|
Natural horsemanship, colloquially known as horse whispering, is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s.〔〔 The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of developing a rapport with horses, using communication techniques derived from observation of free-roaming horses, and rejecting abusive training methods. Natural horsemanship practitioners have created an exclusionary social meme, describing the approach as being a radical departure from "traditional" techniques, which are often portrayed as being based in the use of unnecessary force.〔 Users and practitioners tend to relate benefits in relation to the quasi-scientific narrative of the ethology of horse behaviour, and to the idea of anthropomorphic partnership. High profile practitioners of natural horsemanship such as Monty Roberts and Pat Parelli market their methods and equipment extensively through books, television appearances, live shows and other media.〔 The combination of social demarcation and high-profile marketing makes the natural horsemanship movement somewhat controversial among the equestrian community, with criticism leveled at practitioners on a number of levels, notably that the techniques are not "new" and are classical concepts that are simply renamed or repackaged in order to be able to sell products and merchandise. ==History== The idea of working in sympathy with a horse in order to obtain cooperation is not new, with documented instances as far back as the two part treatise ''On Horsemanship'' by Xenophon (c. 430 – 354 BCE), which amongst other points, emphasized operant conditioning and emphasized reassurance over punishment.〔 Later classical dressage practitioners such as Antoine de Pluvinel (1555–1620 CE) and François Robichon de La Guérinière (1688–1751) also emphasized gentle techniques. However, gentle training methods have always had to compete with harsher methods, which often appear to obtain faster, but less predictable results. In particular, the cowboy tradition of the American west, where the economics of needing to break large numbers of semi-feral horses in a short period of time led to the development of a number of harsh training methods that the natural horsemanship movement specifically has set out to replace. The modern natural horsemanship movement developed primarily in the United States Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain states, where the "buckaroo" or ''vaquero''-style cowboy tradition was the strongest. Brothers Tom and Bill Dorrance were early modern practitioners, who had background in the Great Basin buckaroo tradition. They had a particularly strong influence on Ray Hunt, who in turn became a significant influence upon Buck Brannaman. Many practitioners claim influence from the Dorrance brothers and Hunt, some having trained directly with these individuals.〔 The American Civil War general and later President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant developed a reputation as a fearless and natural horseman known as a horse whisperer,〔"General, President, Horse Whisperer", Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2005, Issue 1, p11. ()〕〔Ken Burns, ''The Civil War'', Interview with Shelby Foote, PBS documentary program, DVD-version 2015.〕 setting an equestrian high-jump record while a cadet at West Point that stood for almost 25 years. In Europe a number of variations are practiced that developed independently of the American model, influenced by Spanish or Hungarian horsemanship traditions as well as the teachings of Classical dressage. Some include work rooted in the use of human body language to communicate effectively to the horse.〔Hempfling, Klaus Ferdinand. ''Dancing With Horses''〕 The growth in the modern acceptance of the techniques (and the growth in marketing of them) has been increasing since the 1970s, with initial slow growth accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Natural horsemanship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|