natural horsemanship methods VS traditional methods

treat or no treat

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hayleyjc89

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I am a student currently doing a dissertation on natural methods of horsemanship vs traditional methods of horsemanship, and whether or not they can work together, i am wanting peoples views on both methods. positive or negative!! and any personal experiences that are relevant! (natural methods being those of Monty Roberts, Parelli, Tellington Ttouch and any others!)
any feedback will be greatly appreciated!
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I put traditional since I have a thing about natural horsemanship due to people I have seen resorting to bribery with their horses or dragging them round on a dually. The horse has no respect for the handler yet they harp on about natural horsemanship and the evils of flash nosebands.

However, I do believe that with correct usage, natural horsemanship can work wonders.
 
I think you're going to have trouble defining the two in a mutually exclusive way. If you intend to use this survey as part of your work, figuring out what people might mean by the two terms will be very difficult.

Most people use bits of both without necessarily seeing themselves as being on one side of the divide!
 
Can't answer as IMHO the better parts of "natural" horsemanship are the same as those practised by "traditional" horsemen. That's not to say that all people who worked with horses when they were working animals were "horsemen", they most certainly were not, any more than your average modern day van driver is a mechanic.

But where individuals react with and to equines in a way which seems almost uncanny, those techniques and understandings are as old as the hills.
 
Define 'traditional' and 'natural' methods, define 'competent horseman' (incidentally do you intend this to exclude women)?
Are the traditional methods unnatural, or are the natural methods all new?
And what is the poll actually asking - as your text suggests you are comparing these two 'methods' to see if they can work together, but the subject of the poll is unclear.
You've also accidentally allowed us to pick three, out of two choices...
Sorry, but I think you need to draft your poll offline before you post it, to make sure your results are useful.
Good luck with your dissertation.
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In my honest opinion, IMHO there is a lot wrong and right with both, and a good horseman, or woman comes with training, good powers of observation and an ability to control emotions, and react without fear or anger.
Respect your horse and you are halfway there.
 
a mix of both works well in my opinion

when poppy was getting really bad crushing me against walls dragging me places etc, a woman used parelli on her and she is now a different pony
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**sits back and waits for a good debate :P **
 
i meant to have a third choice for my poll - the choice being both methods working together. (this is the first time i have used a forum!!) i have already found that defining the two can be difficult and that people do use both methods without actually being on one side of the divide. all feedback is still greatly appreciated
 
Oh that's a toughie. I've answered natural and false. But to explain if you take something like a Rullkur (I'm sorry don't know how to spell that) even in the hands of world and olympic champions is still very open to misuse and abuse. its also very difficult to define what is a competent horseman - is it successful (cause some of the stuff I've known happen in top yards would turn your blood cold). So I tend to err on the side of caution.
 
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i meant to have a third choice for my poll - the choice being both methods working together. (this is the first time i have used a forum!!) i have already found that defining the two can be difficult and that people do use both methods without actually being on one side of the divide. all feedback is still greatly appreciated

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Defining the two can be difficult - but if it's the subject of your dissertation, you're going to have to!
Have you done your lit review? What definitions did other people use?
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Are you going to get out and meet some real people who appear to combine both approaches?
Mind you, I also think you will have a heck of a time sorting out your definitions. I would say that I lean heavily towards "natural", but one of my trainers is a skilled classical rider. I ride bitted or bitless. Do groundwork when it is appropriate. Wouldn't touch a dually with someone else's barge pole.
People tend to think NH=Parelli, which is very far from the truth.
 
I used to work for an RA of the intelligent Horsemanship Association. His definition of natural horsemanship was to put the horse in the field an never touch it again. In other words a person working with a horse is no more natural than a lion working with a gazelle.
 
There is no such thing as natural horsemanship. Natural is horses living in wild herds on rolling plains with no contact with humans.
 
In terms of your dissertation you will need to start with the definitions and you may find that you never get beyond that (in that this is such an interesting and complex topic that it takes up all your word count). If you avoid the definitions none of the discussion will make any sense (this is the academic in me talking!)
 
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There is no such thing as natural horsemanship. Natural is horses living in wild herds on rolling plains with no contact with humans.

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Agreed, that is why many of the best practitioners don't use the word "natural". Some even shy away from it because they have a horror of being associated with the way Parelli trains.
 
There is no such thing as traditional and natural horsemanship only good horsemanship and bad. Natural Horsemanship (note the capitals) is a marketing tool to sell things to guilible people with few good horsemanship skills.
 
I personally feel that the most important thing to consider with any type of training, be it for humans or ANY animals is the use of "applied psychology". A thorough understanding of what motivates your student (human or non-human) to learn is essential and understanding issues such as "intrinsic learning" etc, etc, is essential before attempting any Methodology when training or teaching.
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yes i have done a brief literature review but as that had to be handed in first it was not complete! and yes i have trips planned to demonstrations and people using lots of different techniques.
one thing i disagree with is that natural horsemanship is putting a horse out in the field and leaving it be ... that is allowing the horse to be a horse and having no interaction with humans.. therefore being having no horsemanship !?
 
mmmm have to say I am passionate about this subject, and would normally answer, but haven't, as I didn't think your questionnaire was very well designed.
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I have done a degree inc. dissertation, and questionnaires, so if you would like any help to design this well you can PM me if you like.
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Good luck with it. I have stupidly signed up to a second degree, after swearing upon completion of my first dissertation that I had my fill of education! I appear to have misplaced my marbles...
 
I think both have their place. I've used join up with a nervous horse, a chiffney on a rearing horse and a twitch on my witch of a pony when she decided not to be clipped (including growling at us!)

In the right hands I think they all have their merits but some of the 'natural' ways, in my opinion take longer to work and can breed more problems.....
 
Both Natural and Traditional Horsemanship have their place as long as they are not followed blindly and applied with a healthy dose of common sense and a consideration for what is the best approach for a particular horse.
 
I'm a newbie to the horseworld and at about the age where alledgedly life has just begun so naturally I wanted to learn all I could about "horsemanship" from both sides of the camp and as quickly as i could. What I found was the line is very very blurry between the two so yes a definition of what YOU think the 2 are in the context of your dissertation would be better. Then ask
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