After my son died in February my horses were a great comfort to me in my grief so last Thursday I turned sixty three and treated myself to something I have wanted to do for the past six years: to be taught natural horsemanship, more commonly known as horse whispering, and to be able to ride without fear.

I wanted to be able to walk into my round yard and have my horses trot up to greet me as if they loved my company (and not just for food) rather than cowering in the corner as if thinking  ‘not more mindless lungeing, please’ as I had seen other horses do.

I wanted the 2 1/2 year-old colt I had bred to have a happy life and I wanted him safe and responsive, well behaved and happy. During his upbringing I had used the few natural methods I’d learned at a well known natural horsemanship clinic. I had learned it takes more than a weekend workshop to become proficient, but I had grasped the concept right away: that slow, phased pressure and quick release at the right time, when the horse makes even the smallest try, helped my horse to understand what I was asking. I had learned I needed to be fair but firm and how cruel it was to expect to be able to simply kick a horse to go and yank at the bit to stop. Some of the bad old ways only turned horses into robots or killing machines. I wanted my horse to want to learn, not forced to learn. What I understood a good natural horsemanship instructor offered was to teach the owner how to teach their horse in a polite and respectful manner. The results could be a safe horse with manners, a healthy mind, respect for the owner, and a horse who has not had the play knocked out of it.

The beauty of natural methods is they can be of use in any discipline, English, Western, sport etc.

I had heard about an eclectic horseman called Wayne Caslick and decided to send my colt to him for some correctional work – my colt had been started by a gentle trainer but one who was hostile towards natural methods and the horse was beginning to show stress. I am the greenest of green riders, though I am good at foal handling and kind of okay at ground work - ground work is an essential element in the natural methods - but I could not start my colt myself and the only advice I ever received from some of the traditional trainers was ‘whack him frequently with a piece of polypipe to show him who is boss’.

After the first day with my colt, Wayne found the horse had had far too much unfair pressure put on him for such a sensitive horse so he offered fair but firm, respectful leadership and played with him, using the games horses play with each other. Then, after only five days and three hours of education, my colt was following his aids on the ground without a halter, lead rope or bridle, and had not even looked like ‘chucking a wobbly’ as his previous trainer had reported to me. He had not tried to bite, kick or do anything wrong and Wayne was also riding him at liberty.

So, with my friend from Sussex Inlet, I travelled to Coolah, and on Thursday, after I had had only 2.5 hours of instruction from Wayne, this green rider had a colt without a halter, lead rope or bridle walking sideways, backing up, and following me with his nose at my shoulder. Then I rode him at a walk, then a trot with just a saddle, halter and lead rope – using one rein.  Wayne had promised me I had the quietest of quiet horses and he would never allow me on him if it was unsafe. And he was right. I could have ridden for as long as my poor sore bum would allow, after having been for six years terrified of riding my docile 20-year-old mare, let alone a colt.

Leone Britt

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