The Harmony Project

About the Book

The Harmony Project is a unique concept to give horse lovers a deeper insighet into the equine mind. The project follows the training and development of a filly foal called "Harmony", from 6 months and separation from the mare, up to 3 and a half years and carrying her first rider.

Harmony's behaviour and training are explainedin terms of her view of the world, and show how we can present ourselves to our horses in a way that is more meaningful to them, and therefore more effective.

Harmony is being trained primarily under the principles of natural horsemanship taught by the top American trainer, Richard Thompson, who is the mentor of Harmony's owner and trainer, Kate Farmer. Date comes from a classical British riding background, and aims to show in the Harmony Project that the principles of natural horsemanship are equally relevant to all equestrian desciplines, and not, as many suppose, mostly of help to western riders.

Part 1 of The Harmony Project follows harmony from 6 monts to 18 months, and presents the first stages of her training in a clear, easy to follow way. Each chapter focusses on one or two specific aspects of equine psychology, and the ex ercises that relate to them. It offers an excellent introduction ot natural horsemanship for newcomers to these methods, and a very useful companion for those who have already started working on NH principles.

About the Author

Kate Farmer was born and brought up in Surrey, England. She started riding regulaly at the age of 6, and soon begged and cajoled a pony, then a horse out of her parents. After graduating from St. Andrews University in psychology and economics, she persued a career in radio as a journalist and producer, but horses were never far away. She moved to Austria in 1992, to join the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation's English language service. From here, a chance meeting on a plane brought the horses back in the picture, and in particular, a horse called Sunny, who she agreed to help train. Sunny had been rescued from starvation, and had such severe behavioural problems that Kate started to look for alternative methods to "get through" to her. This search led her to the top natural horsemanhip trainer, Richard Thompson, who offered to cross the atlantic to help, if she could get a group of friends together to take a course. Richard became a regular visitor, coming to Austria twice a year, and Kate became one of his keenest students, earing his "approved trainer" certificate four years later. The Harmony Project brings together Kate's journalistic and horse training skills with the aim of showing that natural horsemanship is available and helpful to everyone, from the beginner rider to the professional.