LRTC Wild Horse Mentors'
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Hue, who has been working with the wild horse mentors for several years,
is a very important component of our program. If we were a baseball team she would be our utility infielder. She's often in a corner pen somewhere doing initial work with new horses so they will be ready for participants to handle or she is resolving "spot" behavioral issues in the pens. Her quiet demeanor doesn't grab much attention but she's a steady member of the team.
Her area of expertise involves what we call "Focus Training." It is based a great deal on TTeam methods. She will oftentimes be seen teaming up with another clinician to resolve an issue with an upset or unfocused horse. (We're looking for more pictures of Hue at work if anyone has some.) Hue also uses the bamboo pole approach. |
Practicing TTouch approaches
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Basic Horse Care class
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Working on focus skills
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The purpose of Focus Training is to make the horse more aware of his body and
his spacial relationships to his environment and things in it,
and to think and respond calmly to stimuli rather than react.
Most simply explained, Focus Training is a non-resistive approach designed
to make the horse comfortable with focusing on his handler and it is
typically used in support of, not instead of, other "natural horsemanship" methods.
Proper use of the bamboo pole, a "wand," the longe line, "body work," all involve encouraging the horse to quietly focus, accept being touched or worked, and connect comfortably with the handler. Hue often works with abused and emotionally challenged horses where a horse's focus and emotional self-control is essential.
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Donna West |
Donna and Eva Knodt
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Donna is an accomplished horse trainer and mustang gentler. During the program she spent most of her time gentling horses and working with participants in her horse pen. She took time out, however, to work with John Sharp and John's students with this wonderful 20 year old jack burro.
Anyone who will take the extra time to help out an old burro just has to be special. Visit Donna's website at www.donnawest.com. |
Ground driving
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Rigging a pack saddle
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Making the old boy comfortable
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| Wild horses are social by nature. It is their gregarious attributes which allow them to accept humans in their social world once they have learned that humans are not to be feared. |
Continue to Part Seven
Return to Part Five
KBR Horse Net