Horses don't see the world the same way as we do. It's a statement worth thinking about. If you've ever been out riding your horse when a pheasant suddenly flies out of the ditch, you'll know exactly what that means.

You know that it's a pheasant, that it's just flying out of your way, but a horse reacts like he's being attacked, panics and tries to bolt.

We forget that horses have been genetically engineered to be afraid of potential predators and fleeing is their best defence.

Horses have been around for 55 million years and yet have only been 'domesticated' in the last 12,000 years. That means humans have only been involved with horses for a blink of the eye.

Recent years have seen a proliferation of people wanting to understand more about horses and learn how to interact with them. Some are called trainers, others coaches -- and still, more are seen as horse whisperers.

Most have something to offer and we could all learn a thing or two from them, but, unfortunately, they also have to make a living and often come with armfuls of merchandise and gadgets.

How refreshing, then, to find one that isn't selling a special halter you must buy to use the technique, or a particular set of tack that will transform your horse handling ability.

Laura Domenica recently moved to Ireland after travelling worldwide to study under various horsemanship gurus.

She comes from a traditional background but is now a Chris Irwin trainer. Laura has taken aspects of all her training from the conventional to the non-conventional and combined it into clinics around Ireland.

She says she likes to work with people and horses as they arrive, and one of her philosophies is that the halter or the type of bit in the horse's mouth is less important than the hands that use it.

She grew up with horses on Scotland's west coast and started riding horses at the age of five.

She was called a natural and taught her first pony to jump without a saddle or bridle.

Throughout her childhood and early teens, she competed successfully in show jumping and cross country events.

However, she freely admits it did not always work out. A brilliant jumping pony bought for her came with armfuls of cups, rosettes and ribbons.

At home, the pair could jump for sport but when it came to the show ring, things fell apart.

The 'let's have fun and jump these fences' attitude she used when riding at home gave way to a determination to succeed and tension was palpable to the pony.

After training at the Scottish Equitation Centre, and working in racing stables, she left horses for 10 years, went to college and then worked as a merchandise manager in the retail business.

However, the birth of her first child brought Laura back to her true love and she started working with horses again.

She set up her riding school in Scotland, teaching people to ride for the next 10 years.

One of her friends in the racing world gave her some racehorses to rehabilitate and, although she had worked with thoroughbreds previously, she found their rehab required another level of understanding.

So began a personal quest for greater understanding of how horses think, feel and learn, and what motivates them.

"I wanted to be able to connect to these, often troubled, horses and have them truly trust me and want to be with me," she says.

"The idea of the horse becoming a willing partner, who was mentally and emotionally connected to its rider, rather than a horse that tolerated what was being asked of him, intrigued me."

When her husband's work took the family to the US and then Europe, Laura took to broadening her equestrian education.

When she first saw John Lyons work with a difficult horse, she was impressed by his way of communicating and by his phrase: 'The strongest lead rope in the world is the horse's mind.'

The next nine years saw Laura study some of the best-known trainers in the world, including Alexandra Kurland's technique of clicker training and grasping natural horsemanship by following John and Josh Lyons' method.

Back in Europe, she became a working student in France within the Parelli system under Andy Booth, and a year later spent two extended periods of study at the Parelli centres in the US.

After having two horses in Parelli level three, she continued to expand her knowledge by working with other practitioners -- this is an ongoing mission.

She has read, studied, and worked with Peggy Cummings, Bob Jeffreys and Suzanne Shepherd, and Klaus Ferdinand Hempfling. She also continues to study with trainer Chris Irwin.

To help her students with the art of riding, she has spent time with Sally Swift's Centered Riding practitioners in the US, and with the progressive riding instructor, Mary Wanless.

In Ireland, she is preparing for the Equestrian Federation of Ireland's coaching certificate.

The end result is Laura's own style that she calls 'connected horsemanship', based on her traditional background and combining it with the knowledge she has taken from others.

"Horses are highly individual, and you have to read them as such," she says. "The more time you take to see this, the more insight you have. The more insight you have, the more you are able to offer the right feel at the right time, in the right way."

As a self-confessed sceptic, I sat in on one of Laura's introductory clinics recently and was surprised to find myself nodding throughout her talk.

Much of the basic theory in her presentation made so much sense, it's a wonder we forget it.

She said horses are purposeful animals and, in the wild, always have a reason for moving.

Within the herd they are afforded safety because another horse offers them leadership.

They need one to look after them and tell them what to do.

They move because another horse higher in the herd hierarchy says so, because they need water or better grazing or when they feel safe and want to play. Not only that but they also know when not to move, she said.

As a prey animal, the horse has learnt to conserve his energy for when he needed it most -- when he had to flee for his life. That gave him purpose.

Laura says we often complain about lazy, unmotivated horses. Could it be they see no purpose in doing what we ask of them?

"When there is no meaning to our request, and no reason behind our actions, he simply sees no 'purpose'," says Laura.

"We repeat exercises that they already know just because we can, we make repetitions without attention to variety, accuracy or effort and we drill them."

A solution would be to give the horse a purpose when riding.

"When you ask him to back, let it be through a gate. When you ask him to side pass, let it be to avoid a puddle."

She is adamant humans often make the mistake of giving their horses emotion they don't have.

"Horses are not emotional at being moved," she insists. "When a horse that's higher up in the hierarchy moves another horse, the first horse just moves and that's the end of it. The 'mover' uses its presence and intent first, and will only resort to physical consequence when necessary. The horse isn't annoyed at being moved, there's no retribution.

"Horses are hardwired to read and show intent, so what he feels is what he emotes. If a horse's mind is distressed, his body shows that distress."

The opposite is often the case with humans, as we are taught to mask inner emotions, she adds.

Their ability to read intent is why a horse knows if his rider is angry, fearful or tense, despite attempts to mask it.

Laura's connected horsemanship style is based on some key elements -- the first of which is awareness of the horses' instinct, how they react and acknowledging how aware they are of their surroundings.

The second is the horse's need for boundaries. He is innately hardwired to test these boundaries and will do so with his human handler when they become a 'herd of two'.

Horses that push and shove with their shoulders or bite are horses who have been given unclear boundaries by their human handler.

The third is moving the horse's feet with purpose and in an emotionally-neutral manner.

However, the perfect amount of intent required from the handler to move the horse is unique to each individual horse and situation.

"Very often, the horses I deal with have become de-sensitised because of too much stimulation from the handler," Laura says. "Untouched horses are incredibly sensitive."

Check out Laura's teaching on www.connectedhorseman ship.com while I go off to teach my horse some boundaries.

- Caitriona Murphy