The Importance of Breath- Improving Horseback Riding Skills by Alternative Horsemanship

The Importance of Breath
Many times when I'm teaching a student, if a tense moment arises, I will instruct them to pat their horse.
This is not for the sake of being "touchy-feely," rather for the release that happens within the rider when they touch their horse.
Without realizing it, they will exhale the breath they'd been unintentionally holding.

Tips for Improving Horse Rider Balance by Alternative Horsemanship

Tips for Improving Rider Balance

So much of our horsemanship can be improved in the time spent bringing awareness to our behaviors and thoughts before we ever involve the horse.
The reality is most people don't have the option of enough time in the saddle. We are often disconnected from our thoughts, and we have very little body awareness.
Many of western society's daily routines involve our physical balance being brought forward and a bit "collapsed"- such as sitting at a desk, working at a computer, and often when driving a vehicle.

California Horsemanship Clinic Learning Opportunities with Alternative Horsemanship

Horsemanship Clinic Learning Opportunities

Winding down another great clinic at Oakzanita Ranch in CA... With weather threatening to wreak havoc some days, through participant adaptability, I integrated remote and video sessions into the In-person Learning Opportunities...
Enthusiastic participants, thinking horses, a variety of scenarios, with a wide range of horses from OTTB to colts to rescues to re-education to refinement...
We don't stay in one place, practice one thing, or do anything you might "normally" see at a clinic... Adaptability, creativity, and stimulating learning environments (for both the horse and rider) to increase the human's understanding, awareness, clarity, communication, and confidence in how to best help and support their horse.

Horsemanship Help: What am I missing Webinar by The Remote Horse Coach


Horsemanship Help: What am I missing?
Saturday, Feb 5, 11am MST
This 60-minute horsemanship webinar will address six common challenging aspects of the human/horse interaction that create miscommunication and defensiveness in the equine partnership.
Click the link for details https://bit.ly/HorsemanshipWebinars
Did you miss the previous webinar, Building Confidence in the Horse and Rider? You can watch it on the Video Catalogue here

Misbehavior inthe Horse- or Pain Issues?

 Horses and Pain

Final post of the #horsehealth theme this week. Scroll my previous posts to read about sleep deprivation, nutrition, tack fit, development/maturity & starting young horses, and now I'll finish with the topic of pain.

Dear Sam: Horse Help *Equine Learning Opportunities- Getting the Most out of New Situations

Dear Sam: Horse Help Horsemanship Series 
*Getting the Most out of Horsemanship Clinics 

 Sam discusses how potentially overwhelming or unfamiliar situations can evolve into quality learning opportunities. 

Subscribe to the Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey for weekly episodes.

Equine Learning- Consequences of ill-fitting Tack Fit in the Human and Horse

Tack fit... or perhaps I should say Mis-Fit.
Probably ranking in the Top 3 challenges faced by riders. It is a major contributor to unwanted experiences in the equine partnership.

Young Horse Training- When are they old enough?

Gentle Reminder...


Although most equine enthusiasts want to do right by their horse, many people are pushed into starting to ride horses at far too young of an age.