I was obsessed with horses as I grew up. Most girls had dollhouses and baby dolls, I had the stable and plastic horses. The obsession didn't wane as I got older. I got my first horse when I was 19 and I have been collecting them ever since. Each one of my beauties is special in their own way.
I didn't really know anything about horse training or horsemanship, but I wanted to have a better understanding of how to care for my pets. I hired a trainer who was a master at natural horsemanship. There is no yelling, screaming, or brutality in this way of training. It is the building of trust and understanding between horse and human.
As I look back on the process and now have a better understanding of D/s, I see how the principles of both are so very similar. I watched as John, the trainer, moved and used hand commands to elicit responses. I was able to see the way nonverbal communication and body language made up so much of the relationship. He always called a training session "playing" with your horse. There were different lessons for different expected outcomes just as in D/s. Who knew that I would learn D/s from horses!
