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Calm leadership, consent, no force, no fear

Every Saved by the Saddle program is taught from Leyden Horsemanship: the established horsemanship program at Ocean View Stables in Daly City. It is a natural horsemanship-based approach rooted in respect, communication and relationship.

A chestnut horse with a pale forelock looking straight at the camera at Ocean View Stables

Honest, sensitive and present.

Not a new idea, an established one

Saved by the Saddle is new, but the horsemanship is not. Leyden Horsemanship is already taught at Ocean View Stables, and Saved by the Saddle's programs teach from it: the same approach with horses, applied to how we work with people.

Listening, timing and mutual respect

Natural horsemanship is a relationship-based approach to working with horses. Rather than relying on dominance, punishment or mechanical pressure, it focuses on listening, timing and mutual respect.

Understanding communication. Learning how horses communicate through body language, energy and subtle cues.

Working with instincts. Partnering with a horse's natural instincts rather than overriding them.

Clear, calm presence. Using clear, calm, non-forceful communication that horses understand.

Trust through consistency. Building trust through consistency rather than control or dominance.

Five principles that carry into everything we run

Leyden Horsemanship builds on the principles of natural horsemanship while emphasizing calm leadership, consent and emotional awareness.

Presence before performance

We value awareness over outcomes. Horses respond to what we bring into the moment: our breath, posture, energy and intention.

Consent and choice

Both horses and people are given choice. Participation is never forced. Trust grows when choice is respected.

Consistency builds trust

Clear routines, predictable cues and calm repetition create safety, for horses and humans alike.

Pressure with purpose

When pressure is used, it is minimal, thoughtful, and always released the moment the horse responds. That teaches communication, not submission.

No force, no fear

We do not use intimidation, punishment or fear-based methods. Safety and dignity come first.

How this philosophy shapes the programs

For horses

  • Horses are partners, not tools

  • Each horse progresses at their own pace

  • Stress signals are respected immediately

  • Horses may step away from sessions at any time

For participants

  • No prior horse experience required

  • Groundwork for everyone, riding only by choice where it is offered

  • Learning happens through observation and experience

  • Reflection is invited, not demanded

A mare stands over her young foal in a deeply bedded stall at Ocean View Stables

Watching is part of the lesson

Leading, standing, grooming, waiting. The quiet work on the ground is where a horse learns what to expect from the person in front of it, and where a person learns to be worth trusting.

Participants spend as much time watching from the rail as they do working. Learning happens through observation and experience, not instruction alone.

Where a program includes riding, the same principles carry into the saddle, and riding is always the rider's choice.

Saved by the Saddle does not

  • Use fear-based training

  • Force participation

  • Rush outcomes

  • Promise clinical results

See it in practice.

The horsemanship comes to life in the programs at Ocean View Stables.

Help build it properly.

Gifts fund free sessions, the training and safety work behind them, and the groundwork for a rescue program done right.

The green bluff above the Pacific beside Ocean View Stables in Daly City