Windermere Ranch breeds and trains sensible and well balanced Arabians. Having free run of the 140 acres of breathtakingly beautiful rugged terrain in the Santa Barbara mountains, our Arabians develop their potential as athletes by building good bone density, developing their muscles in the hills and acquiring plenty of trail savvy.

The Windermere Ranch training program is based on natural horsemanship methods, focusing on the relationship between horse and human, using the horse's psychology and body mechanics as a starting point for partnership. Windermere's staff has worked with natural horsemanship pioneers Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman, who have developed non-inflictive methods of training horses which uses the ideal of partnership rather than fear or intimidation to achieve results. The staff has also studied and practiced foal imprinting, developed in this country by veterinarian Dr. Bob Miller, yet in fact developed ages ago by the Bedouins who slept with their horses in their tents. (After all, wouldn't you want polite and affectionate horses if they slept next to you?) The training methods used at Windermere, plus the opportunity for herd life that is available, produces healthy, gentle, and willing friends.

Now is Lynn imprinting or just sleeping on the job?	Everybody loves imprinting. Here we catch J-R hard at work.

Windermere horses begin their training the moment they are born, when they are imprint trained, handled, and introduced to the people who will be part of their "herd". As they grow, they are slowly and progressively taught to yield to hand pressure, to bend and yield their heads, to allow their feet to be handled, and to move lightly in harmony with their human partners. Each contact with the foals is an opportunity to build a relationship based on trust and respect. Foals are introduced to the halter early on, and training progresses to leading and groundwork methods, designed to help the young horse learn to move forward, backward, in circles, and other important movements basic to horsemanship such as untracking the front and hindquarters. During this time the horses are also desensitized by exposing them slowly to all kinds of stimulii, such as waving flags or crumpled plastic bags, which develops horses who do not fear surroundings and trust their human partners.

Of course our horses listen to our every word during training sessions.	Between schooling, they can usually be found hanging out with the gang, exercising..	Later, they're ready to chow down on rich forage mix, supplemented by needs.

Following in this vein, the horses learn to accept weight draped over their backs, then the saddle, and finally a person in the saddle. Then the whole new level of learning begins. Throughout this process, in the words of the master, Ray Hunt, the idea is to "fix it up and let the horse find its way" - to put the horse in a position to learn for himself, as opposed to drilling or forcing an idea into him. This co-learning process sets the stage for an unusually rewarding relationship between human and horse.

Lynn assisting her mount in finding his balance and direction with a rider on his back, while developing trust and rapport with him..	The next step is just putting on miles and miles of trail (you can see by her smile, this is the hardest part of Lynn's duties as horse manager).

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Carol Storke for the Santa Barbara Independent 2/12/96 titled
"Horses: Follow-up on Resistance-Free Training"

In previous columns I have described the work of Montie Roberts and Pat Parelli, both advocates of natural, fear-free training. Last month I attended a clinic by Ray Hunt, one of the great masters of this new wave Hunt comes once a year to Windermere Ranch, an unusual horse operation whose largely free-ranging 40-horse herd lives in a mountainous pasture just off of Camino Cielo Road.

Windermere Ranch is owned by the Institute for Individual and World Peace. Katherine, Hall, director of the Institute, see the horses as symbolic of how humans and animals can both live as harmonious social groups and retain our individuality. "We were given several Arabians in the late '80's," she said. "Our horse operations just grew from there to be an important part of the Institute's activities."

Ray Hunt's approach fits well with the Institute's emphasis on peaceful interaction. Hunt helps Windermere staff and friends to initiate the training of young foals (seven this year) and to continue their own education with older horses. Hunt dresses the part of the traditional cowboy, with well-worn chaps, jingling spurs, windbreaker, and cowboy hat, and affects the laconic speech of a man of action. But every word is calculated. He studied under Tom Dorrance, 86-year old founder of the new horsemanship. He shares Dorrance's style, encouraging the student to help the horse find the right way on its own. Hunt refuses to provide answers or techniques. He relies on simple exercises and mental and physical preparation. As one man struggled to bridle a horse who was refusing the bit by raising his head as high as possible, Hunt said, "you're trying to bridle him. Don't do that. Get him ready, then it's easy." We saw the importance of feel and timing as the rider started over and offered the bridle slowly, deliberately, and successfully. "When the horse is unsure about the bit and you drag it over his teeth to force him, you're making matters worse," Hunt pointed out.

Hunt had the riders weaving in and out in two circles going opposite directions in the small, round corral. Some riders were nervous about such close contact, and he encouraged them to think about their direction and discover that the horse would go there automatically. "The horse has to move before you can guide him," he explained. "Once you're moving, think of twisting the horse between your legs and reins."

As the sun disappeared behind the oak trees and the temperature plunged close to freezing, Hunt gave us some parting advice. "Tom Dorrance told me I always worked too hard at helping the horse. Once I relaxed and let myself have fun, things went a lot better."

"Hey, I thought we were all going to exercise!	There's Lynn, still imprinting. A tough job but someone has to do it!

...The Windermere staff have been trained to use new methods of communications and training with horses, called Natural Horse Training. These methods are non-inflictive and focus on becoming one with the horse in order to communicate and work with it. The value of coming to peace within and then reaching out to become one with another person or living being is not a new concept to us. It is part of the philosophical foundation of the Institute for Individual and World Peace. At Windermere the horses are another way to practice this philosophy and another way to learn it.

 

The herd was featured in a Ranch and Country magazine article (Feb/March 1996)
by Linda Boston.

Horses are herd animals by nature. They are highly social, and when living in herd, they form strong bonds and ties. Even so, the experience of herd life is a relatively rare once in today's horse world. Many horses live their entire life in barns or paddocks, and their association with other horses consists of fence talk with the neighboring horse on either side. Or the horse lives completely alone, and his social encounters with other horses are the moments when he, under saddle, joins other mounted horses on a trail ride.

Of course, setting up herd life for one's horse is logistically impractical for the majority of horse owners. Horses in training are typically kept handy to catch in nearby barns or paddocks, and particularly show horses are often clipped and blanketed, and fed a controlled diet. Many horse owners intentionally disengage their horse from association with other horses as a part of their training program, with the idea that the horse will then be more focused on the horse/human relationship.

One rather unique ranch that has managed to create a way to support herd life along with an extensive riding and training program is Windermere Ranch. Just how the horses are such a big part of the peace work is not easy to put into words, but it's apparent that they are an essential aspect. Perhaps the vision of the herd at full gallop holds the keys. The galloping herd is at the very least a symbol, but perhaps more accurately, an embodiment of a process whereby individuals freely choose to be part of the action, to align them with what is taking place. And when they do, they come a part of something much larger, much greater.

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