About me

When it comes to horsemanship there's a vast amount of information out there, two people rarely have the same opinion on any subject from nutrition to riding techniques. To try to simplify things a bit, and to help me to decide what information I am going to take on board and what I am going to politely leave aside, I like to go by the basic structure that I've set out below. Before considering the horse's training, think about some general horse and rider healthcare principles and then look at the things that make up a horses' foundation training before working higher level skills that sit on top of that foundation. So often the horse's training is rushed ahead due to performance or competitive goals either without the necessary healthcare considerations or the necessary patient foundation training to achieve those goals consistently and for the long term.

Horse and rider healthcare issues

Some things to consider before you even get on the horse...
Many training problems are caused by a physical or emotional problem that the horse is having, fixing that problem could well save much unnecessary heartache or danger when it comes to riding. So often the horse is not moving forward as you'd like because his back is hurting or his saddle does not fit, he's over excited because the nutrition is not right or the uneven muscle development that your equine physio had commented on strangely matches your own physical discomfort.

Getting these things right is equally as important as good training techniques. Getting a good team of specialists to help you is no mean feat, you may well try many saddlers before you find a good one (I can't be the only person to have bought a saddle that didn't fit on the recommendation of a qualified saddler) or experiment with a variety of different methods of physical treatment until you find one that suits your horse.

This isn't just about the horse either, how we present ourselves to the horse is probably the most important piece in the whole jigsaw. Another commitment a rider can take that can greatly enhance the communication between horse and rider is when the rider takes more responsibility for body awareness such as by learning a technique such as Pilates, the Alexander Technique or a martial art. The benefit of this kind of commitment can be enormous. As riders we need to learn to identify areas in our own body that we habitually brace or tighten. Learning to release these areas is difficult as often our habits stem from childhood and we don't even know that we have one side stronger than the other or that we brace our lower back or shoulders for example. However, if softness is the goal for your horsemanship it has to start with yourself. Unless we are soft in our mind and body we cannot expect the same from our horses.

The diagram below shows the check list of things to think about whether you are having a problem with a horse or not. Any one of these issues could be causing an apparent "training" or "behaviour" problem in your horse. Get that issue resolved and the problem could vanish of its own accord. Many horses are so stoic that they may be in considerable discomfort but just not let you know about it and heroically get on with their work.

These issues are discussed in full in the healthcare section of this site.

Horsemanship is all about softness

For many years I worked hard and even travelled the world looking for trainers that could help me to learn this or that technique to help me to ride and train a calm, relaxed and thinking horse. There's nothing wrong with the objective of having a calm and relaxed horse, the problem is thinking that technique is going to be the only way to get there.

Mark Rashid helped me to see that technique is only going to get us a certain way along the path, after that what we have to offer softness, consistency, quiet and dependability so that the horse comes to trust us and feel at peace when we are around. That seems to be at the core of everything that we do with our horses whether they are foals or established working horses. "Its all about softness".

There is a world of difference between a horse that is soft, relaxed and together with his human partner and one that is worried, tight and tense. The first may well have a low head, a soft, gentle eye and a relaxed body, the second is tight with a high head carriage, he may find it hard to keep his feet still, the mouth may be closed tight and eyes focused and looking for danger.

Being prey animals, horses have highly developed survival instincts which can cause changes of behaviour in an incredibly short space of time in order to protect them from threats. Very often we put horses in a situation which they naturally find very frightening and it is our responsibility to show them, right from the outset, that they will be better able to cope with our world if they can find a way to softness. A horse that has been consistently rewarded for getting soft, using only the muscles that are needed for the specific task in hand, lowering the head and (very importantly) breathing well is more and more likely to consider softness as an option when faced with a troubling situation.


Photo by Matthew Roberts from The BHS Book of the le April 2008

To me, this principle lies at the very core of all training with our horses. Right from our very first interactions with a young horse the goal is to start soft and end soft. What takes place in the middle may not always be soft, and that can't always be avoided but the key is to end soft so that we can build for the next day.

As a foundation a horse needs to learn how to go forwards, back, stop, start and turn left and right with a rider on his back. Of course, we are not "teaching" them any of these movements, they can do them within an hour of being born, but they need to learn to do them softly with us riding or at the end of a lead rope. There is a world of difference between a horse performing these simple movements in a soft and relaxed way and one that is carrying a lot of brace in its muscles and resisting the rider.

At one end of the spectrum we can connect with the very core of the horse where anything is available and freely offered; that is softness. When we have a light horse everything seems fine on the outside, until it is not. This is lightness, a pretty picture but without the inside of the horse and the inside of the person being available. At the other end of the spectrum is a worried, braced horse with head held high and instinctive responses not far away.

About me

I have been riding since I was little and got interested in horsemanship training (or what could generically be called "natural horsemanship") in 1998, since that time I have really done some thinking about horses and our relationship with them. When I was a teenager and up until about 10 years ago I also spent a lot of time sailing and dinghy racing and sailed on the British team.

My favourite passtime is long distance riding, especially trips away with horses, friends and a tent. I enjoy competitive endurance riding and have two endurance horses. I also enjoy dressage, jumping and working with young horses.

I work from home running my own corporate training and software business, I have a PhD from Southampton University. I have been teaching and coaching for the last 20 years in the areas of finance, sailing and now horsemanship. I am one of Mark Rashid's student instructors which gives me the opportunity to go his clinics around the world and assist with teaching his students and I am also one of Steve Halfpenny's associate instructors.

Horses cause us to take a good, hard look at ourselves and I took the opportunity to study NLP to work on myself and now have some skills to help students as well. I am a NLP Master practitioner, NLP Sports practitioner and Life Coach and am currently studying for qualifications in equine anatomy and behaviour. I really enjoy working with issues such as fears about riding, concerns about jumping and also mental skills work to enhance performance of competitive riders.

I teach students in my local area as well as running horsemanship clinics. If you are intersted in hosting a clinic in your area please get in touch.

I live in the New Forest, Hampshire, England with my husband, Peter, daughter Katie and 4 horses.

Contact details

Amanda Barton
Tilefield
Tile Barn Lane
Brockenhurst
Hants
SO42 7UE

amanda@amandabarton.com
01590 622393
07710 042540