Natural Elements Horsemanship

04/23/2025

About a 12 mile ride, today.
Back in the woods NW of 56. For you non-Arkansans…yes, 56 is the name of a town.
We saw lots of remaining storm damage being cleaned up, destruction being cleared and back in the hills, we saw the effects of the forces of nature…wind and water.

The resilience of nature and the determination of tough people, the sound of saddle leather hoof-falls, the smell of pines, clear water and blue sky. All taken in with much appreciation.

Thank you, Kathy and Irene for the pleasant company.

04/18/2025

Jackson saddled up.
He’s beginning to read, (human) body language much better. Less reactive, more thoughtful and responsive. Not ready to just ride out yet but we’re getting there!

04/18/2025

I had a “watcher” this morning while doing chores.

04/16/2025

Looking forward to this!

Mule qui peut est associations de "mulopathes" français, nous unissons les passionnés de mules. Notre mission : faire connaître et reconnaître les mules en tant qu'équidés hybrides, fédérer fans et propriétaires avec conseils et soutien, sauver des mules en refuge, et organiser des événem...

04/14/2025

Interesting ride today. No video or pics but..
Rode down through Zion and back on a dead end dirt road on Mo’, ponying Echo for some new encounters. AND…we sure had one.

On our way back and as far over as the shoulder allows, we had a pickup come flying by from behind us. Have to admit, I wasn’t too pleased with the seeming disregard or lack of consideration of the driver.
My poor assumption!

The truck pulled into our fire station about a quarter mile up and in less than a minute, he was hauling hiney in a pump truck and headed back our way. 😳 Another pickup flew by and as we reached the front of the station. Across the road and now riding the ditch, another truck launched out of the open bay and roared toward us, turning and heading away on the pavement.

A half mile to our road off the pavement…but, what’s that coming? Melbourne Fire truck, lights, siren and cruising! We stopped. I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this one. It was MOVING! Echo is green, Mo’ has never experienced this type of commotion. Deep breath…engine approaching...we all stood and watched the fire truck whiz by. The faces of those in the cab seemed braced for any possibility…I could see the wide eyes..we had, “connection”.

As the noise faded, Echo reached her nose onto my thigh as if to say, “we’re all good”. I rubbed her poll and ears a bit and the three of us moved on. A first for all of us and NO RODEO!

04/10/2025

Rode in the woods, today.
Snapped a few pics but every time I tried to get set…Trooper would “drop” in.
When I took the pic of the flowers, I reversed the camera and hit one of Troop, trying to look at the screen to make sure I had a good angle.
Everyone’s a critic….

04/02/2025

My mule, Jackson. We had a good training session today and finished off by trying to get some pictures together.

It felt like one of those Photo Booth shoots of a couple where one party is kind of mocking the other. I noticed his expression with his eyes and ears…eyes squinting like mine and the last one, his ears trying to match my wind-blown beard.
Almost as if he could see the camera screen. 😳

You have to have a sense of humor to work with mules!

03/31/2025

You can almost set your watch by these guys hitting the water.

03/24/2025

Alma;
This is Chris’s (my lovely wife) 3y/o spotted draft/Brabant x. Started under saddle not long ago. About 7 hrs of saddle-time at this point. Not just a matter of ground work prep but of herd-dynamic interaction on a nearly daily basis
as well.

Every interaction we engage in with a horse or mule, has a consequence…building trust, confidence and a better understanding of one another.

03/21/2025

Think on this…

03/19/2025

Echo sessions; peeling the onion.

03/19/2025

Echo session

03/11/2025

If you enlarge this picture, it tells two stories. You’ll see my reflection in her eye.
My mule loves to come, place her head on my shoulder and just look me in the eye. Not pushing…just “being” and sharing the same breath.

I often tell people at clinics or training sessions, mules, in my opinion, are among the most honest creatures, in all creation. I’ve reflected on this picture many times…realizing, that mule is a reflection of ME to large degree. I have to wonder what she see’s…what she thinks when she looks at me.

Of course, she can’t speak but she can express herself in a way that conveys her thoughts. We are, in many ways, reflections…images of each other. Over my many years of riding, handling and training…those critters have forced me to be more honest with them. More genuine. Forced me to change when I didn’t like what I saw. When I changed…so did the mule.

I recently read a post and took this excerpt, by permission of the author, David Laundreville.

“Years ago, when I was still trimming flat and applying steel shoes I started looking into horses eyes. I would check in with them to see how they felt about my work, and ask them how they felt about how I was treating them. Once you see them you can’t unsee them. You might look away because you don’t want to know, but it is still there isn’t it. l needed to treat them as a friend or at least be accountable and apologize when I made mistakes. I needed to give them a voice.

Now it’s getting harder and harder for me to look into the eyes of horses that I work on who are just being “used” by their owners. I may apologize for other people’s mistakes and try to find a way to help them find peace while they are not being seen, heard, or felt, but they know they want and deserve something different. Horses want real connection. They want to matter to you.”
~David Laundreville

Thank you David for your words.

03/10/2025

The things I say….sometimes, my wife writes them down.

We were discussing a couple training mules and the “stories” they told of past experience.
Sometimes we make our own way difficult (as well as the mules) by working against the very nature of the animal.

With mules especially…I can’t on one hand, talk
about how smart and strong they are while on the other hand, through brute force or bribery, get that “stupid” animal to comply or perform.

There is more to them than what we know…

03/09/2025

First solo outing for Alma.
What a relaxed ride with some deer spooking twice from the woods, down the road and encountering traffic.
Enjoyable ride!

03/09/2025

Asante had his first today.
He’s a 4y/o and just starting.

03/08/2025

Alma took her first ride into the woods!
It’s just the fourth time she’s been saddled and ridden and she’s doing very well.

We took the opportunity to cross this log…the purpose being, getting her to cross slowly and thoughtfully rather than jumping or plunging over. Also, to stop with it under her…just in case a rider ever needed height assistance getting on or off.

The ground communication is transferring very well. She’s making the connection between core inflection and rein support. Very focused, too.
Already, a pleasure to ride.