Few years ago I started new and exciting path with horses: called natural horsemanship and my believe that no one can take away from me is that horses are spiritual beings with soul, feelings and big heart and should be treated with respect, patience and lots of love.
The art of horse whisperering has always facinated me. I thought it was some kind of magic or voodoo that professionals use in communicating with horses which in turn aids in the training and healing of any horse. Little did i know that know that almost everyone and anyone could become a horse whisperer, there is no magic! The art of horse whispering has one important factor to it though, that factor is time. It is a lot of work, patience and the use of instinct.
After studying lots of natural horsemanship methods, reading many books and attending seminars/clinics to further my education of horses, i realized that there were so many natural horsemanship techniques out there, but none of them really spoke to my heart until I found Carolyn Resnick.
I read her blog, bought her book and immediately felt that her methods were for me. The oustanding message of her method was that, the Carolyn Resnick method would teach how to be, positively with horses, how to understand them better and finally how to become the good herd leader the horses are looking for. I also like the fact that with Carolyn Resnick methods, as a horseman, one does not have to follow any one programme or process, particularly when it comes to dealing with horses individualy. These methods should also be applied at the descression of the horseman. The best thing about Carolyn Resnick method is that it sets the horseman free to explore.
My dream was to go to Carolyn and study her methods in person, I realized I couldn’t afford it, so I started to look for other options. I found several certified trainers on her blog, one of them is Stina Herberg.
I chose to write to Stina Herberg because on her website and youtube videos, i was amazed by her approach to the training. I saw such strong connection and trust in the ralationship that I just felt I had to visit her on her ranch and experience it myself. As my luck would have it, she was looking for working students so I emailed to her and got a positive response after just two days. I couldn’t believe my luck ! I was now to journey to St.Vincent to paradise-to fulfill one of my biggest dreams!!! Finally, I was on the right path and I knew this journey would change my life forever.
When I arrived to Richmond Vale Academy in St.Vincent where Stina now lives with her horses, it was already dark. I stepped out of the taxi and Stina came out to meet me. I couldn’t wait to see the horses so I asked her if we could go and have a look at them. She immediatley agreed, I would be surrounded by these lovely animals for the next three months.
The first thing I noticed was how small the horses seemed to me. I was used to larger horses here in Europe so this was a bit surprising. The horses were very cautious about me at first, they only sniffed my hand and that was it. I couldn’t wait to spend more time with them.
What can I say about Stina? She is a very strong woman, but with a gentle heart. I haven’t met any horse person like her. She loves her horses so much but at the same time she doesn’t spoil them too much. She is a very good leader for the herd and she uses lot of intuition and feeling when working with them. I like that she doesn’t stick to one program of management but changes her methods if she sees that a horse is not responding well. For her, its always all about the comfort of the horse. She makes sure to give a lot of love between trainings and she always respects the animal. This is what I admire in her, the balance between being firm and giving them love. I never knew that horses could talk so much to their owners. With Stina, they talk a lot! I think this is made possible because Stina always talks to them and treats them like her best friends. She has 7 former wild horses. Stina found these wild horses on the island when she arrived for the first time. They were abandoned, malnaurished and abused. They were so wild, she couldn’t touch them. It was a challenge working with these horses and today they are able to express themselves and run free, it is obvious to see how happy they are.
I was intoduced to the Carolyn Resnick method by Stina after a while on the ranch. This ritualistic method seemed so easy to understand and use. She explained to me how important is to pay close attention to ones own body language when around and training horses, I experienced it myself and found it to be true. If a trainers body language is mixed and he or she is not sure of what he or she wants a horse to do, then there is no guarantee of a positive outcome of the entire training process with the horse.
I was taught and told to always follow my instincts when I was around horses, ”Be flexible, change the program if a program is not working” these were most frequent words I heard from Stina during my stay. I really enjoyed working with her, she is not just a good leader for horses but also good teacher of people. It was my pleasure to meet her and learn so much from her and her horses.
I learnt so much in these 3 months about horses and the method and there is so much, much more to learn. It is a never ending study and journey I am happy to take. Every single day has been different and exciting for me and I will always be thankful to Stina Herberg who believed in me and gave me this chance and to Carolyn Resnick for showing me the positive path of being with horses.
