Un-Natural Horsemanship

08/11/2025

Thank You Everyone who came to our Demo Day! We adored opening our home and hearts to you all and appreciate the thoughtful, curious and open energy you brought, horses included!

The idea for hosting an event to showcase our work came about (and this seems to be a growing theme among many horsemen in my life!) because when asked what it is that we do, no one (ourselves included) can give a straight answer. Like, we’re “Horse Trainers” sure, but that’s a pretty broad definition and not terribly marketable. Marketing myself used to be very straightforward- I was An Eventer for 25 years and since all I did was teach and train for Eventing, people had a pretty good idea of what to expect coming into a lesson or clinic. When I began Insight Equine in 2016, it kicked off deep exploration into other areas of Equestrianism- Dressage, Vaquero Bridle Horse Progression, Rider Biomechanics, Equine Physiology and Psychology, Equine Facilitated Human Development, Saddle Fitting, Balance Through Movement Method and Lazaris Nerve Release Technique, Animal Communication and Energy Work and a few other things I’ve barely just dipped my toes into like Stockmanship and Working Equitation.

What a wild ride! And not terribly marketable lol Like Heather Kornemann said, how the heck do I put this on a business card!!!

And thus! The Demo Day.

It was challenging to nail down topics. I chose to work at liberty with a Round Pen demonstration (thank you SO MUCH Zoe, Carol and Leigh for trusting us with your ponies!) because that’s where I ideally like to begin with any horse on “the first date”. Zak chose Trailer Loading because he loves it and his unique and provocative approach has a lot to offer.

While nerve wracking, it was an empowering experience for me. When we rebranded as UnNatural Horsemanship this year, we decided to make some formal changes to our clinic and in-house training format. For years, I taught lessons and clinics that were program centred ie a Cavaletti Clinic, Horsemanship Clinic, Jumping Clinic, etc. I would show up in the morning, set up the day’s exercise and then teach back to back groups with the exercises adjusted to the appropriate level. This is a fantastic modality and highly beneficial. I will continue to participate in clinics/lessons like this myself. It’s just not what I’m doing now. Both Zak and I have changed gears from Program Centric to Partnership Lead. So when you come into the arena with us, instead of being told/instructed on what we do in our time together, we ask- “With what can we help you today?”.

Emboldened by the horsemen around me demonstrating it, I began playing with this somewhat “unschooled” approach with my own students several years ago. Of course, it’s still “my” work that I’m offering but it’s lead by the horse + human relationship instead of through a predetermined and rigidly structured program. It has worked absolutely brilliantly for some people and not at all for others. While work with my ongoing clientele may be subject to change in lesson plan on any given day, it absolutely evolves and is shaped by, goals, progression, etc. This is fairly straightforward to navigate. But! It was super frightening for me to walk into an arena as a clinician and have absolutely no idea what was going to happen or what we were going to do. After several months of practice, it’s beginning to feel much more natural and even preferable. I’ve really begun to enjoy it! Aaaaaaand it’s not terribly marketable…

Thinking of a clinic over the winter where I had 5 x 2 hour sessions each day with individual partnerships, we covered a lot of ground. In just one day-

Session One: Behavioural Consult (nervous system regulation- reading body language, boundaries and consent)

Session Two: Dressage For The Horse (in-hand and under saddle work through targeted movement- relationship to contact, finding rhythm and balance, timing of the aids, rider mindset)

Session Three: Saddle Fit Evaluation and Jumping (young horse introduction to gymnastic jumping through a simple grid- straightness, equitation, rhythm)

Session Four: Young Horse Development (In- hand evaluating mental, physical and emotional preparation for first ride)

Session Five: Dressage For The Horse (under saddle- what the movements can do for the horse ie lengthening and shortening the stride/transitions within gaits, lateral work finding balance and activation for hind end first flying changes)

So cool, right? But if anyone was asked, “So what was the clinic about”, I don’t know who might have the answer! This is important because, without definition, folks tend to fill in the blanks with what they “want” us to be doing. I’ve heard some doozy’s through the grapevine-

“Chiara is a bodyworker. She’ll do bodywork on your horse”. Untrue. While LNRT is in my repertoire, I am not a bodyworker. I am a trainer who uses anatomy and physiology as a lens through which to cultivate healthy posture and functional movement.

“Chiara and Zak are positive reinforcement trainers”. We are not. While we have no issue with R+ Training, it’s not what we do.

“Zak trains western and Chiara trains English”. Untrue. We each ride and train in both. Fun side note- Zak is one of the best Dressage trainers I’ve ever worked with!

“Zak and Chiara know about horsemanship but not classical riding”. Untrue. Just ask our horses 😉

We have joked that it would be easier to tell folks what we don’t do instead of trying to list what we do do!*

So we demo’d. I pour my heart and soul into my work and it felt… vulnerable and raw to showcase for a group, especially since I wasn’t trying to achieve anything in particular. The goal was to get to know the horse and ask them how they felt about the confinement of the pen, the pressure of my human body, their acceptance of aids, their desire to move forward and their interest in connecting and moving together. For Zak, trailer loading isn’t about getting the horse in the trailer, it’s about asking the horse how they feel about the trailer and every step that goes into smooth loading and unloading. It’s about attunement- reading the horse and not just accepting but engaging with their answers.

Overall, the experience was a total success and we plan on hosting annual Demo Days for as long as folks are interested in coming. As for marketing well, I don’t have an answer for this. I guess we’ll just keep doing what we do, sharing our work through social media and maintaining an environment that feels safe for folks to be curious about us ♥️

~ Chiara

*if reading “do do” made you chuckle, we’re friends now 😆

📸 Maeve Bandt 💗💫

08/11/2025

For amateurs and professionals alike, this is one of our favourite online resources 💫

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08/07/2025

Rachot Update!

This handsome fella has been here for some R&R (rehab + restart) with Auntie C and Uncle Z. He is ready to begin sessions geared more toward conditioning and so we will be introducing work on the lunge. Yesterday, he graduated to the cavesson, my preferred equipment for lungeing.

I went through a wackadoo in-hand classical dressage phase (not saying Classical Dressage is whack, just my experience with it was), where I was briefly obsessed with the cavesson and dressage whips and poll elevation. Over the last decade, I’ve preferred doing the majority of my ground/in-hand work on the rope halter with the cavesson reserved for work at a distance, though I have been inspired (thank you Celeste!) to make a bigger point of bringing in the cavesson not necessarily sooner, but more.

A few weeks ago I demonstrated “Rolling the Poll” with two of my personal horses both in hand (from the halter and bridle) and under saddle (leg without rein and rein without leg). To me, it is imperative that the horse is able to roll their poll before graduating from the halter to the cavesson as the signal, when misunderstood or offered to an ill prepared horse, can cause torque on the AO joint and hyper-flexion through the cervical spine. The cues for slow and stop must come from my body and I (the human) must be able to push the horse into a turn or halt rather than try to pull them, as I have found that pulling on the cavesson (much like pulling on the inside rein) will cause the horse to compress into lateral hyper flexion, fall onto their inside shoulder and destabilize/disengage their hindquarters. Pulling on the halter rope typically does the opposite- causing counter flexion of the cervical spine, brace in the poll and neck base and compression/lean onto the inside forelimb. There’s much more to it than I can jam into a post but this is the general gist- when possible, avoid pulling altogether and when we must pull, we know how to pull productively!

The horse first learns to roll their poll at liberty through targeted movement and drawing the eye. Then when they’re ready, through gentle contact on the bridge of their nose. Once this is comfortably consistent, we will begin rolling the poll through signals on the halter and, when ready, then through the rope. Once this is comfortably consistent, we can graduate to the snaffle bit, hackamore (bosal) or cavesson. In a way, I feel like the cavesson is to the snaffle bit as the rope halter is to the hackamore and what I have learned is that while understanding how equipment interfaces with the horse is very important, the gear doesn’t matter nearly as much as the Feel behind it.

I thought it could be cool to demonstrate the intro session with Rachot as we work through a sticky poll brace- residual tension coming to the surface through new-to-him equipment. I’ll not be sending him out to a distance until the rolling becomes smoother (like butter!) and he is able to turn loose to the cavesson the way he is able to turn loose to the halter.

I’m so, so proud of this boy for how hard he is trying and for how much he is learning to trust in us, that we have his best interest at the forefront in everything we do together. He is not here to serve us with his talent but to show up as he is and step back into partnership with humans. Thank you, Jenny, for trusting us with Rachot, we are absolutely smitten💞

08/06/2025

This is how our horses (and the horses we have in training!) hold their feet for us. To me, this is an important expression of Self Carriage and the covenant we keep-

I will not lean on you and you will not lean on me. We will balance together, two equal parts of a whole system.

The same Feel is used to connect through the reins. The contact is not weightless nor is heavy. It is a representation of the balance between our bodies and the reflection of how we relate to one another, so much more than just a tool for communication. Two beings holding hands and moving through space in calm, confident comfort.

L to R- Foxy, Takoda, Éowyn, Juno, Rachot.

08/06/2025

Be safe out there ♥️

07/31/2025

So excited about finding some extension in our half-pass! Particularly in the abducting (reaching) step in front and behind 🙌 While flexion of poll and angle of track aren’t as polished as in the bosal or snaffle, I’m pretty dang proud of how this is progressing in the neck rope. Awkwardly timed pics as I’m preparing to transition out of the movement but I really like the camera angle showing degree of flexion and amount of reach 🥰

~ Chiara + Takoda 💫

07/29/2025

Rest in Peace, Q
We are glad to have known and loved you

07/26/2025

Due to overwhelming interest, registration for spectators and participants for our Demo Day Aug 2nd is now closed. We’re excited to meet with friends old and new to share our magic in an intimate group setting 💫

Stay tuned for upcoming clinic dates and other opportunity announcements ♥️

07/23/2025

A “Good” Horse

I adore hearing from others their varying criteria of what makes A Good Horse. As the definition is entirely subjective, it’s a fun topic to discuss that has often provided me with useful insights to ponder.

A Good Horse to, for (or preferably!) with me may or may not share qualities with an other’s standards. I have certain criteria that are non-negotiable and many things that don’t hold with import for me might be deeply valuable to someone else. My list is in constant fluctuation and the criteria is reflected on and influenced by each horse as an individual. What makes Takoda A Good Horse isn’t entirely the same as what makes Éowyn/Juno A Good Horse. That said, there are many core values that they each embody, shared very much between the four of us.

Each one meets me at the gate unless there’s something wrong.

Each ties- hard tie, ground tie, blocker tie, cross tie, etc (though they don’t hold their opinions on cross ties to themselves!)

They all Lead. Beautifully, with respect and dignity.

They Load and Unload with ease.

While all three are very near the line of being pushy with their friendliness to humans, they do not cross it. They’re tactful in the way that they mind a human body.

They operate On A Feel. This is not to say that I do not use, or in some cases rely on, aids and equipment. It’s to say that I do not cultivate training conditioned responses in my animals. Neither does Zak. We value that the conversations with our horses go both ways. Our horses do not have “buttons”. For sure, the aids do what they do by definition- aid us in our communication; and while I use techniques and gear to facilitate this communication, my horse’s responses come from the Feel behind the gear, the intention accompanying the cue. In many ways, this has made working with them much more challenging for me as a horseman but by contrast, exponentially rewarding.

They do not shut down. Honest to goodness sometimes this is a massive PITA but I’m glad that my four legged friends aren’t stoic. I’m glad that they hold up the mirror and call me on my BS as their honesty is integral in our partnership. So is mine… which is proving to be a difficult lesson for me.

Each of them respects my boundaries and I do my best to honour theirs as well.

While all three have experienced difficulty working with a hoof care professional at some point, in each case the difficulty was 100% appropriate due to physical issue, incompatible/inappropriate trimming, poor handling, troubled association, etc. In general, they stand quietly ground tied for the farrier. They bar/show park. They stand to be bathed, clipped, tacked, braided, etc etc. Grooming is an engaged and collaborative activity. Similarly to their experiences with different farriers, their reactions to other practitioners (veterinarians, body workers, etc) CAN depend entirely on the individual. Some people they respond to and interact with beautifully even for invasive treatments, others they will demonstrate adverse behaviour and be completely uncooperative. I have learned to honour this, within reason.

Unless you count Éowyn being curious and playful to the point of being mildly destructive, they do not have any vices.

They get along well with other horses. They definitely have their preferences but all three can travel with, stall next to and even welcome to the herd, pretty much anyone.

They demonstrate emotional elasticity and the ability to regulate and co-regulate their nervous systems. While I suppose that this is a constant work in progress for any and all beings, my herd constantly surprises me with their ability to bring energy way up and dial it right back down again.

They know how to have a Good Time!!They take pride in our work. They play. Hard. They dance and bring joy to our movement. Not every day of course, but for the most part, they love their jobs! I’m pretty sure it’s because all three believe that they’re very, very good at said jobs and that the expectations of them are determined by their individual abilities and circumstances.

When I think about my herd, I do feel immense pride, though not without painful raw spots and sometimes deeply powerful emotions. Each horse brings to me their own medicine and what I have to offer them continues to grow.

Takoda and I have a bond that I have not felt with a horse since my teenage years. Together, we have successfully dabbled in many highly enjoyable and challenging activities- eventing, dressage, classical dressage, cow working/stockmanship, trail riding, obstacles, WE, mounted archery (we’re just getting started!) etc, and all of this is wonderful and certainly does factor into my metric for judging him as A Good Horse. But in my books, nothing and I mean nothing compares to the love, care and consideration that ‘Koda brought to my family this week. My Darling Boy, you are not a good horse, you are A Great Horse ♥️

07/22/2025

Clearing the Front Quarters

I’m glad that Zak was so thorough talking through this work (audio on!) as yeesh, I could write a book on it and still miss important details. A few quick points I can add to Zak’s description-

* IMO, yielding the front quarters is just as (maybe even more) important as yielding the hind quarters.

* This can be a difficult question for many horses, as we see with Foxy in the first clip- she has some trouble with flexion in the direction of travel with Zak behind her shoulder on the opposite side or “eye”. An adverse reaction is species appropriate, it may not seem like much but it can be a big ask for young/green or troubled horses.

* While this isn’t a movement that we spend much time cultivating, it is massively important as it is often how or directly related to how we: change directions, send a horse out on a lunge, help the horse learn to shift their weight off their forehand, clear a horse out of our space, stop or slow a horse who is pushy/getting out ahead of us as we lead. It is also the move I will use to counter a horse who is destabilizing (ie escaping) through disengaging their hind quarters.

* For the human, I am adamant about teaching this move, having observed that most humans are confident and competent at pulling energy into the system but can struggle with pushing energy into the system. It can be quite intimidating for folks to set a horse back and push them away like this but I believe it is necessary- if we cannot direct them from the ground then we may find we struggle to direct them from their backs with precision and ease.

To me, this is integral education for horse and human in Leading. That’s a whole post in itself so I won’t get into it much here (but working on a piece about Leading specifically!) but I will say that being able to influence the horse’s feet smoothly and softly in all directions is a necessary prerequisite to ridden work. It is also an important component of developing correct biomechanics for the ridden horse. If you’d like to learn more, shoot us a PM!

I continue to struggle with feeling awkward in front of the camera and often have chosen not to share my work because it doesn’t look like Me doing it. So, another push in challenging myself to practice embracing the awkwardness and sharing anyway 💕