Transform your training
Challenge your thinking and try Jenku Dietrichsen’s Modern Horsemanship
DO YOU EVER question the way you ride or train your horse? Do you wonder why we try to train all horses the same way? Do you think there might be a better way to do things? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions then you’re not alone. Jenku Dietrichsen wasn’t happy with the techniques he was using to train horses. Over three decades later, Jenku has developed a new method of training called Modern Horsemanship. Here we take a look at what it is, and why you need to give it a go.
Training from the outside in
“Are you training your horse from the outside in or from the inside out? This question has intrigued me for many years,” says Jenku. “I used to be a very physical trainer. I knew what I wanted, and I knew how to get it, but I only considered the outcome from my point of view. I was successful and enjoyed the rush but, more often than not, I had the bitter taste of adrenaline in my mouth and was disappointed with the way in which I handled myself around horses.”
Training from the inside out
In 1999 everything changed. Jenku had broken his back in a freak riding accident the previous year. For the first time, he felt vulnerable and, as a result, became a more mindful trainer. He started thinking about why a horse would want to learn anything — from the horse’s point of view. “It became my quest to find a better way, a kinder way, to train horses. And, more importantly, to share it with others — For the Good of the Horse.”
iCAN mindset
iCAN is an acronym for Improve, Change, Adapt, Nonstop.
“I want to grow a learn culture, not a blame culture,” says Jenku.
Try > Fail > Learn > Improve > Repeat. “This is the cycle I kept running over and over again, and this is how the method evolved. I was willing to try things. They weren’t always successful, but I learnt from them, improved on them and this is how Modern Horsemanship came about.”