NATURAL LIFEMANSHIP BLOGS
Scroll down to read the latest NL News and timeless blogs about connection, transformation, healing, horses and the Natural Lifemanship model!
Natural Lifemanship
How we talk about what we do: The need for precise and accurate terminology in our field
April 16, 2021
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Ten Things You Need to Know When Choosing an Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning Certification
January 13, 2021
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We Are Indeed Interconnected: What People Are Saying About Interconnected 2020!
October 29, 2020
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The Gift of Being Our Truest Selves
August 28, 2018
Natural Lifemanship training for those who wish the gift of being our truest-selves, deepen spiritual connection & help others.
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Building Connected Relationships
August 20, 2018
The Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship is based on healing trauma through connected relationships
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My Horse is NOT My Therapist
February 7, 2018
My horse is NOT my therapist. An NL trainer reflects on the claims people make about horses being their therapists and what it means for the horse and human relationship.
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How we talk about what we do: The need for precise and accurate terminology in our field
April 16, 2021
READ MORE
Ten Things You Need to Know When Choosing an Equine Assisted Therapy and Learning Certification
January 13, 2021
READ MORE
We Are Indeed Interconnected: What People Are Saying About Interconnected 2020!
October 29, 2020
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When Connection Fails
December 10, 2018
NL Trainer, Michael Remole, describes a time in his life when technology made him really stop and think about the intricacies of connection.
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The Ride
September 18, 2018
The Ride, a poem about the special horse-human relationship from Kelli Adams of the Barnabas Horse Foundation.
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The Gift of Being Our Truest Selves
August 28, 2018
Natural Lifemanship training for those who wish the gift of being our truest-selves, deepen spiritual connection & help others.
READ MORE
Building Connected Relationships
August 20, 2018
The Fundamentals of Natural Lifemanship is based on healing trauma through connected relationships
READ MORE
Why Natural Lifemanship?
July 24, 2018
After 20 years of searching, Natural Lifemanship has helped me to trust myself to confidently embrace & facilitate the horse/human connection.
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The Ride of Your Life, How Does One Get That?
June 25, 2018
NL Trainer, Cindy-Skelton Hodge life-changing experience with Pete, her equine partner, at a Natural Lifemanship Rhythmic Riding Immersion training.
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Maybe Miracles Don’t Just Happen
April 2, 2018
Bettina ponders the nature of miracles and reflects upon the vulnerability and bravery required to take the risks a miracle demands.
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Cross Brain Connections: What Are They Good For Anyway?
February 16, 2018
Cross-brain connections literally saved my life - a personal account of how improved brain integration saved my life during a perilous personal assault
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Deification is Still Objectification
February 7, 2018
Deification is still objectification- deifying horses, while seemingly kinder to the horse, still serves to objectify and demean them. There's a better way.
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My Horse is NOT My Therapist
February 7, 2018
My horse is NOT my therapist. An NL trainer reflects on the claims people make about horses being their therapists and what it means for the horse and human relationship.
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Don't Shoot Me, I'm Thinking
February 2, 2018
Don't Shoot Me, I'm thinking -Tim Jobe explains what happens in our brains when we are confronted with beliefs contrary to ours.
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But I Miss The Caterpillar: My story of transformation and loss
February 1, 2018
Bettina explains how her child helped her understand that secure attachment extends beyond relationships.
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Spiritual Intimacy Grows with Connection through Detachment
January 31, 2018
Natural Lifemanship principles for building connected relationships apply in our spiritual intimacy. Our connected relationship with God grows through connection through detachment.
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Dropping the Saddle: A Case Study About a Boy Seeking Connection
January 10, 2018
Dropping the saddle to find a connection. "Oliver realized that his agenda to ride was taking him further away from what he desired most, connection."
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Dollface: An Experience of Connection Over Prejudice
January 9, 2018
Connection over prejudice, "Our prejudices and fears had been challenged by her self-confidence and insistence that we treat her like a normal horse."
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Genuine Connection in My Relationships: A Personal Experience with Natural Lifemanship
January 9, 2018
Amy share's her personal experience with Natural Lifemanship and genuine connection to herself, a horse, and a community at the 2017 NL Conference.
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Think About It: Natural Lifemanship Applied to Politics
January 6, 2018
Rebecca J. Hubbard ponders what politics would be like if political parties applied Natural Lifemanship principles
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Can Animals Consent?
January 4, 2018
Sarah Schlote explores the animal's ability to consent and discusses the function of a horse's consent in equine assisted practices.
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What I Learned from My Dog with Attachment Trauma
December 23, 2017
The greatest lesson my dog is teaching me is that building a relationship... doesn’t just take time, it takes intentionality over time.
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Do Horses Seek Leaders or Rewarding Connections?
November 29, 2017
The Natural Lifemanship approach to building relationships between horses and humans is based on the horse's choice of connection.
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How Natural Lifemanship Prevented a 12-Car Pile Up
October 6, 2017
The fundamental principles for all relationships, and the foundation of our Faith, Hope, and Love trauma-informed care learned and honed through the Make Way Partners relationship with Natural Lifemanship.
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When Dissociation Looks Like Cooperation
October 2, 2017
Claire Hunter recounts a story about recognizing the difference between cooperation and dissociation in the relationship with her horse Partner.
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Why Do We Ride Horses in Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy?
September 7, 2017
Riding a horse has benefits that cannot be obtained by other means and is contraindicated when it is not done in a connecting and mutually beneficial way.
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Disorders of Connection
August 22, 2017
Natural Lifemanship Trainer, Kathleen Choe links addiction to disorders of connection and explains the detriments of those addictions to our brains.
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Living What We Teach
August 7, 2017
Bettina Shultz-Jobe, Co-Founder of Natural Lifemanship, reflects on the challenges of practicing the idealistic principles that Natural Lifemanship teaches.
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Six Signs Your Horse May Be Dissociating or Submitting Rather Than Choosing to Cooperate
August 2, 2017
Natural Lifemanship trainer Reccia Jobe describes some signs of dissociation and submission to look for in your horse.
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The Journey Back: A Case Study Highlighting One Woman's Experience Overcoming Traumatic Abuse Using Natural Lifemanship
June 20, 2017
Kathleen Choe describes how one client overcame traumatic abuse through Natural Lifemanship and Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.
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Is Natural Lifemanship Just “Joining Up?”
May 23, 2017
The beliefs and intentions of Natural Horsemanship and NL are not the same but both have important places in the world of horses
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Study of Children Riding Horses Suggests Stress is Helpful in Improving Behavior
March 20, 2017
Study suggests that riding horses improved the child’s ability to exercise self-control, but it depended on whether or not a stress response was activated.
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Comfort and Change Don’t Run in the Same Herd
February 6, 2017
Change does not happen in a state of comfort. If it is more of a problem for the parents than it is for the child, why would the child be invested in changing?
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Connection in the Face of Resistance. . . Does Connection Really Matter?
November 18, 2016
How is asking for a connection from a human or horse who seems unwilling and unhappy about giving it still good for the relationship?
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Attachment and Detachment – How Does This Really Look in Session?
September 2, 2016
Allowing the process to unfold organically means attachment and detachment happen in every move that we make within a healthy relationship.
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Creating Brave Spaces
August 18, 2016
When a brave space is provided clients learn how to take the reins of their life and move forward in ways that are
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Opening Myself to Connection
July 15, 2016
Kathleen Choe describes her first Natural LIfemanship Fundamentals Training that demonstrated connection with the horse through attachment.
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Reflections on NL Fundamentals by J. Alex Hamilton
June 22, 2016
Trauma Informed Care is a shift from behavior modification approaches revolving around consequences and rewards, to approaches that focus on building a healthy relationship
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Is Pressure Always a Bad Thing?
June 14, 2016
We engage in this dance of a relationship through moments of pressure – requests made by one to the other. When it is done appropriately, the pressure is not harmful or frightentening
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Interview with Buck
May 12, 2016
Rhonda Smith of Spirit Reins, a non-profit that provides treatment to children and families who have experienced traumatic events interviews Buck, the main character in the book, The Gift, at his home pasture
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Do-overs Part 1: Building new pathways in the brain by intentionally practicing something different
February 6, 2016
Do-overs are a chance to correct a behavior, thought, or belief that interferes with the types of relationships we want to have. They are chances to practice something different.
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Buck meets Pip
February 5, 2016
Buck meets Pip, an Excerpt from Rebecca Hubbard's book, The Gift
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A Second Chance
February 4, 2016
A poem by Tim Jobs describing how a connection gave both a man and a horse a Second Chance
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One Sided Relationships
January 27, 2016
People who do everything they can to meet the needs of their horse but never ask the horse to meet any of their needs.
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The Horse is Not a Mirror!
May 7, 2012
If we assign the role of a mirror to horses we are robbing them of an active status in the relationship.
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In any relationship, if it’s not good for both, it’s not good for either.
November 26, 2011
Natural Lifemanship is about relationships with horses and relationships with people. If it is not a good principle for building a relationship with a person then it is not a good principle for building a relationship with a horse
READ MOREIt’s not about Leadership, it’s about Relationship.
April 9, 2011
When leadership becomes a focus, so does power and control. I appropriately control myself so that the horse can appropriately control himself. That is what a relationship is all about
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