Welcome to the Farah DeJohnette Horsemanship Online Educational site. This site is here to support you in your journey Liberating your horsemanship. Here are some things that will help you get the most out of this site and your relationship with your horse.

1. PLEASE BE SAFE!

If you can not safely move your horse away from your personal space (with or without a tool, do not work with other exercises until you can. Especially food exercises. You should be able to move you horse away from you easily and without question. Slowly or at speed. If they face you and wont leave, ask until they turn and leave and practice until it is easy.

YOUR SAFETY DEPENDS ON THIS.

I don’t feel safe with any horse that I can’t move easily including my own.

2. Once you feel confident that you have established safety, if you are new to the my work, it is good to start with the Foundation Liberty videos as they show how I start with any horse no matter how old or how trained.

These exercises are where I really get to know a horse and develop a friendship and trust. You don’t really know your horse until you strip away the tack and the agendas and let him show you who he is.

The exercises are always shaped by the horses character so the horse in the videos is just an example. Base the exercises on your horse’s needs, character and areas you want to strengthen. Then the training will always be fulfilling and fun for both of you.

3. Because this work helps you get to know your horses at a real level, in their home and without trapping them with artificial tools, tack/round pens, a true natural herd and training experience unfolds.

We learn how to integrate into the herd with our horse and our training springs from this. Training a Horse like another horse would. This is a non-dominant approach to Horsemanship. It functions on the horse leading the process not the human. It is in line with the horses instincts right up to Liberty Fun!damentals and advanced work.

I spent a lot of time thinking about how a horse would teach another horse technical concepts.  It is about the horse understanding the concept you are asking so he may perform out of willing intellectual cooperation not tack dependent manipulation.

4. Please use common sense when you are practicing to keep yourself safe. Less is more and your horse owes you nothing. He is a horse first, a family member second and a performance animal third.
Keep you conversations 2-way. You will learn to HORSE LISTEN™ first then communicate based on what your hearing, feeling and seeing.
Follow your intuition and feel. Magic is made with horses by expanding the space for them to communicate, offer their own ideas and make them feel heard. This means not projecting you desires on the horse over his.
It is the pursuit of balance in your relationship see if you can find where the imbalances are (if there are any) sometimes they are toward the horse. Sometimes they are toward the human.

5.    Proceed to the Case Studies or the FDHVC video Library. When in doubt contact me!