Nature in Horsemanship: Discovering Harmony Through Principles of Aikido

by Mark Rashid, Crissi McDonald (Foreword)

The popular and highly respected horse trainer Mark Rashid brings together Western and Eastern philosophies to demonstrate a seamless new incarnation of horse training. After years of helping “difficult” horses, Mark Rashid understands how to build the foundation of a horse’s training and resolve any problems encountered along the way. He explains how he allows the traditionally firm or assertive approach of the old Western style to take some lessons from the softer conflict resolution and ego reduction approach that the Japanese martial art of aikido teaches. Rashid’s ultimate goal is for harmony between horse and rider.

Genres: Horses, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2011

About the author

Mark Rashid (pronounced RASH-id) is an internationally acclaimed horse trainer known for his ability to understand the horse’s point of view and solve difficult problems with communication rather than force. He began working with horses at age ten, when he met the “old man,” who taught him to work with horses, not against them, and to listen to what the horse is trying to say. Mark’s clinics center on one-on-one work with horse and rider and are immensely popular with people around the world.

When Mark decided to study the martial art of aikido as a way to improve his horsemanship, he brought the same quiet determination to it that he exhibits in his work with horses. After years of practice, he has earned a second degree black belt in Yoshinkan aikido and now teaches the “way of harmony” in the local dojo.

Mark worked full time on ranches for many years gathering herds, managing stock, and training horses. When time permits, he still enjoys working on ranches near his home in Estes Park, Colorado.

Mark has been a guest on NPR’s The Horse Show and was featured on the Nature series on PBS. He is the author of nine books - Considering the Horse, A Good Horse is Never a Bad Color; Horses Never Lie; Life Lessons from a Ranch Horse; Horsemanship Through Life; Big Horses, Good Dogs, & Straight Fences; A Life With Horses; Whole Heart, Whole Horse; and his latest, a novel, Out of the Wild. He also has a solo music CD Song of the Prairie and enjoys singing and playing guitar with a local band The Elktones.

Reviews

[fruitbatwoman · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I had just started horseriding, I found Mark Rashid's other books interesting and helpful. Now that I have a few more years of experience and tried different training approaches myself, I found that there was very little in this book that I didn't already hear elsewhere. The anecdotes and examples from his horse training were somewhat entertaining, as such tales always are, but what he tried to convey sounded more condescending and preachy than helpful. I also found a lot of inconsistencies between him mocking one training method, only to do the same thing in a later chapter. The interaction between aikido and horsemanship was also not new to me, and while I think one can definitely benefit the other, I felt that Rashid tried to sell aikido as a cure for every ailment (including old age), which felt almost ableist to me. I was rather disappointed with this book and doubt I will read another one.

[Jordy Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t as engaging for me as some of Mark Rashid’s other reads, probably due to the focus on relating horsemanship to aikido, but still had some interesting anecdotes about training.

[Susan Strong Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book from Mark Rashid

I recommend all of Mark's books to my students, starting with his first one,"Considering the Horse" I think is the name of the title.
Mark continues to evolve as not only a master storyteller, he weaves insightful lessons into each book.
This book explains how lessons learned from his studies of Aikido transcribe into understandable lessons in horsemanship.

[Marjolijn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another inspiring book about handling horses, and how to implement horsemanship in your daily life. I'm seriously considering starting Aikido after this book!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear, Horsemanship is a gift only given to a select few. Rashid always surprises me with solutions to problems that would never ever occur to the top clinicians. For example, he tells a story of a horse that is in a constant state of panic, the reason? He's not breathing right. He goes on to explain how when a horse bolts it resets their brain through that steady natural breathing rhythm they go into at a lope or a gallop. So by keeping this horse from bolting which is a bad habit, he was never able to reset and calm himself down. When turned loose in the round pen, the first thing he did was bolt, and it took him around 50 laps (combined in both directions) for his breathing to correct and thus for his brain to reset. That story was just so incredible to me. When he explains it, of course it seems like common sense, but honestly it never would have occurred to me to let the horse release the pressure on himself by doing what his nature tells him to. Just amazing. Now these last two books have been focused on the use of aikido techniques in horsemanship, which is a little put of my realm of experience, but I can understand what he is trying to communicate by comparing the two. Self awareness first, before communicating with your horse. Another incredible book. Five out of five stars to Nature in Horsemanship.

[Kevin McAvoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.
Really interesting to hear his thoughts and training style.
I don't know any horse people who are as succesful as the author but maybe they do exist, or maybe they are a sort of horse trainer/snake oil seller.
All these training sessions turn out well with rider and horse having connected better.
In real life likely 1% of horse owners ever "connect" with their animal making this book seem like here's all you have to do. But it's just a book. Reading it might make you know something but putting it in practice is a seperate skill altogether.
An enlightening book but don't expect miraculous reults like Rashid claims.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed much of it but it jumped around too much between his past with aikido and his use with horses .... but i found it fascinating and plan to find out how he has used what he has learned since writing the book in 2011. I also found his comments about natural horsemanship to help me understand why so much of it never made sense.

The ARTIST was fantastic; i loved all of Mike Theur's drawings.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A different reader would probably rank this higher, but it didn't provide the info I was looking for and much of it was similar to or the same as stuff I've read, studied, or heard before. This is not a bad book, but it's my least favorite of Rashid's collection.

[Pamela Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best horse books I've ever read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite of Rashid's books, but stunning nonetheless. I don't actually think he's capable of writing a bad book. I know nothing about Aikido, though, and was a bit distracted by the incorporation of that particular component. Not that I'm against the practice-- in fact I should probably sign myself up for a class or two based on the apparent benefits-- but I'm pretty damn ignorant about the subject and, quite frankly, have never given much thought to martial arts in general aside from a very strange and morbid fascination with MMA cage-fighting (the principles of which I really don't think apply to horsemanship quite as comfortably as Aikido).

Despite my occasional mental wanderings, there were many pieces in here that are, as always with Rashid's books, quite helpful in everyday life and work with horses. Common themes resurfaced with different stories and examples: breathing, mindfulness, pressure/release, distance, respect, creativity... An overall excellent reminder to get in touch with that elusive inner calm and throw out as much heart and soul as we expect in return, even if that means looking ridiculous and making mistakes. Life is messy-- suit up.

[C.J. Darlington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the books of Mark Rashid. This is another one to add to the keeper shelf. The principles of Aikido don't overwhelm, but there were a few times I was wishing the book could be a little more like Horses Never Lie or Considering the Horse. But Mark shares from his own journey, and all horsepeople can learn from it. He makes sure the techniques he describes are those anyone can use, but it's more about the mindset.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always with Mark Rashid, this book is filled with insight into horse and human behaviour. I was a little put off with some of the references to Aikido but I think that's because I don't have much experience with it, so trying to figure that out while trying to apply Rashid's ideas/insights about behaviour was a little overwhelming at times.

[X · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was kind of hoping this would have more aikido than it did. I'm not a horse person so I couldn't appreciate that too much, and though I tried to learn I kept tuning it out. So take my review with a grain of salt. But I just didn't like this book. The author came across as condescending and it took him too many words to say things.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite Mark Rashid book, definitely the most helpful to me personally. I finally understood (or started to almost begin to understand) what has been keeping me stuck with my horse. I'm super excited now that I know what to work on.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Working my way through all Mark Rashid's books. I really like his views on horsemanship, and found this book that links Aikido principles to horsemanship quite interesting.