Natural horse care has become a popular approach for maintaining a healthy, vibrant equine whose dignity and spirit are also fully intact.
These three areas – health, dignity, and spirit – are rarely balanced in the domesticated equine, especially if the human has competitive goals.
Before going much further, it’s important to define what natural horse care is and why it’s so different from other approaches to horse care. The answer to those questions can vary and there’s no “one right answer.” Therefore, I’m going to focus on Soulful Equine’s approach and perspective when it comes to this subject.
First and foremost, it’s important to understand horses from their point of view and honor their natural state. In reality, there’s nothing “natural” about keeping horses domesticated. Instead, think of it this way:
Natural horse care embodies the concepts you implement in order to maintain a consistently healthy horse in mind, body and spirit, which results in quality of life and longevity.”
Although some may argue this ideal is not possible with a domesticated horse, it is obtainable. It all depends on you and your answers to these three basic questions:
- Can you put ego aside?
- Do you care about your horse’s over-all well-being, quality of life and longevity?
- Do you understand your own core values and, most importantly, do you align with them?
Those are some loaded questions for the human, especially if you have high-level goals for you and your equine partner.
For many people, goals are more important than aligning with their core values. If that’s the case, natural horse care is not an option for your equine partner. However, if you choose to align your core values with your goals and, at the same time, provide your horse with what she needs to thrive, then natural horse care is a viable option.
Keep it soulful,
Stephanie Krahl
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Photo Credit – original photo modified in size and to include the Soulful Equine name and URL
