The term Natural Horsemanship has many meanings to many people ~ but the basis of natural horsemanship is establishing trust, harmony and respect between the horse and rider. We have studied many of the technics of natural horsemanship taught by great trainers across the country like, Ray Hunt, Buck Brannan, Curt Pate, Lynn Palm, John and Josh Lyons and GaWaNi Pony Boy. Of all the technics we have studied under some of the greatest masters, we endorse GaWaNi Pony Boy the most. When there are so many that teach natural horsemanship training methods, why would we chose the methods of one trainer over another you ask? That is a very good question and one that we hope we can answer to your satisfaction.
GaWaNi Pony Boy, or "Pony" as he likes to be called, teaches us the "Relationship Training" method of natural horsemanship ~ which in our eyes is the only true method of natural horsemanship ~ because the Relationship Training method teaches us what Pony calls Iyptala (ee-yoo-P'TAH-lah), the way of being "one with". It is not only a method of training we advocate, but strive to achieve in training our own horses to make them the best "all around" horses we hope the Lazy Dream Ranch can be proud to produce.
The experience of being "one with" has become a lost way of life in todays modern world, yet was integral to Native American life. We believe it is the loss of Iyptala in todays modern world that is so much a cause of our Earth Mother's "dis-ease". To learn to be Iyptala you must understand that it is not so much a way of "doing" as it is a way of "being". To aid you in becomming Iyptala, we have dedicated a portion of our website to Native American Teachings and Belief Systems and hope your journey there can be an enriching experience for you.
To aid you in becomming Iyptala with your horse we STRONGLY recommend you begin your journey by first reading "HORSE, FOLLOW CLOSLEY" written by GaWaNi Pony Boy, published by Bow Tie (tm) Press, and available on Pony's website or at any bookstore in your area. The knowledge Pony imparts in his book can not be repeated here without first and foremost, infringing upon his copyrights, and secondly, lack of space to include everything that should be learned from reading his teachings. We will however take the liberty to copy a quote from Pony's book which we believe to impart the greatest wisdom of Relationship Training ~ |
