelli, Gulliver, horses, humans, Pip
-
Available Now!
We know so much about horses but have such little understanding of the horse. Understanding the horse’s nature allows us to pursue choice rather than control, connection instead of coercion, communication as opposed to conditioning. This is a reality that I now experience with my own horses. A path to the horse is open to all of us. Simply discover the power of being with horses. Is it not time to be fully human … for them, for ourselves?
Order here:
- E-books: Kindle, Apple, Barnes & Noble
I have learned to listen to horses speak through their movements, their expressions and ultimately their energy along with much that has been recorded about them. Listening to horses speak has changed my life and taught me a great deal. This book contains a little of what I have learned from horses while listening to them speak. And much of it is startlingly different from what we take for granted.
Order here:
- All formats including Kindle
Urgently in need of a meaningful change of life, a man decides to cross the world together with his wife, a horse and a dog to spend a year training full-time with Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling , arguably the most popular horse trainer in the world based on social media statistics. He expects it to be life-changing. It is. These are his reflections.
Order here:
- All formats including Kindle
Archives
Tags
2Moons Anaïs Being body awareness Carolyn Resnick Chuck Mintzlaff Corroboree Equus dog dogs Dubu education Emile Voest energy Equine Touch Eva Roemaat Farinelli followership friendship Frédéric Pignon Gulliver health care horses humans Imke Spilker intuition Jasmijn Wauters Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling leadership liberty Linda Kohanov lungeing magical connection Mark Rashid Michael Bevilacqua natural horsemanship Nevzorov Noora Ehnqvist Petra Vlasblom Pip riding spiritual awareness The Smudge true connection trust vetSearch