About EQxpressionism

Kyley DiLuigi

EQxpressionism is a contemporary movement in the long lineage of equestrian pursuits. Shortened from “equestrian expressionism”, EQxpressionism is about practicing horsemanship as an artistic practice.

EQxpressionists generally work with their horses using a combination of natural horsemanship and clicker training, and draw from disciplines as wide-ranging as Classical Dressage and gymkhana. The goal of the training is highly individualistic, stemming from the belief that horsemanship should be a pursuit of the horse’s and human’s combined ideal.

Ivy Schexnayder

The meaning of “express” in EQxpressionism in two-fold. Firstly, it refers to the facial expressions of horse and human. EQxpressionists desire to create two-way communication with the horse, relying particularly on communicative exchanges through facial expressions. Secondly, the “express” in EQxpressionism refers to the desire for horse and human to interact artistically, expressing the best versions of themselves. Being neither work nor sport based, EQxpressionism focuses solely on the goal of art-making in the interchange between horse and human.

Joyce de Vos

EQxpressionism should be identifiable by horses and handlers who look happy, full of life, and sincere. Though their approaches vary, EQxpressionists are conscientious about the tack their choose, riding and training methods, their horses’ environment and feed, and both their horses’ and their own mental, emotional, and physical health. EQxpressionists should not be absolutist, but fair-minded, observant, positive, and kind.

EQxpressionism is an “open source” discipline, meaning that it is publicly shared intellectual property. The terminology is generic and open to adaptation, modification, and redistribution. We operate under a set of value-based principles and practices, one of which is that EQxpressionism become widely adopted as an alternative to sport and work based disciplines. Professionals are welcome to adopt the EQxpressionist terminology, provided they adhere to EQxpressionistic practices. EQxpressionists generally enjoy freely exchanging information and ideas with their contemporaries and like to contribute to the online community by posting in a blog and making online videos.

History

Kali Kiger

Kali Kiger coined the term “EQxpressionism” in 2009. In May 2010, she published a book of interviews with trainers from around the globe, including Ivy Schexnayder, Kim Sturgeon, Kim Gould-Wende, Karen Clouston, Cheryl Glen, Joyce de Vos, Julia Thut, and Les Freeman. Today the interviewees interact regularly on Facebook and continue to help create inspirational and educational materials for the online community. Kiger has two more volumes of EQxpressionists in the works and hopes that the movement will continue to take off around the world, with many EQxpressionistic trainers and facilities. Please contact Kali (kali@ponypros.net) for more information or visit us on Facebook to join our non-branded study group.