Gracie is an older grey mare who lives at the rescue. No one knows her exact age, but she’s probably around 18. Gracie was rescued in 2007 from a feed lot in Nevada where she was on her way to the slaughter house. When Gracie was rescued, she was absolutely terrified of people. She was […]
Tag Archives | fear
Halter Training with a Head Shy Horse
Apollo is a three year old paint colt who I have been working with at the rescue for the past several months. He had no previous handling and was pretty skeptical of people to begin with. He warmed up to us pretty quickly and enjoyed being brushed and scratched, especially on his belly!! However, was […]
Boomer’s First Session with Halter Training
Boomer is one of the few horses left at the rescue who isn’t halter trained. I started working with him yesterday and he’s doing great so far! Boomer was pretty hesitant and skeptical about people, so I started with him using the CAT procedure. Prior to yesterday he would sometimes let us touch him on […]

In a Whisper or In a Shout? Training under Time Constraints
Recently I watched a documentary film called In A Whisper. It’s a DVD of a colt starting challenge that was held in Fort Worth in 2002. The three trainers in the competition, Craig Cameron, Pat Parelli and Josh Lyons, each had 2 1/2 hours to start a two year old colt. The horses had very […]
Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues
This post is part of a series of several posts on cues. I recently watched one of Alexandra Kurland’s DVDs, Overcoming Fear and the Power of Cues. It was a fascinating look at positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, desensitization, fear and cues. Learn more about the DVD or purchase it on Alexandra’s website. Horseflix subscribers can […]
What makes something scary?
Some horses are afraid of everything and every horse seems to be afraid of at least something! Plastic bags on the ground, a rain jacket or poncho, leaves blowing in the wind, water bottles, tarps, umbrellas, bridges, a new jump in the arena, his own shadow….the list could go on forever! This can be extremely […]