Hey there lovely reader and fellow horse enthusiast! As you read through my blog and become more familiar with my approach to horsemanship, you may notice a common theme. And that theme is that I am always encouraging my fellow equestrians to expand their horizons by seeking new knowledge and perspectives. Of course, first and foremost we are forever students of life and of the horses. But there are many educational horsemanship resources out there to accompany our experiential learning as well. In fact, there is A TON of it! So much so that it can even be a bit overwhelming to know where to start. Or to know if the advice you are learning from is aligned with your values as a horsewoman or horseman. If you are following the Artful Equus Blog though, then you probably appreciate the perspective I offer.
So, I have selected a few equine professionals who I would like to highlight, whose perspectives and practices I feel encompass what I personally value most in my own horsemanship practice. Compassionate and ethical horsemanship being at the heart of those values. I am also all about offering new and different view points. Not only do I encourage my readers and students to approach horses with a perspective of “how can I work harmoniously with my horse?” rather than a “what can this horse do for me?” kind of perspective, but I also feel that learning from multiple teachers is a great way to gain powerful new view points and inspiration. And so, the following list is made up of fellow heart lead and scientifically informed professionals, whose educational offerings I feel are highly valuable to any equestrian or horse owner.
Warwick Schiller – Warwick’s approach is a beautiful balance of the practical and creative sides of horsemanship. He also offers the Journey On podcast, which is not specifically about horsemanship, but presents a wide range of out of the box concepts that can be beneficially applied to both our horsemanship practices and our everyday lives with a focus on personal and collective growth.
Lockie Phillips – Lockie truly taps into the art & science of emotion (of both horse and human) and how these understandings can be applied to an effective and kind horsemanship practice. Truth is timeless, and Lockie does a great job of creatively and intuitively balancing what has and continues to work from the past, with new and emerging practices based on scientific, empathetic, and empirical understanding.
Shelby Dennis – Shelby is doing the great, yet often times difficult, work of illuminating the areas of horsemanship that we are now beginning to recognize are doing more harm than good to our horses. She focuses quite a bit high level competition and is an advocate for updating policy based on evolving knowledge of equine sciences. She offers kinder training alternatives as well as resources to help us understand why certain practices have become outdated and the science to back up why this is so.
Yvet (Feather Light Academy) – Truly an artist in her practice of horsemanship. Yvet does a lot of liberty work, and also works quite a bit with troubled horses helping them to find peace. She utilizes the most subtle foundations of communication, such as energy and intention, to help horses and humans work together in harmony.
There is a growing movement to advocate for an equine industry that strives to keep the best interest of the horse as a top priority. A movement that is heart lead, but always well informed and knowledgeable. It offers a balanced approach at making it possible for horses to thrive in a man-made world. Where horses and humans interact alongside one another in harmony. This movement is moving away from outdated methods that keep the souls of our beloved equines trapped in fear and unnatural, unhealthy states of being. It is moving away from an industry that simply discards horses who are no longer “useful.” It is moving away from all of this by shifting our perspective of what it is that the spirit of Horse actually has to offer us…and what we have to offer them. And it is moving towards knew found knowledge emerging from intuition and compassionate intention, and knowledge backed by science and research. But it is staying rooted in age old wisdom that grounds us as an equestrian community, to the divine dynamic possible between horses and humans. A true natural essence of a coevolution of two species, connected in nature, as we are nature. And so, this is not an exhaustive list as I know there are many, many others out there, and more are continuing to pop up. Which is a beautiful thing. But this list does represent the ones who I know are doing great work, and whom I have followed for quite some time and feel confident in recommending to you.
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