I believe for me it all began years ago, when I still rode & competed.

I remember time I started doubting riders were all that able to recognize or to interpret properly signs of mental and physical disturbance horses were showing them, and horses, supposed to have fun training & competing, actually started looking for me more like ones struggling to avoid greater pain. Then a horse I rode got injured and I got an opportunity to spend my time just hanging around horses, not riding. It became a fruitful time of discoveries and realizations for me: natural horse needs, barefoot, horse rehab problems, and the most important - I started enjoying my time I spent just being around horses more than that when I was on a horse back.

And then a very special horse came into my life as one of those sport horses who needed a rehab. I could feel all the time she was watching me carefully, waiting for something... I could read in her eyes a constant question 'are you just like all the others, or can you find your strength to leave the traditional behind you?'... I believe from that moment there just was no a way back for me anymore.

The Horse Revolution became another important key I received on my Path to Horse. My aim became once and forever, to show the world by my own example, there another way of relationship with a horse is possible. The one based on friendship and equality.

You can't achieve the higher level of relationship using just any means you have in your disposal, not taking into account horse's natural needs - not allowing a horse to be a horse as much as it's in your power of doing it. It's just not fair to sacrifice one living creature in the name of all others. Then you're going to loose something important in your life, something that allow you to look straight into horse's eyes. And then everything you tried so hard to build before breaks down.

One love to a horse is not enough to achieve this straight look. You need knowledge. Love and knowledge still aren't enough to achieve it. You need to know how to use in a proper way a gift of the love and knowledge you received.

I believe the Academy is a place where we all will learn how to use the gift we all received once for the best of Horse.

Sincerely,
Natalija Aleksandrova