Angelo riding Liberty brideless
There's an old saying among horsemen: Theory without practice: useless. Practice without theory: senseless. Making sense out of the practice of horsemanship on Italian-born, Angelo Telatin, 44, director of equine studies at Delaware Valley College in Pennsylvania, and one of only 65 horsemen in the world to have achieved that "jewel in the equestrian's crown," as a Fellow with the British Horse Society. Telatin describes communication between man and beast -- in languages both primal and academic -- as Conscious Horsemanship, and has designed a class in equine behavior that applies the concepts of operant conditioning to horse training, requiring his students to put theory into practice by teaching a behavior to a project horse during the school semester. What began for Telatin in 1991 as a master's thesis comparing psychology and horse training has evolved into an academic exercise where Telatin helps horses and riders find a place to communicate on common ground. Telatin says horses can "read" a person from the start, requiring conscious awareness of one's body language and even facial expressions before starting to work with a horse. Only through such awareness, and the delivery of consistent and coherent messages, can your horse can begin to listen to what you are asking of them, instead of the mixed messages your body or expressions might be sending. Raise your consciousness in an hour-long discussion this Monday afternoon with this internationally respected instructor, Angelo Telatin, brought to you by Holistic Horse magazine.
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