COlin fassotte

It is not easy to define exactly what Horsemanship is.
 

According to the Britannica encyclopedia, the term "Horsemanship" can be defined as the art of riding, handling and training horses, while “Equitation” defines rather only the art of riding horses.

Pat Parelli defines the Horsemanship he practices as a series of skills and habits that horse and human must develop to become partners.

I like to use this term because it looks at the relationship with the horse in a broader way, not just focusing on the moment we ride the horse. In French, I don't know any word that passes on the same idea.
 

Horsemanship is not a fad. Actually, the principles of Horsemanship are so old that they seem new. Indeed, in 350 BC, the Greek author Xenophon already wrote about horsemanship in his book "The art of Horsemanship". His approach to horses was already full of respect and sensitivity. He regarded horses as battle partners and not as dominated inferior animals.

This sensitivity to partnership and harmony with the horse was also very present among the Hispanics. It was the latter, after conquering the current United States of America, who gave birth to the traditions of the Vaqueros (cowboys of California and neighbouring states) and Buckaroos (cowboys of the Great Basin region).
 

The brothers Tom and Bill Dorrance, from California, and Ray Hunt, are considered the founding fathers of the horsemanship of "whisperers, new masters" named "Natural Horsemanship" by Pat Parelli. It was in the late 1980's that this trend arrived in Europe, but it was not until the late 1990's that interest from the equestrian world really increased with the development of Parelli Natural Horsemanship and the film "The Horse Whisperer", inspired by Buck Brannaman.

We owe a great deal to the Dorrance brothers as they have been a source of inspiration and instruction for so many horsemen and women, including Ray Hunt, Leslie Desmond, Buck Brannaman, Pat Parelli, Martin Black, Bryan Neubert, Peter Campbell, ...

In short, Horsemanship is more about the ethics of approaching and working with the horse than it is about specific techniques. It is not about rules, but about principles.

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"Horsemanship is way more than riding" ~ Pat Parelli