If I ask you what compassionate financial life planning and natural horsemanship have in common, your first thought might be, “absolutely nothing.” Sound about right? Then you can’t miss the rest of what I’m about to tell you. 

I’ve been thinking about writing this article for some time now.

You see, we started taking lessons from Ron and Karen Pyne (www.ronpyne.com) a few years ago. Ron’s Natural Horsemanship opened up our eyes, minds, and hearts to an entirely different way of communicating with and understanding our horses. In turn, this elevated our riding abilities based on a profoundly new way of interacting with them.

Compassionate financial life planning and natural horsemanship

As so many of us do, it has become a habit of mine to take new concepts (ie those we are learning from Ron) and look at them through my lens, as a Financial Life Planner.

I wanted to share this with you for two reasons.

One is that I think you’ll find it interesting to see the similarities between what I do and what Ron does…even though I primarily deal with money and people’s dreams while Ron deals primarily with horses and the rider’s (our) relationship with our horses.

The second reason is to expand your understanding of what Compassionate Financial Life Planning consists of through gaining a better understanding of Natural Horsemanship. It’s almost as though the horses are helping us, yet again, to know ourselves better.

Ron has many clever sayings that stick with me. I, as mentioned earlier, so often hear and see them within the context of what I do in making dreams a reality.

What is natural horsemanship?

In case you’re wondering what Natural Horsemanship is, it basically comes down to understanding the world through the lens of the horse – we, as humans are predator animals: We hunt, gather and kill other animals that we then eat (except vegetarians of course!) And yet a horse will still see you as a predator, and horses are prey animals.

Thus, we have to approach and interact with horses using their psychology and not ours. 

Horses are incredibly sensitive animals so we need to be constantly aware of our own emotional and mental state along with our physical approach when we interact with them.

We play games that horses understand in order to partner with them. We ask them to be our partners. And respectfully give them responsibilities and love them up. 

Ron always emphasizes the concept of “playing” with our horses, as opposed to “working.” It’s a subtle change in mindset. But it makes all the difference in the world when you begin to feel that enhanced connection, and deeper understanding with your horse.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with Compassionate Financial Life Planning?

While you’re here, you’ll also want to check out this post where we discuss improving your relationship with money through dance. 

What about compassionate life planning?

Well, riding only happens after we’ve played games and furthered our relationship, while ensuring our safety. Horses are, after all, very large animals. They can do some serious damage if you don’t know how to remain calm and engaged, should their fear instinct kick in.

Planning should happen after gaining a clearer understanding of your relationship with money and the role it plays in your life. It also involves identifying the risks you could encounter along the way. That way, you can remain safe while making confident, positive decisions.

Compassionate Financial Life Planning is about strengthening your relationship with money. 

This involves a deeper understanding of your values and attitudes that may be rooted in things like your family upbringing, society, friends, spouse, and so on.

Coming to understand your relationship with money is a dynamic process, just like natural horsemanship. Regardless of whether it’s a relationship with a horse or your money, both require time, energy, and keen attention to all the details, the nuances and intricacies of that relationship.

Ron’s exceptional techniques and wealth of knowledge have allowed us to transform our thinking. And simultaneously, how we approach riding our horses. Similarly, people make all kinds of assumptions and judgements about their relationship with money. Those mindsets may require some evolution or alteration so that their relationship with money can flourish positively.

I dreamed all my life about owning a horse. Journeying into the countryside, galloping across fields, experiencing the joy of feeling free and powerful. Horses are majestic, magical creatures. They’re able to empower us so much more in life when we partner with them from a place of respect and understanding.

Turning dreams into reality

And as for Compassionate Financial Life Planning, it begins with understanding and respecting our relationship with money. It means collaborating productively with it through planning to realize the outcomes we want.

In other words, making all our dreams a reality!

I’m here to help you make those dreams a reality with philanthropy and inheritance planning. To learn more about my financial life planning services, click here. 

For more information on Ron and Karen Pyne, and their incredible and unique approach to natural horsemanship please visit www.ronpyne.com.

Here are three more articles you might also enjoy:

Improve your relationship with money through dance
Who do you want to benefit from your money when you are no longer here?
Estate planning with your loved ones

This article was originally published on October 9, 2018. It has been updated to bring you even more financial life planning insights.