Magical beginnings...the joys of learning natural horsemanship

Sierra enjoyed her first natural horsemanship lesson this week...and it was really quite magical.

Enjoying just being close and observing Firefly...

Relationships between horse and rider are a form of true beauty and I really appreciate the fact that these lessons aren't just about learning to ride. These lessons are about learning to care for your horse, learning to build a special relationship with your horse, learning patience and give and take and working towards building a wonderful partnership between horse and rider.

Credit for this photo to Sierra :)

"The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire."

- Sharon Ralls Lemon

Waiting to meet Prince...

Approaching Firefly with care; calmly so not to scare him

Learning to let the horse come to you

Checking Prince's hoof for damaging stones

Learning to lead...giving your pony lots of room to follow you

"A horse doesn't care how much you know until he knows how much you care.  Put your hand on your horse and your heart in your hand."

- Pat Parelli

Don't they look like best friends already? Old souls reunited...

"A horse will never tire of a rider who possesses both tact and sensitivity because he will never be pushed beyond his possibilities."

- Nuno Oliveira

Learning how to play protect the herd

Using the barrels to practice balance and muscle control

 

 

Playing musical barrels

A Huge thank you to Laura at Country Spaces Studio for a wonderful lesson...full of many lessons. Who would have thought that a riding lesson without riding could have been so fun?

 

Essence (of horsemanship) : a poem by Horse Poet

A Majesty
Not contained
By force,
But directed
By silence

An Elegance
Not gained
By control,
But grown
By subtlety

A Purity
Not made
By hands,
But found
By perceiving

A Presence
Not seen
By eyes,
But imagined
By feeling

A Language
Not written
By man
But understood
By listening

(I'm breaking a rule as I try to catch up on the blog. I'm getting further and further behind so now I will work from the present backwards until I catch up as life is sweeping by so fast with all our new adventures and I want to document our adventures as they happen)