What is natural riding?
natural riding is a discipline of horse training, which believes that coaches should work with horses, use the softness, body language and confidence in establishing a relationship, rather than against horses, with brute force. Many people work in natural riding, develop their own personal styles and pass them on to the riders and the horses they work with. A common fiber among coaches who seem to have radically different techniques of natural riding is that they are fighting with the horse a friendly relationship, rather than contradictory or tense. Coaches believe that natural riding techniques result in a calm and pleasant horse that cooperates with their rider in partnership. Emphasis is placed on the body language, which is used as a communication unification tool of horses from a very young age. Although people cannot accurately replicate the language of horses, they may be aware of the location of their bodies in relation to the horse. In addition, communication through the eyes and tone of voice is an important part of natural riding.
Strengthening is the key to natural riding. Horses receive a positive reinforcement for the task that is done correctly. In addition, the coach will use a fine, solid but not hard pressure as a negative reinforcement tool. For example, if the coach wants the horse to move to the right, he could fix his hand on the left shoulder of the horse and exert pressure until the horse moves, at this point the pressure stops. The horse learned that the negative situation, in this case pressure, stops as soon as the horse is satisfied. Learn how and when to apply pressure as a training tool is an important part of the natural rider, so the pressure is never used as a punishment.
by studying horses behavior, coaches can rely on behavior training to teach horses, rather than strength that tends to keep the relationship between the horse and the rider. By strengthening the desired behavior, the coach hopes to lead horses, encourage the right action and will be demanding behavior. BecauseIt is slower than the traditional “violation” of horses training methods, natural riding requires patience and positive attitude by the coach and rider. However, many follow -up techniques believe that hard work is worth it.