Erin Murphy has loved horses all her life. She started showing horses at three, jumping at five. At 13, she watched Pat Parelli, a horse-training specialisty, demonstrate Natural Horsemanship, such as riding a horse without a bridle and using his legs and body to control the horse. Murphy was stunned and decided, "I want to know how to do that." She trained with Parelli and has continued to use the techniques for almost twenty years.

Now she works with horses and their owners at her peaceful, neat ranch in Penn Valley. Murphy's blue-green eyes sparkled as she showed me around, her friendly dog, Whidbey, trotting after us.

"Natural Horsemanship emphasizes 'love, language and leadership' and teaches you to communicate with the horse and to work with the horse's natural instincts," Murphy explained. "The question is always: "How does what I'm doing cause the horse to be frightened or to resist? It is all about how you are presenting yourself to the horse."

"It's not English or Western, the tack doesn't matter. Communication is the key," Murphy said. "You have to win their heart and win their respect. It's more about that than anything else."

"Traditional horsemanship isn't bad. It just doesn't take into consideration what the horse wants. We ask: How can I convince my horse to want to do what I want it to do?"

Murphy works as a coach and a mediator between horse and owner. "We try to understand the horse, 'playing' with them rather than 'working' them, so the horse thinks: "There's Erin, let's go play".

Murphy has also been successful at helping horses over trauma. With 'Dreamer', a horse that was terrified of the trailer, she used 'The Friendly Game'. Murphy first parked the trailer in the pen and allowed Dreamer to sniff it. Then she opened up the trailer and put the food at the close end. Dreamer put her head in, then ate. Then Murphy moved the food to the far end and Dreamer moved in and out of the trailer easily.

"Eventually, curiosity takes over." Murphy said. "You build respect and trust over time."

Because Natural Horsemanship focuses on the relationship between the horse and the rider, a beginning rider might not ride for the first month, unlike traditional horsemanship, where you're riding right away.

"We use the horse for recreation but we want it to be recreation for the horse," Murphy said. "We want the horse to be getting something out of it."

With behavioral problems, Murphy assesses the situation and, with a very young horse, will work with the horse and owner separately, then brings them back together.

When horses are already started, owners can trailer them in for lessons and Murphy gives them homework.

How does she know what the horse wants? "It starts out with physical signs - ears back, nose wrinkled, tail swishing. Then, it becomes intuitive," she said. "I can feel it. It is just like a relationship with a person. You can sense and know their moods."

Greg Sherr, one of her students walks by and chimes in. "Erin understands the relationship between horses and people, a rare combination. She can also match a horse personality with a human personality, an exceptional quality. She has a gift," Sherr said.

Murphy confirmed that she does 'matchmaking' for prospective owners. For a beginning student, she can assess the horse before it is purchased, usually from a video.

"When you get the right match, it is just like with people. Otherwise the person is unhappy and it is an unsafe situation," Murphy said.

"Many horses have emotional baggage, show opposition, and are defensive and resistant. In training, we mimic what horses do with each other. A combination of firm and friendly, the carrot and the stick, but not too much of either."

Her relationship with her horse Dave inspires her students. "He has lots of trust," she says. She demonstrates the 'circle game' where she looks at him and he comes. "It is a lot about intention. I think: 'Come to me.' He comes and then he gets to rest. Horses just love to stand in the shade and hang out."

As we talk, Murphy prepares to ride Dave around the ring, bareback and bridle less. She pats him and asks: 'Are you ready?' then jumps on.

How long does it take for someone to learn this way of relating to horses?

"It depends on their dedication and their level of talent. If you have dedication, you can do it quickly," she says.

"My relationship with Dave- they all can be like this," she says.

As she and Dave whiz past me in the ring, a blur of horse and rider, she dismounts, landing lightly on her feet.

Erin Murphy

Equine Partners, Inc.

559-1602

murphy-erin@sbcglobal.net

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