Mills Consilient Horsemanship

26/04/2025

Recommended reading…

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26/04/2025

Recommended Reading on Baucher, in order of recommendation…

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26/04/2025

Books for horse people that aren’t about horses…

Shop recommended products from Mills Consilient Horsemanship on www.amazon.com. Learn more about Mills Consilient Horsemanship's favorite products.

25/04/2025

“Baucherism is an open system of thought to which every true Master of riding can contribute in his own personal manner and within which every rider of high calibre can invent his own technical particularities.

Everything and anything the rider does which leads to the horse attaining a state of higher relaxation is acceptable within the Baucherist framework.

Baucherism is a never-ending reinvention, it can be said that its very condition of existence is to be continuously recreated.

For the Baucherist rider and trainer has no interest in movements, however exceptional or spectacular they may be, which are not based on the horse's education, on the animal’s more refined understanding of the aids - any ex*****on of exercises which is not the product and the realisation of such refinement would be nothing but the mechanised repetition of standardised gestures.

In short, the Baucherist approach is open to differences in technique, it allows for variation in practice, it is a humanist philosophy which has the personal development of the studious rider, the well being and the conservation of the horse, at heart."
- Patrice Franchet d'Esprey, Ecuyer at the Carde Noir, Saumur

Below:
Thinking about Baucher during a gallop, where absolute relaxation of the jaw and pelvis marries positive, dynamic tension.

If we get it right, it should be like there isn’t a rider present at all.

25/04/2025

I loved this book.
A lot of people are at a crossroads in their horsemanship journey, trying to get away from harsh methods, or trying to reclaim their role as a leader, having swung too far into permissive horsemanship. (Not unlike parenting!)

This book brings up some very relevant topics related to leadership and relationship, and I think it’s a really relevant read for 2025.

I keep meaning to do a full review, but I’m just too ADHD and too busy. But soon!

This page is worth a follow, as well, for some real-life, quality teaching and riding, and some nerdery sprinkled with intellect and humor.

My book is available at my website or at the two local tack stores!

www.christenschweizer.com

This morning I got to listen to my coach give a lesson to another student and, as I explain in the book, it was a wonderful opportunity to soak up more wisdom from a mentor.

24/04/2025

In western riding, we don’t usually have all the different terminology for shoulder in, counter shoulder in, renvers, etc., but will use different angulations of the counter arc, which are essentially the same thing.

Also, the next time someone gives me grief for two handling the romals, I’m showing them this. 😅

23/04/2025

FIRST, DO NO HARM

This goes for people, too, not just horses.

I’m sure, by now, almost everyone has learned of the veterinarian who took his own life after a social media backlash when video was shared of him losing his temper with a horse.

‘First, do no harm’ was disregarded in a moment of human error, and ultimately, was something that was not extended to him by humanity.

I’ve seen responses to this tragedy that range from, ‘Good riddance,’ to incredible compassion.

I’ve seen people who are denouncing the bullying of this vet who have bullied myself and others in the past, and I hope they are genuine in their concern, and have grown in their humanity, and aren’t just jumping on the bandwagon.

I think this is an opportunity for us all to grow in our humanity.

This story has been highly publicized even in the mainstream, and I think it could be a tipping point for a change that goes both ways.

If we use it as a tipping point, maybe this tragedy doesn’t have to be in vain.

I think we can use it as an opportunity to ask ourselves…

How do we call out behavior that is causing harm to horses, without causing harm to humans?

Growing up in cattle country, working in feedlots, I’ve seen good human beings do things that were difficult to watch, whether out of necessity, or out of anger and error.

There have been times when I was in a position where I could call it out, and there were times when it was better not to.

I’ve also seen those same people go on to educate themselves about low stress cattle handling and grow as human beings.

I don’t have to justify their behaviors and mistakes to acknowledge them as human beings.

We’ve all lost our temper and done something we later regret.

To err is human. To have it shared en masse on social media is not.

But at the same time, publicly can offer a certain amount of accountability.

Problematic trainers and gurus, and practices that range from outright abuse, to under-training that leaves horses struggling in the human world, all need called out, but it must be done with humanity.

At the end of the day, horsemanship is just a microcosm of our humanity, and it’s up to us to make sure its future is a good one.

23/04/2025

This is the first time I’ve seen French classical versus natural horsemanship in c**t starting. I really like how calm this horse is.

23/04/2025

We’ve traded one type of misogynistic guru for another.

People are paying big money to have gurus condescend and disempower them, whether that’s in the old-school horse-harsh way, or the new age, equally misogynistic, disempowering, ‘You aren’t allowed any expectations or boundaries,’ and, ‘You aren’t capable of navigating your own journey,’ way. This comes from both male and female gurus.

Here’s the thing…

Gurus aren’t the problem, the problem is us.

We’ll untangle ourselves from one, and run straight to another, just like a toxic rebound relationship.

The problem is us.

We have to quit giving our power away to other people.

I’m personally running into a lot of this with students and clients, where they’ve gone to clinics with gurus who have absolutely disempowered them and their horses, and confused the hell out of them, and left them without any way to move forward.

This is going to be a really tough pill for some people to swallow, and I think a lot of people are observing this, but no one wants to call it out.

It’s really important for people to know they aren’t alone in observing this, especially the people who are doubting and need some validation.

22/04/2025

I’ve had a couple questions about a memory that I shared a few days ago about movement in the AO joint. There are much better references than me (where do you think I get all my ideas? 😅) and this is one of them, for anyone who has additional questions.

15 seconds · Clipped by Consilient Horsemanship · Original video "No. 102. Jillian Kreinbring Part 2, The Atlanto-Occipital and Atlanto-Axial Joints." by Web...

22/04/2025

Great information from this page for western fitting, as well as biomechanics