Trust is an important part of any partnership, whether between two people or between an animal and a human. There has been much talk about the revival of natural horsemanship. Honestly, it’s not a revival; it’s a concept new to many people today who didn’t grow up with horses. When we were kids, we enjoyed the same things our horses did (for the most part). We liked running over fields and jumping the creek and swimming in the pond. Fun stuff. The fewer restrictions–including tack–the better. It’s important we get back to our roots and learn how to listen to what our horses are telling us, rather than us “whispering” things our horses can’t understand.

We’ve all had that one horse with which we felt comfortable doing anything. He tolerates injections and us picking at scabs, and he patiently suffers through the boredom of bathing and braiding. He’s carried us over things that scared us (okay, go jump that tiger-trap-whatever-that-thing-is, and take me with you!).

Why don’t more horses just say no? It’s because of the partnership we form with them. Sometimes it’s stronger with certain horses, just like some of our partnerships with people are stronger than others. The reason, I think, is the same–trust.

One of the reasons that I’m thinking about this right now is because of police horses. My work with police horses has been mentioned in these pages before, whether with the Lexington, Ky., mounted unit or the 501(c)(3) National Police Horse Academy (NPHA). It also was mentioned that a curriculum for raising a weanling to his 2-year-old year was being developed by Applied Animal Behaviorist Sue McDonnell, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center, and Parelli Natural Horse-Man-Ship. The first draft is nearly completed, and it’s ready to be tested