What is Natural Horsemanship

So what exactly is Natural Horsemanship.

We’ve all heard of Parelli, Monty Roberts, Kelly Marks, Intelligent Horsemanship and the Horse Whisperer, but what is it and is there a difference between the methods used by the above mentioned?

http://www.naturalmatters.net/  helps describe the definition of Natural Horsemanship:

All Natural Horsemanship trainers teach a way of dealing with horses that takes account of their behaviour, instincts and characteristics to earn trust and achieve excellent training results. Whatever each individual philosophy, there is an emphasis on the mental and emotional state of the horse, a natural approach can be a lot fun and extremely rewarding for both horse and human.

“Let your idea become the horse’s idea” Ray Hunt

“I believe horses naturally have tremendous faith in the human being. It is their natural instinct of self-preservation that the person needs to understand in order to gain the confidence of the horse” Tom Dorrance

“I started to realize that things would come much easier for me once I learned why a horse does what he does. This method works well for me because of the kinship that develops between horse and rider. Horses and life, it’s all the same to me” Buck Brannaman

Here is the website of Ray Hunt one of the founders of the Natural Horsemanship movement and the first horseman to hold Natural Horsemanship Clinics promoting Gentle Horsemanship: www.rayhunt.com

Wikipedia’s description is this: Natural horsemanship is the philosophy of working with horses by appealing to their instincts and herd mentality. It involves communication techniques derived from wild horse observation in order to build a partnership that closely resembles the relationships that exist between horses.