“Empathy for the horse is the capacity of a person to be able to feel what the horse feels, to read a situation the same way and to have an understanding of what the horse is going to do in response to that situation. That’s empathy, or feeling with the horse and it’s a real effective way of learning from the horse. Even before the horse does whatever he’s about to do, a person who’s this way [empathetic] is going to understand the reason a horse does something. It takes time to get that deep knowledge of horses.” - Bill Dorrance.
"Horses don’t think the same as humans. Something that I love that’s most unique about the horse is not what he possesses but what he doesn’t possess..........and that is greed, spite, hate, jealousy, envy or prejudice. The horse doesn’t possess any of those things. If you think about people, the least desirable people to be around usually possess some or all of those things." - Buck Brannaman
"For a lot of people it’s about self-discovery, finding things you need to adjust, change, or improve. When you find that the horse is compelled and interested in you, something in you changes. That can be healing or move you deeply. There’s a difference between mastering something physical and working with an animal. There’s a spiritual component to working with a horse. You’re dealing with the spirit of a live animal that thinks and makes decisions. In nature this animal would have nothing to do with you. 'NATURAL HORSEMANSHIP' is just words. It’s not natural at all. There’s an abundance of trust that must be developed for you [by the horse]. Imagine if humans were that pliable." - Buck Brannaman.
"Feel it! A feel following a feel. There is no pressure mentally or physically" - Ray Hunt
"It's control of the feet through the mind that a person (should be) after. If you have missed that on the ground, (from) the start, why you've missed the part that means the most to the horse. The person should be focused on getting the best possible connection with the horse on the ground - through feel - if they want to have those parts of the horse available to them to them when they ride" - Bill Dorrance
"Don't try to MAKE it happen, get it ready and LET it happen" - Ray Hunt
"When you are trying to help the horse to learn how to get started (moving); do anything that you can to help him try to get in a position that will help him get the rest of himself together - body, feet & legs - so that he can shift his weight in order to move the proper foot (or the proper set of feet) at the proper time." - Tom Dorrance