Who We Are
Humanistic Horsemanship is not a method, it's a philosophy.
And this philosophy compiles everything about horsemanship, not just training and riding. Interaction, care and health (both mental and physical..for both horse and human) are incredibly important!
I especially love working with mustangs because this mental care is such a big factor...you have to keep yourself 175% in check while also monitoring and listening to a completely wild animal while you work to gain her trust and partnership....there is nothing like it!
Why Us?
What most clincians and "natural horsemanship" trainers get wrong is that they hold an “I’m the boss” attitude and try to bully and micro manage their horses into submission...this is not natural horsemanship. In fact, this is not only incorrect but also counterproductive, as it creates a horse who exists for business and has been utterly robbed of his spirit and personality.
Instead of "respect" and dominance, Humanistic Horsemanship preaches mutual respect (you respect him and he respects you), and does not push the horse out of your space. I want my horse in my space. I want to be his safe place and I want to be the one he comes to for comfort, not the one he feels he has to keep his distance from. We are not natural horsemanship. We are positive horsemanship.
Kelli's training thrives to unleash and enhance that spirit and personality, to help horse and human truly work together and find the perfect alliance for each, unique team.
Kelli Ann Little
Kelli Ann Little holds a Masters degree in Person-Centered psychology and has focused her studies on experiential approaches with her eye on beginning a combination mustang rescue/training facility and equine assisted psychotherapy program. Her humanistic orientation believes that it is the relationship between client and counsellor, not the interventions a counsellor uses, that facilitates the healing and growth within the client.
Kelli has spent the past 12 years developing her own methods of horsemanship based on what she has found works best and facilitates the most growth in horses. She has worked with arabians, quarter horses, ponies, draft horses, and wild mustangs, which are her favourite because of their absolute purity and exceptionally smart minds. In horsemanship Kelli believes in the consent and autonomy of the force, and that anything can be achieved without the means of force or coercion with a strong and equal partnership as your base.
She believes in the all-around horse and works to give her horses a basic foundation in many directions during initial training so that they can easily be pointed in any direction or determine their ideal discipline early on.
Kiara
Kiara is a 2016 crossbred filly who joined our team in August of 2018.
Spunky and full of sass, Kiara had had nothing done with her up to the point of us bringing her home, and was described to me by her previous owner as "sometimes she lets me pet her."
Kiara went through the same gentling program I use on mustangs and is, as of April 2019, beginning groundwork for saddle training. She is smart and athletic, and already showing potential in many different areas of interest!
Rambunctious Maximus
Rambo is the life-blood of Humanistic Horsemanship. Everything that I hope to build is in his honour and a good chunk of what I know, I learned from him.
Rambo is a 2008 mustang who I rescued in 2012 as a scrawny and sickly little stud. I gelded him, trained him and learned a great deal from him, including how important it is to listen to your horses and respect their own autonomy.
In 2015 Rambo told me that he was not happy being a riding horse, and I listened to his request. Rambo is now living happily at a wild horse sanctuary, running free on around 30,000 acres in the Spring Creek Basin of Colorado with a herd of other mustangs who just couldn't settle in.
Rambo may no longer be physically part of the team but he is here in spirit. He is the reason I wanted to start Humanistic Horsemanship and why my end goal is to open a rescue, training and sanctuary facility for wild and problem horses all across the country.
Love you and miss you, boyo. Run free.