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Ever since I was tiny I have always been obsessed with horses. Driving through the countryside as a child I knew EVERY field that had horses in. By the age of 7 I was on the back of a pony riding often. I've never been about competing and shows although I have taken part in a few here and there.
For me it has always been about being around such a calming animal, an animal that knows how to be in the moment and has such a calming influence.
As time has gone by over the years I have really questioned the ethics of traditional horse riding, do bits hurt? Why do we "have" to whip a horse if it doesn't want to go? Why do we have to use escalating pressure in order to work with such a big animal? Surely getting into a who is stronger battle with an animal so much bigger than ourselves is stupid? So I slowly drifted away from riding and although I would still ride here and there this always bothered me in the back of my mind.
Recently I happened upon an instagram account (playlovelearn.se) of a vegan who owned horses and had trained them entirely force free to perform some AMAZING movements showing strength and willingness. This opened the flood gates of knowledge, its safe to say I fell down a rabbit hole and I've not stopped reading, studying since. I now have an entire library on humane science based training and really feel the need to let people know that this type of training exists, a type of training where the horse can consent to be ridden a type of training where the horse has a choice in participation and will not be forced to endure pain so that we can get what we want. Where we work as a team and they have a choice in if they participate or not.
In another 2 months time I will be in my new home and hopefully have some horses to share the space with we will be working in a natural and force free way to watch this space. Anyone who is interested and wants to know more please do not hesitate to ask.
So there we have it, horses have and always will be my favourite hobby, learning about how to work with them ethically has really improved my journey and I hope that even if this little blog reaches ONE person who likes horses and gets you thinking I highly recommend starting with thewillingequine on instagram and reading from there.
Love and hugs
Nanci
xox
@missy @rambo
