Thursday Video: Liberty Horseboarding

These videos come with a very adamant “do not try this at home” warning.

When you have a horsewoman like Emma Massingale turned loose on the world, you can be pretty certain that there will be some pretty unique experiences for all of us at home to marvel over. This is, after all, the trainer that brought us The Island Project, where she, her four trained liberty ponies and two totally-green ponies were turned loose on a rocky uninhabited island off the coast of Ireland for a month to bond and train.

We’re fairly certain that there’s nothing Massingale can’t figure out once she sets her mind and the minds of her patient ponies to figuring it out. Apparently, that applies to horseboarding — the sport growing in popularity in Great Britain, where a boarder is towed behind a horse and rider through an obstacle course. However, Massingale puts her own liberty twist on the activity — no rider, no bridle, just a woman and her horses and their amazing trust and training.

As Massingale states in the original video description, this should not be attempted at home without the help of a trainer unless you and your horses are well-schooled in liberty work. Meanwhile, since I can barely get my horse to follow me across the arena without a halter, I think I’ll be leaving this one to the professionals.

Go riding!