Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler cowboy" to develop a rapport with horses, using methods said to be derived from observation of the natural behavior of free-roaming horses and rejecting abusive training methods.
Natural horsemanship practitioners often describe the approach as being a radical departure from "traditional" techniques, which are often portrayed as being based in the use of unnecessary force. Users and practitioners tend to relate benefits both in relation to the quasi-scientific narrative of the ethology of horse behavior, viewing the horse as "other", but also to the idea of an anthropomorphic partnership. High-profile practitioners of natural horsemanship such as Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli market their methods and equipment extensively through books, television appearances, live shows and other media. The natural horsemanship movement is controversial in the mainstream equestrian community, with criticism leveled at practitioners on a number of levels, while natural horsemanship advocates in turn are highly critical of more traditional methods. Natural horsemanship promoters face criticism that their techniques are not "new" and are classical concepts that are simply renamed or repackaged in order to be able to sell products and merchandise.
History
The idea of working in sympathy with a horse in order to obtain cooperation is not new, with documented instances as far back as the two part treatise On Horsemanship by Xenophon (c. 430 – 354 BCE), which amongst other points, emphasized operant conditioning and emphasized reassurance over punishment. Later classical dressage practitioners such as Antoine de Pluvinel (1555–1620 CE) and François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) also emphasized gentle techniques. However, gentle training methods have always had to compete with harsher methods, which often appear to obtain faster, but less predictable results. In particular, the cowboy tradition of the American west, where the economics of needing to break large numbers of semi-feral horses in a short period of time led to the development of a number of harsh training methods that the natural horsemanship movement specifically has set out to replace.
The modern natural horsemanship movement, though not originally described as such, developed primarily in the United States Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, where the "buckaroo" or vaquero-style cowboy tradition was the strongest. Brothers Tom and Bill Dorrance were early modern practitioners, who had background in the Great Basin buckaroo tradition. They had a particularly strong influence on Ray Hunt, who in turn became a significant influence upon Buck Brannaman. Many practitioners claim influence from the Dorrance brothers and Hunt, some having trained directly with these individuals. Other practitioners, such as Pat Parelli, came from the rodeo world.
In Europe a number of variations are practiced that developed independently of the American model, influenced by Spanish or Hungarian horsemanship traditions as well as the teachings of Classical dressage. Some include work rooted in the use of human body language to communicate effectively to the horse.
The growth in the modern acceptance of the techniques (and the growth in marketing of them) has been increasing since the 1970s, with initial slow growth accelerating through the 1980s and 1990s.
Nomenclature
The term "horse whispering" dates to nineteenth century Europe when an Irish horseman, Daniel "Horse-Whisperer" Sullivan (d. 1810), made a name for himself in England by rehabilitating horses that had become vicious and intractable due to abuse or accidental trauma. John Solomon Rarey, a nineteenth century American trainer, was summoned to Windsor Castle in 1852 by Queen Victoria to demonstrate his Rarey technique on her wildest horses. Some natural horsemanship practitioners do not use the term "horse whisperer" to describe themselves, and some horse trainers dislike the "horse whispering" moniker to the extent that they openly ask that the term not be applied to them.