A Two Day exploration of a very old paradigm

October 2nd and 3rd 2010

with Craig Stevens and Mary Anne Campbellat NSAE

from 9 am until 5 pm both days

What is it?

What is Mediterranean Horsemanship?

Mediterranean Horsemanship is the name Giuseppe Majorano ("Pucci"), an Italian Horsemaster from Sicily, has chosen to refer to his very old method of working the horse. In deference to Pucci, we use his term for our interpretation of this early, contemplative part of the classical method. One of the definitions of "classical" is that the method has its roots in antiquity. This method of working with horses predates recorded history. It is rooted in the matriarchal cultures that surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, ancient cultures based around notions of working together, valuing harmony and drawing out the best in one another rather than placing ones values in dominance and conquest.

This is a very different paradigm than is common for the work with the horse, and in its gentle connection with the horse's mind it underlies the classical method at its best.

How do horses respond to it?

When a foal is born it expects to spend its life being a horse, playing, running and eating. At the age of 3 or 4 from the horse's point of view, suddenly primates get involved and things get weird. We expect the young horse to naturally step into a conversational mode with another species. There's nothing "natural" about it from the horse's point of view, and very predictably we run into resistances. While some modern practitioners will use techniques to accustom the horse to being touched, Mediterranean Horsemanship goes further than this. The horse learns, through quiet but intentional interaction, to trust the human to interact responsibly with his balance.

What do you do?

First, you slow down.

It's a hands on, relaxed, intuitive and yet educated interaction with the horse.

You work with the horse unrestrained to draw the animal

into the conversation with you as an interesting partner.

What do you accomplish?

The best thing about this work is that it eliminates resistance before it ever starts.

At first the handler  just makes a connection, no goals, nothing but touch.

Then, slowly, the work builds willingness to move with the handler.

Then willingness to permit the handler to posture and "dance with" the horse.

All actions are undertaken very quietly and gently and in "horse time".

Why work with my horse this way?

This work should be done with young horses as a preparation before training begins.

But it is not only for the very young. Using it with an older, already trained horse can be enormously powerful in helping the horse establish trust in the rider. Anxious, angry, dull or resistant horses tend to defuse, get engaged with the human, and become more conscious and calm when this work is done with them.

Consider it horsey therapy...you're helping them reconnect to a time back before the trauma that made resistance seem like the right option.

How do I register?

Contact Mary Anne via email or telephone, at 360-668-5242

to find out when the next clinic is going to be held.

OR...to host one yourself.