Ideal relationship between man and horse

I really liked a study of the philosophy of the ideal relationship between man and the horse by Ray Hunt, a western rider and trainer. I like to get inspired by different riders coming from different disciplines or even different styles of riding exactly as in this case as we are talking about a western rider. A horse is a horse and it does not matter what discipline you have chosen; the ideal relationship between the horse and the rider involves body and mind as a unit and the way to reach harmony will follow a common sense that is universal: a different equestrian discipline does not mean a different philosophy if your goal is to reach harmony with your horse.

"When you ask your horse to do something it should be his idea... he wants to do it, he likes to do it, he understands how to do it, and he does it" These words, by Ray Hunt, are typical of the way he expresses his philosophy of the ideal relationship between man and the horse.

I would like to quote a few sentences from the introduction of the book "THINK HARMONY WITH HORSES An In-depth Study of Horse/Man Relationship by Ray Hunt edited by Milly Hunt.

"My belief in life is that we can all get along together if we try to understand one another. ...friends, they are very rare and very precious. But evert horse you ride can be your friend because you ask this of them. This is real important to me. You can ask the horse to do your thing, but you ask him; you offer it to him in a good way. You fix it up and let him find it. You do not make anything happen, no more than you can make a friendship happen.

My goal with the horse is not to beat someone; it's to win within myself. To do the best job I can do and tomorrow try to do better. You will be working on yourself to accomplish this, not on your horse. You will work to recognize how you feel toward your horse and how your horse answers you back; how he understands you, and how he takes it. There shouldn't be any hassle; there shouldn't be a big flareup. Mentally, your horse should not weigh anything. When you ask your horse to do something it should be his idea. This is the goal. In the end, when you ask your horse to do something, he wants to do it, he likes to do it, he understands how to do it, and he does it. ..."

Extract from the introduction of the book Think Harmony With Horses by Ray Hunt

I think that this book is really great if you want to understand the essence of the philosophy of the ideal relationship between man and horse