TRUhorsemanship
TRUhorsemanship comes from my belief that Trust, Respect, and Understanding are fundamental elements in working with the horse. Not only do we need to develop these things in our horses, but we also need to develop these things in ourselves. We will never develop a horse beyond our own abilities. We can take a young, inexperienced horse to great levels, in short order, if we are skilled enough. We can also take a horse with great training down to the behavior of a barn sour, poorly trained horse if we are lacking in Trust, Respect, and Understanding of the horse.
The philosophy of "natural horsemanship" has long been my pursuit - understanding it to be simply working with the horse's natural instinct. We must learn the nature of horses, then work with them within the instincts that God gave them. It is amazing that a prey animal would allow a predator around at all, let alone completely give himself over to the predator's control. This is the basis of many problems people have with horses; if the person has not earned that level of trust from the horse, the horse will rely on it's own judgment instead.