RBB Horsemanship
A journey that will change your life forever
Some people call it training, some people call it breaking but for me the best word to describe it is building, and no matter where our horses are, we always keep building them.
Now, let me explain. After passing a few milestones/miles in my personal horsemanship journey, I noticed two different approaches which are the following - (1) the horse breakers and (2) the horse builders.
Let’s imagine that we have an amazing and beautiful tea cup. If we smash it on the floor and break it, it won't be a fully functioning cup anymore, it won’t be able to hold itself or any liquids and trying to put it together would take a significant effect, albeit possible.
There are special techniques, for example the special Japanese art of Kintsugi, which uses gold to put the pieces together. However, this technique takes a long time to perform and a tremendous time to learn.
So what I am trying to say is that horses are the same. As a horseman, I meet and see “broken” horses who need to be rebuilt, with love and gold. In my journey I noticed that people who tend to break horses usually leave them in an defunctioning condition. How many times have we seen a horse that has been "broken" or “bucked” but still hasn't found his common language with humans? Think about horses that you know - maybe even yours - that can’t be tied, or bring their ears down when you put the saddle on, pull the reins from you, perhaps even still nibbles, or maybe “just” doesn't stand still when you mount or run when you want to walk.
I know I use some mild examples, but when it comes to safety, mildness can turn into something more severe and dangerous very quickly. When it comes to safety, it is not a question of if, it’s a question of when. Nibbles will turn into bites, ears down will turn into kicks, an unsafe mount will turn into a horse that will run when you need them to stop, and will buck when you need them to walk, trot or canter quietly. I am more than sure that you have more examples than what I brought forward, so feel free to share them with me as I help you build your horse the right way so you’ll have the horse partner you always wanted, or rebuild your horse to correct problematic or dangerous behaviour.
Now let me tell you a bit about the process. The best way I found to build or re-build a horse is from the ground up, and there are 3 key elements for it.
1. From The Ground - I believe that ground work is the first milestone for everything that comes afterwards. It is that place that we build safety, the common language and the habits and knowledge a horse needs to be ridden.
2. From The Saddle - at the end of the day you are here and fell in love with the amazing relationship of horses and humans because you started riding horses and this is what you want to do. Horses aren’t born with the saddle or reins and my job is to teach them that the saddle is not a lion that tries to eat them, but rather the reins and our legs are words which have a meaning behind them.
3. From The Human - finally and extremely important is to teach you! Horses learn all the time, everywhere and from everyone. Horses are creatures of habit so as owners, riders and mostly partners we need to make sure we keep our habits right and consistent, to keep them on the right track. Additionally, working with yourself as the owner gives me the time to teach you the horsemanship language, the words and the phrases I taught your horse.
My unique approach of building horses and humans gives me the ability to support my clients in a holistic manner throughout the journey. I believe that owners or key people in the horse’s life are an integrated part of the success of the horse, therefore I offer several flexible bundles that include colt starting, retraining or problem solving alongside lessons and guidance throughout the process and after. Horse owners are welcome to see me work, ask questions and take part in the training so they can learn and become the best partners to their horses.