The Art of Natural Dressage

Hello everybody!

I will start to apologize for my english writing, i try my best, but it's not perfect.

having said that, i'll introduce myself properly.

I'm Martine, i live in Utrecht, Holland. I'm 24 years old and i've been riding horses since i was 10 years old.
At this moment i'm finishing (or at least trying to) my master Ethology and welfare. This means i have a lot to do with the welfare of all sorts of animals. through my study i came in cntact with 'Natural horsemanship' and all the trainingsmetods linked to it. Friends of mine are much futher in this method of training (one of them is Mies ) and i am now trying to learn as much and as fast as possible.

I don't own a horse, but i help care for one. I'll call him S. S is a 16year old ex-male (i 'don't know what you call that in english ) and he has aways been riden in the way most people consider the right way. His new owner is more into NH an AND, therefore S needs to learn a lot. Because S, his owner and I are relatively new to NH and AND, we can use all the help we can get.







S does not know how to play very well and i do not know exactly how to get him to play. so all tips and tricks are very welcome. from there on we'll see what comes next. frist things first.

One other problem is that S in now walking on the living part of his hooves, so we can only do excersises on soft underground. his hooves wear down very easily and i'm wondering if there are tricks to make his hooves stronger or we should cut his hooves in a different way.

I don't know what else i should write, but if you have further questions about me or S, don't hesitate to ask them

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day by day, we'll get there

Welcome, Martine!

Great that you have joined us and so nice that you have friends who work with their horses in ways that are similar to what you are doing. Mies has a very interesting diary here on the forum and I am also very curious to read about your interaction with S. If you have photos or videos, you can also post them of course.

By the way, I had to smile when I was activation your account, because I often call my Shetland pony Pia Pientje.

Best wishes,
Romy

Jeej! Welcome Pien!!!!

So cool to meet you here, looking forward to your stories. You and S are soo cool together, I really enjoyed visiting you guys last Monday. I'm sure you'll take great leaps forward together. Will you start a diary too? S is such a character, completely the opposite of Miss B.

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A good rider can hear his horse speak to him. A great rider can hear his horse whisper.

Welcome Martine,
So glad you joined us and what a stunning horse you get to work with. I am sure you will find lots of information and ideas here to help you on your path. I would like to advise lots of cuddling and scratching and hanging out with your "gelding" (ex-male horse ). Try not to think of doing anything and just enjoy each others company. He will soon start to try and tell you things and before long you will have a conversation going and then you can play and train.
I am looking forward to reading your diary

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Annette O'Sullivan

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. - John Lennon

Welcome here, Martine!

S is a very beautiful horse!

I look forward to reading more about you and S.

Cyndi

Yes, he is a gorgeous horse! I agree, just live in the moment with S and whatever happens, happens. However, I do need a program for the day but I never do it. Example today, I was supposed to do some flexions with Magik. The horses were outside and it was very windy. So I changed my plans and decided to play with them instead. I was chasing them away and then they would come running back to me. So I really didn't get any "work" done. I guess they did the flexions on their own term

You will learn alot thru this forum, I would suggest you also take your time here enjoy!!!

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Jocelyne
[Hug your animals everyday. You never know!