Equus Lost?

Equus Lost?

<div>In the 1980s, the world of riding, training, and competing with horses took a major turn with the spread of <I>natural horsemanship</I>, which at its most basic foundation rejects the use of abusive techniques and relies on methods derived from understanding the dynamics of free-roaming horse herds. Since then, equestrians across disciplines have incorporated elements of natural horsemanship into their work. But despite what was certainly an advancement in human-equine interaction that has improved the lives of many horses, Italian animal behaviorists Francesco de Giorgio and José de Giorgio-Schoorl dare to now ask, <I>What if much of what we think we know about horses is, in fact, wrong? What if the premise of herd hierarchy is a myth? What if “conditioning" the horse's behavior in the ways we've grown accustomed is undercutting his potential for development? What if there is another—better—level of partnership to which we can aspire?</I> Their provocative book takes us into a dimension where we shed our assumptions of leadership, dominance, and control, convincingly showing a way forward that acknowledges that a horse, when allowed, is driven by his own inner motivation to explore and understand the world around him, including his relationship with humans.</div>