Courses for horses

BY CAROLYN THOMAS

A strong female horse leads the herd and trainer Nadine Roth often takes on that leading role.

The Bethells resident works with the animals and their owners to communicate and overcome problems.

"A horse craves leadership," Nadine, 27, says.

In the wild, a strict order is needed for survival and is determined by the head mare.

"The mare decides where they graze and look for water and who dozes or is on guard," Nadine says.

"She’ll send a naughty young horse out of the herd with her body language."

Nadine was born and raised in Germany and has been riding, training and grooming horses since she was 13. Her family could not afford to get her a horse so she looked after others.

"If I had my own I probably wouldn’t have this experience."

Nadine trained in Italy at 21 and first came to New Zealand in 2005. She has also worked with young people on various programmes including at the Ambury Park Centre for Riding Therapy.

Listening not whispering to the animals is the key.

"With horses, it’s mostly non-verbal."

Being in tune with your horse’s body language is also important. Turned ears may signal discomfort while a raised back leg could be relaxation or aggression. She says contradictory signals from owners is a common problem.

"An owner might want one thing but their body expression is asking for the opposite."

Her three basic rules are be clear, concise and calm.

"The more you are then the more the horse is."

Bullying or punishing a horse into submission doesn’t work.

Problems she works on often stem from the animal’s nature, like resistance to enclosed spaces.

"It makes them very vulnerable when we ask them to go onto a float," she says.

"It’s important to see predators in the plains."

She says horses are able to overcome their basic instincts through careful communication.

Nadine is planning workshops in Whenuapai, Helensville, Warkworth and Wellsford. Phone 810-7350 or see www.beingwithhorses.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News