Is NH for me and my horse?

[winterbalto]

I've started shareboarding an American Cream Draft horse named Venus who has a few kinks. She doesn't like to go out on trail by herself, I can only keep her going with a crop, and if there are horses somewhere and we are by ourselves she will bolt towards them. It has been a little frustrating but I really don't know much about training a horse or fixing bad habits :( This is the first horse I've ever shareboarded. I don't know about any methods but I have heard a lot about Natural Horsemanship, both good and bad. So I have a few questions:

Can I make a difference with Venus if I only see her 3-4 times a week?

How do I even begin to find out what Natural Horsemanship is all about? Where do I begin to start with Venus?

I would appreciate any advice and personal experiences!

~Nicole

[Moomin]

If you're fair and consistent you can make a difference with whatever method you chose in 3/4 days a week.

I chose NH because my formerly stroppy little madam pony basically gave me no choice - so I really did it because it was the way she wanted to do things! She started co operating immediately I started out with NH and stopped trying to kill me!! ;) ;)

She is much happier with her lot now and so am I. What I likes about NH is that it offers so many different activities aside from riding - groundwork online, groundwork at liberty, we do little assault courses, we do bareback riding, western riding and English riding so many things - and she's calm to lead and handle although she is still a madam!! :p

It takes time though, because its not just readjusting the horse to something but readjusting yourself too. But its well worth it.

have a look at http://www.naturalhorsemanship.org/ this programme is great. Good luck!

[Supercali]

It sounds as if your horse is a bit insecure so NH would definitely help as it will create a bond between the two of you an increase her trust in you.

There are quite a lot of helpful sites on the internet. Look for Parelli or Natural Horsemanship or ask here!

I used these methods on my bolshy cob and it has worked wonders in a short space of time. :D