My name is Ben Moxon, I’m based in Pontyates, not far from Llanelli, Carmarthen and Swansea in south-west Wales. I currently have an unbelievably sweet mare called Iris who is a wonder in the arena and doesn’t enjoy trails and a palomino pony called Cash who is basically a small furry ornament, but whose endearing nature makes him a real pleasure to be around. My wife has two mules, who I also work with – you can read about them on her blog, Mulography
I believe in the idea of Horsemanship, not as a marketing ploy or a series of simple patterns or techniques, but as an art in which you can keep developing and growing as time goes by. I see it as different from riding ( although riding is an important part of it ) because it encompasses all parts of they way you are with horses. What I am learning comes from the tradition of trainers such as Bill and Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt, as practised by modern trainers such as Buck Branaman and Martin Black.
I don’t think of this approach as Natural Horsemanship, although many of the people I have learned from have been described that way, for all the reasons Tom Moates describes in this essay. I have learned with trainers including Steve Halfpenny, Martin Black, Ross Jacobs, Joe Wolter and Harry Whitney, although any training work I do is completely off my own back and not in association with any of them. I am also assistant editor and a regular columnist for Horsemanship Magazine, a publication that I strongly recommend to anyone with a serious interest in horses.
I am always interested in working with different horses – my own horses and those I have worked with for other people have all taught me different lessons that I share through this blog and in person when I am teaching. I can help a horse to be more pleasant to lead, more yielding on the ground and calmer in the saddle. I have helped horses learn to load, not to bite or push humans around, to work correctly under saddle and to ride out on the trail. I have experience in starting youngstock and in working with more experienced horses who have had some negative experiences or who are unsure about humans altogether. Often with these types of situation the problem is in the connection between the horse and their human and it can be as simple as making some small changes in what you do together in order to make life clearer and easier for your horses and yourself. There is no mystery to the techniques I use, they just follow a simple understanding of equine nature and how we can work with the way our horses think to make them more relaxed and happier in their lives with us. Often through helping people to understand why and how their horse does the things they do I have really helped them to regain confidence in themselves, their horses and their riding.
If you think I might be able to help you with your horse, why not get in touch?
