The Art of Natural Dressage

When i found this website i literally sighed a breathe of relief...i have found what i have been looking for!

My name is Andrea and i am originally from Cornwall in the UK, my husband Chris and I moved to Costa Rica 10 years ago on Christmas day and let the universe lead us into the best life adventure ever. Life is good.

To cut a long story short, we set about rescuing horses and opened a horse trekking centre based on natural principles called Discovery Horse Tours. It has been our lives mission to show that working horses can be treated with respect and dignity and have the chance to say NO. So far we have been wonderfully blessed and are voted the No 1 horse tour in Costa Rica.

Originally i was an awfully traditional and abusive rider (i.e a normal UK rider who didn't know any better) then i found Monty Roberts and Parelli. Whilst these systems may also have there own unique set of questionable issues i will be forever grateful for the bridge they provided me and my horses from the traditional world to where i find myself today which is mostly liberty and clicker training.

Liberty is my passion and all my horses love it! i use clicker training to bring back the try and the yes in the rescues and it works great. I see them go from horses that won't even look at me, to horses that lean on the gate to get out when it is there turn to play.

I have have been concerned with making sure our horses bodies are kept in the best possible shape for the work they do. My grand plan is to win the lottery and retire them all , but in the mean time, to keep them safe and healthy in the very "aggressive and abusive" horse culture that we find here in Costa Rica, we continue with the trekking as selling them on is not an option, they are our family. But profits will never come before our horses welfare.

On the tour our horses never get ridden for more than 45 mins at a time, all are bitless and barefoot; we have set the rides up around waterfalls and swimming in the ocean (without the horses) so that the horses get a one hour break. Our tours are a total of 2.5 hours, 1.5 hour riding which is split in 2 x 45 mins and 1 hour break in the middle at the waterfalls whilst the horses rest). This has worked great and along with body work we have kept the horses in good shape.

We are in the unique position that lets us spread a message about the sensitivity and intelligence of the horse. Many of our clients are first time riders, which is great, as their first introduction is so far removed from the old "Kick to go and yank to stop" , they are taught about riding with your breath and your body and putting the horses dignity first.

Everything that i have found on this forum is going to help us continue our quest to make sure that working horses are not treated like machines. i want to make sure that the horses continue to be supple and strong and have fun, so here i am.

The ground work exercises are wonderful and i know that we will have so much fun playing with them.

My aim on joining is to read, learn, judge no one, absorb knowledge, and join in with the spirit of Pura Vida, (this is the phrase that sums up Costa Rica...the literal translation is Pura Vida) Andrea x http://www.horseridecostarica.com

Welcome, Andrea!

So great that you have joined us and your work with your horses sounds wonderful. I think it's amazing that you can reach so many people in this way, and give them the chance to see what interacting with horses can be like. And I also think it's a wonderful opportunity to work with working horses and find ways to make their work fun for them. I am very much looking forward to learning from your experiences.

Best wishes,
Romy

Welcome Andrea!

Your life and work sound just lovely.

Thanks for the welcome! I meant to say the literal translation of Pura Vida is Pure Life! Excited to continue my learning journey here on the forum.

Welcome Andrea!

It sounds like you are doing a very admirable thing and it's so great that you can make a living from respectful work with horses. That's indeed a rarity.
I have been on horse treks in several countries who pride themselves on very old horse riding traditions. But that was before I had my own horse and now I couldn't think of doing those treks again, because I couldn't use those lovely horses in the way we did. The handling wasn't bad, but much much harsher than I'd like nowadays.
So I think showing that respectful handling is possible in daily work with horses, is a great way to spread a positive sentiment. After all, your clients are all potential future horse owners .

_________________
Volker

The horse owes us nothing.

Thank you, i know most horse places are slave trails indeed. We are also lucky enough to host wonderfully enlightened riders down here for week long riding vacations including clinics. It is great as many people learn a new way of being with their own horses too. I love my work and my horses. I am very lucky.

Hello Andrea, what a wonderful life you have! Just the fact that you are saving so many horses in the process and living in Costa Rica,WOW! If ever I decide to take a vacation, I'll consider Costa Rica for sure. I'm not into Parelli but I do love c.t. So I will enjoy playing with your horses.

Hope to meet you one day!

Jocelyne

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Jocelyne
[Hug your animals everyday. You never know!

Thanks, we would love to meet you down here. We are heading more towards the Positive Reinforcement now, but this years agenda was already made last year.

I incorporate clicker into all my training PNH or free style liberty, at the clinics too! I love Positive reinforcement. Parelli was a great bridge for me into this world but i am finding happier horses with clicker.

I absolutely agree. I had to stop Parelli with my t-b. He was way too sensitive. But with c.t. and working at liberty, my relationship changed almost immediately.

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Jocelyne
[Hug your animals everyday. You never know!

Great isn't it.

HI Andrea!!!
<3 Bridget

Welcome, we've got the same thoughts about horses.