About
About Horse Soul
Nadja Schmid (Managing Director)
Born 1982 (Swiss): As the Managing Director at Horse Soul, Nadja oversees the development and implementation of the communication and start-up strategy for the organisation, which provides equine-assisted coaching and therapy. Nadja has more than five years of experience in leading communications for global organizations in various industries, such as staffing, engineering, and music. Nadja’s mission is to use her communication skills and passion for horses to inspire and empower people to achieve their personal and professional goals. Repeated horsestudies since 8 years old, in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, France.
Antonio Ragno (Horseman):
Born 1976 (Italian-Serbian), lifetime jockey (watch successes here) and racehorse trainer, horseman, youngsters educator - currently working in Europe to educate and ride yearlings, thoroughbreds and leisure horses. Antonio worked with the Italian para-dressage organisation World Soul at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo and the World Championship 2022 in Herning, Denmark. He worked in Qatar, France, Italy and Switzerland, and, so far, has educated over 300 yearlings from the time they came from the field. Completing his studies he also has a Farrier Diploma from the Oklahoma Farriers College, USA.
“I can make a General in five minutes,
but a good horse is hard to replace”
Abraham Lincoln
Philosophy
In our career with horses, across the field spectrum, we observe one common theme:
A horse that enjoys serenity and trust, together with humans, will always be happier and perform better than a horse that is forced to work against its will. Human methods such as use of coercion, pressure, threats of punishment and, equally harmful, monotony – is often the origin of ensuing problems.
The horse, which has a prey instinct by nature, sees the world differently from us. By communicating with them in a way they can understand, using a language they already know by natural instinct, we can improve our methods of making demands on them and consequently answer our questions.
The horse can become our partner for life if our relationship is understandable and respectful towards them.
And all this can begin and continue in a very short time. The key thing is to speak to them in their own language—body language.
Horses, all of them, are sensitive and intelligent enough to know how to interpret our requests. Like any human athlete, in order to make the most of their body's potential, they need mental serenity, which translates into maximum sporting performance as the mind and body work in symbiosis. Our solicitations must be simple and understandable. The moment we try to correct their behaviour with harnesses and inflicting bits, they will perceive this as a force or danger from which they will inevitably want to escape, and they will do this in the only way that nature has taught them: fight or flight.
Quote:
Samuel Chifney, Genius Genuine (originally published in 1795) - Chifney was a pioneer of professional race-riding, developing a trademark late finishing style, known as the 'Chifney rush' and was the retained jockey of the Prince of Wales. He became the leading horseman of his day:
“(…) That the first fine part in riding a race is to command your horse to run light in his mouth; it keeps him the better together, his legs are the more under him, his sinews less extended, less exertion, his wind less locked; the horse running thus to order, feeling light for his rider’s wants; his parts are more at ease and ready, and can run considerably faster, when called upon, to what he can when that he has been running in the fretting, sprawling attitudes, with part of his rider’s weight in his mouth.
And as the horse comes to his last extremity, finishing his race, he is the better forced and kept straight with manner*, and fine touching to his mouth.” - Samuel Chifney, Genius Genuine
*The word “manner” is knowing, putting, keeping self and horse in the best of attitudes. This gives readiness, force, and quickness.