Natural Horsemanship - Larry Skinkle

08/08/2025

Update:

Thanks to everyone who responded. I have found a horse for the Horsemanship Demonstration, August 16th at Laird Fair. There will be a session Saturday at 11 am and another at 2 pm. The 11 am demonstration will be on groundwork to build a foundation. The afternoon will be on building the riding foundation.

I am in search of a younger horse for a horsemanship demonstration on Aug 16th. The ideal candidate will be 2 or 3 years old, broke to lead, comfortable on his own in a stall, and minimal groundwork and/or riding. Let me know if you have a candidate for this demonstration.

31/07/2025

Yep

29/07/2025

Stop and smell the roses. Life is too short to waste it.

22/07/2025

One smart cowboy.

A young man named Jake bought a horse from a rancher for $250.
The rancher agreed to deliver it the next day.

But the next morning, he showed up looking uncomfortable.

“Hey Jake… there’s a problem. The horse… well, let’s just say he’s no longer with us.”

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Alright then, just give me my money back.”

The rancher sighed. “I’d love to, but I already spent it.”

Jake paused, then said, “Okay. Just bring the horse over anyway.”

The rancher was confused. “What on earth are you going to do with him now?”

Jake smirked. “I’m going to raffle him off.”

The rancher burst out laughing. “You can’t raffle off a horse that’s… y’know… out of service!”

Jake just said, “Watch me. I just won’t mention that part.”

A month later, they ran into each other again.

The rancher asked, “So? What happened with that horse?”

Jake replied, “Raffled him off. Sold 500 tickets at $5 each and made $2,500.”

The rancher was stunned. “Didn’t anyone complain?!”

Jake smiled. “Only the winner. So I gave him his $5 back.”

Some people see a problem. Others see potential. 😎

20/07/2025

Seems to be the way it goes.

20/07/2025

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25/06/2025

Aibt this the truth.

The Power of Believing You’re Not Alone

It was a calm afternoon as a man cruised down a winding rural road, taking in the fields, trees, and open sky.
Suddenly, his car hit a patch of gravel, the tires lost grip—and in a flash, he found himself stuck deep in a roadside ditch.

Thankfully unhurt, he stepped out with a sigh and looked around.
No signal. No cars. Just farmland and silence.

In the distance, he spotted an old barn and a small farmhouse.
With nothing else to try, he started walking.

An elderly farmer answered the door, listened quietly, then smiled.
“Let’s see what we can do,” he said, grabbing a thick rope and whistling for his horse.

The horse ambled over—an older, weathered animal with a calm gaze and a strong build.
The farmer tied the rope to the bumper, walked back, and shouted:
“Come on, Buck! Pull!”

The horse didn’t move.

“Let’s go, Ranger! Pull!” he called again.
Still, no response.

“Now, Scout! You got this! Pull!”
Not a step.

Finally, the farmer called, “Alright, Buddy—pull!”
And with that, the old horse leaned forward and began to pull—slowly but surely, tugging the car up from the ditch with quiet strength.

The driver was stunned. “Wow! That was amazing. But… why did you call all those other names before saying ‘Buddy’?”

The farmer chuckled, brushing dust off the horse’s mane.
“Well,” he said, “Buddy’s blind. But if he thinks he’s got a team with him, he’ll give it everything he’s got.”

The man stood quietly for a moment, watching the old horse nuzzle his owner.

Sometimes, we just need to feel like we’re not doing it alone—
And that makes all the difference.

13/06/2025

If you have a horse read this please. Then reflect on whether you are a good human for.your horse.

Horses did not evolve to be ridden.
They did not evolve to go in circles.

They weren't designed for any of it.

WE decided that we would get on their backs and ride them into battle.
Then, we decided we'd ride them for sport.

We didn't know better. Not at first.

We tacked them up and threw ourselves on top of them. We labeled any and all misbehavior as some kind of rebellion, as if the horse was plotting against us. We "worked" it out of them with sweaty saddle blankets, tied up legs and leverage.

We broke the horse. Literally and figuratively.

Then, decades later, we learned more about their bodies. We learned about growth plates, development, the spine, the structures and how it all works together. We learned about their nervous systems, their social structures, how they learn, how they feel. We began to know better...

Yet we didn't do better.

And so we continue to break them.

We push them too far, too fast, too young. We accelerate training to meet the needs and desires of the human ego. We use gadgets and tools designed to create pain and leverage to put the horse into the "frame" that we deem desirable.

And we break them.

We do permanent damage to the spine that can't be undone.
We create lasting scar tissue to ligaments and tendons that support the most delicate and intricate structures of the horse.
We overdevelop muscles that create nerve impingements, continuous pain and hyped up nervous systems.

And for what?

A blue ribbon? The thrill of the ride? The jackpot? To be able to say we've conquered the beast?

Cool.

I'm not saying we can't do the things we love to do with our horses. I'm saying we need to do it WITH them. Not TO them. Our success in the saddle cannot continue to exist at the expense of the horse.

We know better now. So do better now.

Take the time it takes to properly develop the body.
Take the time it takes to heal the nervous system and teach it to regulate.
Take the time it takes to create an emotionally healthy horse who loves the work as much as you.

"Okay, well how long will it take to do that?"

As long as it fu***ng takes.

For one horse, it may be 6 months. For another, it may be 3 years.

They are individuals. Beautiful, imperfect, intellectual, spiritual, kind individuals. And they do not conform to the timelines of human existence.

Enjoy the journey instead. Savor the small moments of progress and fall in love with every single part of your horse that makes them who they are. Give up the need for dominance, for quick fixes and for human satisfaction.

I'm so tired of seeing horses who have bodies and souls that have been ruined by humans...sometimes past the point of "fixing" any of it.

So please, do better.
You can be the difference.
Be the human your horse deserves.

18/04/2025