Un-Natural Horsemanship

12/05/2025

Finding Peace Together-
Intro to Work in Confinement

Unless the horse lives on a thousand acres without a fence line in sight, they are living in confinement. Even the richest pastures and most intricate track systems are enclosures, designed to contain. Domestic horses are in essence, bred and raised in captivity. I don’t feel that this is a bad thing. On the contrary, as someone who can “hear” them “speak”, many are quite fond of the luxuries of domestication and love being with us. After all, our dogs and cats chose this life with us, horse’s aren’t too far off and yet…. their Nature. It’s in the horse’s nature to be cautious about confinement as it’s a foreign concept for them. I have learned this from observing feral and/or young horses in particular, as I believe they offer me the closest representation of a horse’s factory settings. Observing horses who have been poorly handled, I have learned that they tend to be even more troubled about confinement than it is in their Nature to be. Horses, when left to their own devices, are wide ranging band animals who prefer to be in wide open spaces the majority of the time. Here’s the catch - there are more horses who need homes than there is adequate space for species appropriate living. So stall, paddock, pasture or track it is. This is what we all have to work with and we’re all in it together.

I have noticed that young and/or feral horses, when given opportunity, come to find some peace in confinement quite quickly. They learn to trust the human, they learn to trust their environment and they learn to trust themselves. I’m not saying that this is an easy undertaking for a human, to introduce a horse to the concept of confinement. It’s a massive undertaking to do this with quality and requires the human to rise as a horseman in profound ways. For there are ways to introduce a horse to confinement ( for us, it’s loose in a pen or arena, on a lariat rope, through a halter and lead and eventually into the bridle), where both species make contact and learn to follow one another’s feel, where the human offers something that feels good to the horse and the horse offers that good feel back to the human. When our bodies and the equipment we use act to extend an invitation to softness and a request for influence, (ie “May I have this dance?”), then horses can learn to feel quite good about what we’re doing together and where we’re doing it.

In all fairness, I don’t know that I’d have recognized this topic and its cruciality as much as I have if it hadn’t been for all the horses who had been given a bad deal and showed me where their trouble was. Damn, horses get troubled about confinement. Real troubled.

Difficulty trailer loading and stress during transit
Pulling back when tied/difficulty being tied
Speeds up in changes of direction
Chronic ulcers
Weaving, pacing, cribbing, pawing
Rearing
Excessive spookiness
Head tossing
Kicking
Difficulty with grooming, tacking and/or mounting
Head Shy
Rude Manners- pushing, shoving, rubbing, leaning, dragging, stepping on the human
Kissing Spines
Food Aggression
Difficult to catch
Bucking/kicking out under saddle
Bolting
Travels heavy on the forehand
Jigging
Busy in the mouth
Difficulty being trimmed or shod
Difficult for the vet and/or bodyworker

The process wherein we help troubled horses and their humans work through this is about the same as it is to introduce it all to an untroubled horse. It doesn’t usually look the same, as the troubled horse has a harder time changing eyes, working through their blind spots and making contact with the human. This too, demands that we, as the human, rise up and really allow ourselves to be brave and curious about the experience. If we condemn it, avoid it, bulldoze through it or start telling stories of villains and victims, we’re going to miss it. That moment when the horse shows the first glimpse of a curiosity that is their own, if we miss that, we missed an immense opportunity for connection. The troubled horse requires stronger contact, more space, more time. They usually require skill and handiness, some gumption, consistency and deep, deep commitment. It’s worth it of course, to bring one through to the other side. It’s Always worth it. And the cool part about it, the part that really gets me interested, is that it’s so simple. The doing isn’t easy, of course but that’s on us too. For the most part, a horse doesn’t want to be so troubled and really wants to get along. So too does the human and both have demonstrated to me time and again, our willingness to change. Though, this does seem to be much harder for the human than the horse. I see horses let go of their trouble with confinement faster than I often observe the human to let go of their story around it. Me too, I’m not immune. I’m just saying, there’s something about a horse expressing their trouble with confinement that can trigger TF out of a human. I’ve seen and experienced this in so many interactions. And I get it. How many of us (horse or human) have learned how to make strong contact with others? How to navigate conflict? How to Feel into a situation rather than analyze it? How to express our emotions, communicate our needs and establish healthy boundaries? Um…. As the horse struggles with confinement, I see our sympathetic nervous systems take over. Some folks fight, some flee, some freeze, some fawn. Some of us can go in any which direction, depending on the day.

I’ve said it once or twice and I’ll keep on saying it- cultivating emotional elasticity through nervous system regulation is key. Horses bring us into the here and now in such beautifully nuanced ways when we’re psychologically ready and willing to meet them. Just as important, we must be physically fit and ready as well. How could we possibly trust the horse’s body when we do not trust our own? Particularly under saddle, we must be willing to let go of the illusion of control and surrender to the horse’s movement, just as they must surrender to our guidance and give up their own sense of control in so many ways. It’s all very much co-creational and everything works both ways.

Every once in a while, I meet a horse who has healthy attachment (the three types of confidence). With this horse, stocks are no problem, neither are hobbles or trailers or riding in collection with a quiet mouth and mind, softly landing feet. Mostly, I meet horses who are concerned and bothered about confinement. They’re sticky getting onto the trailer and arrive at their destinations amped up. They pull back and break halters. They kick out under saddle and occasionally threaten a buck. Maybe they’re a cribber but show no other tell tale signs. Often, I meet horses who are so troubled by confinement that they can barely be handled, they have become so fearful that they may be aggressive. While my heart could break for these horses and for the humans who show up and give all to help them, it does not. Instead, I find myself ever drawn to the process, to the ebb and flow of the healing moments that allow us to guide these troubled horses back into peace and safety with humans and us back to ourselves.

~ Chiara

A quick note to consider- I have suspicion that some horses who are deeply troubled about confinement are so for physical reasons. I have noted that every single neurological case I have worked with struggled with confinement to excessive degrees, even when very friendly, gentle and quiet about many other things. Just food for thought ❤

11/30/2025

Intro to Blind Spots and Changing Eyes

It is fairly rare for me to meet a horse who isn’t troubled in their blind spots and I feel that this is perfectly reasonable. In my experience, every horse is… until we show them how not to be. It’s a hefty responsibility as I’ve not seen horses provide this gift amongst themselves, to one another. From what I’ve observed, it’s in the best interest of the band for all its members to be hyper vigilant to a degree in their blind spots. And for a horse who lives in isolation, a necessity for survival.

A horse’s blind spots are located directly in front, directly behind, under their chin/feet and directly behind their neck (you know, where we sit!). While a horse’s left brain and right brain do communicate beyond that of basic nervous system function, they perceive the world so differently than we do, and left brain/left horse and right brain/right horse aren’t able to share all the information that each side is gathering and processing. For example, have you ever been riding in an arena, tracking left, and you pass the corner where the scary horse-soul eating monster lives and the muck bucket is in a slightly different position and your horse spooks and shies to the left/inside? So you school a bit and the horse settles so you ride on maybe across the diagonal or whatever but you end up back down at the scary corner tracking right this time and your horse spooks again? And you think, “silly horse, we already saw this and got over it!”. Well… right horse had seen the bucket, had realized it wasn’t a threat and was now fine with it. Left horse on the other hand, straight up wasn’t able to see it coming and had their own experience with it. This is appropriate behaviour for a horse.

As with all beings, I have observed horses to have strong sympathetic nervous system responses of fight, flight and freeze. I’ve noticed that a horse, when confronted with a suspicious or threatening stimuli from a distance, will turn and move away in Flight mode, increasing the distance between them and the suspected threat. They will look back over their shoulder, leaning in to the direction of travel while flexing away from the direction of travel. When they switch sides to look over their other shoulder (changing eyes behind), they also slightly alter course + flexion and lean. Once enough distance has been reached, the horse will turn sidelong to the threat (usually but not always their left side) and turn their head back and forth, left and right, (changing eyes in front). Left Eye and Right Eye each get a good look. Once the stimuli is no longer an obvious threat, the horse might turn and face up to it, continuing to look side to side, left eye right eye. If they deem that all is well with everything and they are safe, they may poke out their nose and show some curiosity.

I have noticed as well that a horse, when confronted with a threatening stimuli in close proximity, may turn and flee or may freeze. They might. They are just as likely to push into the pressure, to go into Fight mode and drop their shoulder, strike, bite or otherwise go on the offensive. This is why I tend to be much more wary of a horse’s front end, particularly when the horse has become bothered in their blind spots and troubled about confinement and contact to a point that goes beyond their base instinct.

The freeze response is my least favorite and it’s the reason why I don’t engage in or advocate for desensitization. A horse who freezes and checks out mentally may seem “bomb proof” for a time, but are often the ones who become the most explosive. Besides, horses are my friends and I don’t really want anyone, especially my friends, to be desensitized to me.

Horses are born bothered in their blind spots and different than us in their left and right body communication*. Like us, they have a sidedness, a laterality in their way of going. Whether it be from fetal development in the womb, birth trauma, grazing stance, injury or illness, horses too have a preferred “lead” and they very much have a dominant “eye”. It’s strange to me that as humans, we communicate so much through our eye contact but when I watch people working with horses in hand or at liberty, I so rarely see the same. The human tends to focus on the shoulder, the hip, the neck, the feet, but what is the eye doing? Half the time, it’s not even looking at the human and the human wouldn’t notice if it were!

The eye is what shapes and guides the movement. When I watch an uneducated horse turn (ie feral, young, miseducated), whether it be loose (in a field, a round pen or arena, even when grazing!), on a lunge or lead line or under saddle, the horse turns by leaning in and looking out. They are aware of the direction they are turning and as it holds the least amount of real estate and since they know what’s there, they are inclined to look out, over their outside shoulder at the expanse behind and beside them. Their shoulders drop forward and in, the more aggressive end leading, the hindquarters exposed, following, angled slightly to the outside. This is fine for the horse left to their own devices, as they do not engage in movements such as circles. This is turning as they were meant to turn and they’re all exceptionally good at it. Trouble is, when they turn this way under rider weight, especially when held on a continuous arc like a circle, it creates massive compression in areas that aren’t designed to manage it. This is why horse and rider biomechanics are so important and so intricate. It is my belief that an overwhelming number of soundness issues in the ridden horse are due to compression and compensation derived from this very thing. Until the horse feels safe, particularly in their blind spots, they will not look to the inside/in the direction of travel and therefor cannot, no matter how well masked through handy riding, gadgets and/or coercion, truly travel Straight ie- in balance with all four quarters evenly weighted and turned loose at the poll.

When left to their own devices, horses also do not travel in straight lines. Take a walk in any pasture, turnout, herd management area, and you will see that all horsey game trails drift slightly side to side, left and right. Unlike animals with binocular vision (ie humans and dogs), horses do not bee line on their trajectory, even at top speed though this is more subtle. Meaning, as they’re moving forward, they’re leading with one eye and then the other. And as they change eyes in front, they change eyes behind. Leading slightly left, slightly right. This is another example of the horse managing their environment. When we ask a horse to move either directly forward or directly backward and straight from poll to tail, we are asking them to move directly into their blind spots. Given this, it’s truly remarkable what they do with and for us.

It’s all about demonstrating to the horse that they can find comfort and support in the human and then being damn ready to step up for them when they do. This is why we chose to be Un-Natural Horsemanship. It is not in the horse’s nature to be ridden nor is it in our nature to ride, physiologically and psychologically. Yet both species are here and doing it. In order to become riders, humans must reprogram our biology and in order to be ridden, horses must allow us to reprogram their biology as well.
“Make the Halo, Jake!”

When working with young, feral or otherwise healthily attached horses, helping them to find the three types of confidence (confidence in themselves, in their environment and in their human),is relatively straightforward and painless for both species and work through blindspots and changing eyes plays a very large part in this. With the horses who have suffered, either through genuine abuse or simply just casually sh*tty or uneducated handling, it can be a different story*. Once a horse has learned that trouble can come for them in their blindspots from the human, working with them through that trauma can be a massive undertaking and changing eyes plays a very large part in this.

Over the years, Zak and I have learned and developed many different techniques or methods to teach horses about safety in their blind spots and how to change eyes in a way that fosters healthy carriage of a human. Our preference is to begin working with any and every horse loose in a smallish area (round pen is ideal but any small paddock or even a full size arena will do if it’s what we’ve got). At liberty, the horse is able to leave if and when they feel that they must and we are unable to overpower them. Ideally, all work will be done at the walk with upward transitions only coming when the horse as found balance however, it is completely reasonable for a horse to scoot after a change of eyes at first. We prefer to begin working with a horse on changing eyes behind. The change of eyes behind has been shown repeatedly to harbor the greatest effect, the strongest impression. When the horse is confident changing eyes behind, it translates into absolutely everything else, or at least this has been the case in our experience 100% of the time! When changing direction with the human guiding them from behind is easy peasy, we begin changing eyes in front as well, first at liberty and then in hand on a lead rope and eventually under saddle.

I have watched the profound impact of working a horse through their blind spots and through their change of eyes countless times and it never ceases to amaze me. Equally amazing is that the work sticks and this paired with ridden work and the education that comes from that, completely changes how horses move within and interact with their environment. They play better, they are less prone to injury, they are more eager to work. It changes the way that they organize their bodies and move through space in such a way as to translate into the rest of their lives and it is the coolest thing! The human must come to trust the horse and the horse to trust the human. When each feels safe, both can feel curious and can explore the infinite possibilities of Becoming Centaur.

~ Chiara 💕

Stay tuned for Zak’s “Changing Eyes Manifesto” which will go into great depth on the subject. For anyone interested in working with us on this and more, we offer haul-in, travel and virtual sessions as well as clinics and intensives.

* I encourage my students while on their own two feet, to raise one of their hands and tuck in their thumb with four fingers raised and held gently together. Place your thumb over your nose so your four fingers are directly between your eyes, creating a blind spot in front. Now, go for a 5 min walk. Anywhere but seriously- try it out in a busy environment. This isn’t a direct representation but it provides a decent bit of perspective. My students have shared that they experienced a desire to lead more from one eye, especially for maneuvering around in crowded spaces. For me, it’s my left eye. Many of us have reported a preference from side to side- for example, I felt comfortable with things moving from my right eye to my left eye but several times was surprised by something moving from my left eye to my right eye. On the daily, I observe this in the horses.

* Signs the horse may be bothered in their blind spots and troubled changing eyes-

bolting
difficulty with bend and/or canter leads
rushes or sucks back during changes of direction
undiagnosed front end lameness
difficulty backing
difficulty tracking a straight line
fidgeting while tied
pull back
difficulty loading
nervous to be mounted
excessive spookiness
over jumping
bothered around their feet/difficulty with the farrier
high headedness
drops shoulder/falls-in through turns/corners
kissing spines
rushes change of eyes/constantly arranging themselves or the human to be on one side or the other

11/29/2025

It is not unusual for miss Éowyn to take a post workout nap and it is the sweetest thing 🥹💗

11/24/2025

For almost a decade, Zak and I have spent countless hours absorbed in conversation around what we experience at work with the horses. Whether it be in teaching, training or observing, there are three interwoven threads that spin into our almost daily encounters. On the regular, one of us will encounter a horse who has

1. Trouble in their blind spots/difficulty changing eyes in front and behind.
2. Trouble with confinement.
3. Troubled relationship to contact.

These are the horses who, in my opinion, act the most like Horses.

As a professional horse watcher, I have had the honour of observing horses at work, at rest, at play, in herds both domestic and feral. I have noticed their behaviour in stalls, in turnout, in arenas, show grounds and barn aisles, while eating and during various interactions with humans. Through all of this I have observed that horses are inherently-

* cautious and guarded in their blind spots and brilliantly able to manipulate their bodies in ways not just to see the most in their surroundings but to establish contact with their environment in the safest, most efficient way.

* claustrophobic

and are

* Often handled and ridden in ways that do not cultivate safety, curiosity and connection with the human.

In my experience, when these areas are addressed during a horse’s foundational handling, they’re not typically a big deal. Meaning, horses in general tend to be keen on connection and cultivating confidence in themselves, their environment and their human isn’t a strenuous undertaking. Their desire to become Centaur goes as deep as our own. However, when these areas are overlooked, whether through ignorance or malice, a great deal of difficulty and damage can arise-

The horse who has difficulty loading and unloading. The horse who fidgets when tied. The horse who rushes and falls down and in or who sucks back during a change of direction. The pull back, the bolt, the arena skiing, difficulty with leads and/or bend. Trouble with the farrier, difficult or heavy in the bridle/bothered in the mouth, dysfunctional movement and posture. TMJ and poll issues, SI issues, difficulty crossing water, over jumping. Resistance to the aids, chronic lameness, irritation with grooming and tacking. The horse who pushes and runs over top of their handler, the horse that is dangerous, that reacts “out of nowhere”.

To me, foundational training isn’t about “taking the horse out of the horse”, it’s about preparing the horse to thrive in domestic life. I don’t tell a horse that it’s not okay for them to act like a horse (ie spooking) and that they’ll be in trouble if they do, I show them that they don’t have to, that they can look to the human for support. When working with youngsters or feral horses who don’t carry much in the way of baggage, this process can be beautifully smooth. When working with horses who have not yet been helped in these areas and who have become bothered beyond that of baseline instinct, the process can require a great deal of physical, mental and emotional fortitude from the human. The human must be able to maintain emotional elasticity and nervous system regulation while making strong contact and navigating conflict with their equine partner. Working through these issues requires knowledge and skill that many of us as riders are not taught and this is what we aim to change.

Zak has been working on his piece, “The Changing Eyes Manifesto” which will delve deeply into our working theory on the subject. Stay tuned for this and if you’re interested in learning more, we offer 1:1 haul in, travel and virtual sessions 💫

related resources-

https://www.balancethroughmovementmethod.com

https://www.thebuckchannel.com

https://www.horsebrainscience.info

11/24/2025

11/22/2025

"He feels unbalanced, like he's limping! We need to stop," my student says.

"The tempo is too slow, he needs a greater stride. As soon as he can get the right tempo he will be more balanced."

My student goes into a kind of fetal mode, half urging the horse forward, half hauling the horse back. "It isn't working, she says."

"You need to let the reins out so he can go forward," I say.

She starts to cry. And this is where I realize the problem -

It's not really a riding lesson. This is so often the case - and I think back to my 20's, where I didn't have a clue about these inner workings. The horse needs to go forward to be safe internally and physically, and yet this is the human's greatest fear - and somehow the two of them have come together, and the human is the only one who can bridge this gap.

So we pause the riding and we talk. Logic is not the answer, I remind myself - where are these feelings coming from? It all stems back to a childhood bolt.

"If it's hysterical, it's historical," I remember to myself, a quote I heard from a friend

So what is missing here, and how can we go forward? First understanding the root - we are not riding in the now, we are riding in that childhood bolt. So we ground - how does your horse feel, sound, smell, look? What do you see around you?

And then, we discuss what skills we need to go forward. What the horse needs, and what she needs.

I say, I understand your fear, I really do - but it is imperative that you guide your horse. He is scared too. But we can find a way that you can stay mentally with him - in hand, at the walk, for now, but you have to stay here with him. He needs you.

I'm not a therapist, but it turns out I'm not really a riding instructor either. And so often, we are not riding today's horse - which is why the training, the logic, the reasoning, the lessons are not helping us get where we want.

The root, somewhere deep down is buried. Our real task is to find a way to ride today's horse: to be present with today's horse and learn to honor them. They need us, desperately. And only we can bridge the gap.

And so a choice has to be made at a certain point - what will you do to honor today's horse?

11/21/2025

*** Parker/Franktown CO Folks*** Zak will be in your area on Sunday 11/23 and has availability for travel sessions after noon. Due to the threat of EHV1, decontamination precautions will be taken between facilities. Message us to book a session.

11/20/2025

Like many professionals, I began teaching lessons virtually during COVID. It started off as a way to keep training consistent with current clientele and eventually expanded into a practice for working with folks and their horses who live in isolated areas, where travel to/from was simply a logistical nightmare.

I count myself among the lucky as I am able to work with my own teachers both locally (in-person) and distance (virtually). Both Zak and I offer the same opportunities for folks to work with us: we travel Colorado’s Front Range for in-person sessions, travel in and out of state to clinic, welcome haul-in sessions at our facility and offer virtual/remote sessions over Zoom.

All it takes to set up a virtual session is wifi/data connection, a smartphone and a place to prop it, a Bluetooth headset with a mic and a bit of patience (because tech doesn’t always work flawlessly).

These are three stills from virtual sessions last week. Three very different horses in different parts of the country all focusing on a similar topic- finding more harmonious rhythm and balance by opening the throat latch, softening through the poll, weighting all four quarters evenly. May sound simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy!

Speaking of not easy, teaching virtual sessions has challenged me to become not just a better educator, but a better horseman as well. Since I cannot climb through the screen to take ahold of a horse and demonstrate, I’ve had to
* expand my own awareness of equine and human biomechanics and ways of explaining things
* learn how to tune into body language (both horse and human) in much more subtle ways
* learn to give myself permission to “think outside the box” when working with partnerships who have limited facilities.

While 1:1 in-person is best, I continue to appreciate being both a student and a teacher in the virtual space and am grateful for the opportunity to work with partnerships around the world!

Interested in booking a virtual session? Head on over to our website or shoot us a PM 💫

https://www.un-naturalhorsemanship.com/info-pricing

~ Chiara 💕