Natural Horsemanship

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.