Community & Business
8 April, 2023
Horse whisperer to share secrets
ONE of Australia’s most respected horsemen will share his novel methods in training horses when he visits Malanda this month.
Mark Langley, who is known both nationally and internationally, will demonstrate the “Art Of Directing A Horse’s Thought” at Malanda Pony Club on 15 April.
Patrons will have the opportunity to watch an educational evening demonstration during which Mark will show different training techniques on different horses throughout the night.
Packed with horsemanship insights, training techniques explained, philosophy and psychology examined, the evening promises to demonstrate Mark’s unique perception and skill with horsemanship that acknowledges how horses are feeling and thinking.
“Everything we do with a horse can cause an increase in anxiety. Just taking it away from its paddock mate can cause anxiety,” he said.
“How they feel about us – and how connected they are to us – can make leaving their paddock mates easy. Understanding and addressing this anxiety is very important if we want a horse to feel good about what it is doing with us.
“There are ways that we can gain connec-tion and reduce that anxiety. If horses carry less tension and have a calmer connection to us then finding the harmony and softness that we desire becomes a lot easier.
“People can get great results by addressing how horses are feeling and directing their thoughts rather than by just moving their body or adding more pressure.”
Mark uses techniques that change a horse’s mindset – bringing them into an emotional state that helps them to feel calmer, more confident and able to learn more.
Once they are open to learning, he includes them in the learning process – teaching them to search and make decisions, helping them to feel positive about the training we give.
He has changed many horses lives by help-ing people to understand problems and showing ways that these can be managed and reduced. Horses that were at the bottom of a pecking order in the paddock have returned from a Mark Lang-ley horsemanship clinic to be more confident and less picked on, while rearing horses have stopped rearing, and racey horses have learned to listen and relax.
Mark has trained many Australian wild brumbies and has a reputation for being able to work with very nervous horses.
His techniques come from years of working thousands of horses and dabbling with effective ways to teach that empower horses.
He embarks on a European tour later this year.
The Mark Langley Horsemanship Demonstration will be held at the Malanda Pony Club on 15 April from 6.30pm-8.30pm. Tickets are $22 per person and are available online through www.EquineAbility.com.au or going to www.trybook-ing.com/CETGH Alternatively, people can pay at the gate.
