**** UPDATE July 2024 - We will no longer be offering Obstacle Course or Desensitization training to outside horses. ****​

 

       I (Catherine) am a 2008 graduate of the Minnesota Horse Training Academy with a diploma in Systematic and Psychological Horse Training and I have been working with horses off and on for over 30 years. I have completed many courses in equine behavior, equine body language, stable management, equine science, etc.

 

       Horses that have gone through our Obstacle Course and Desensitization Program are exposed to a variety of situations to help turn them into more willing partners. They are taught to go out alone, trailer load, stand quietly tied, pick up their feet, and go up / over / through a wide variety of obstacles including bridges, tarps, tires, poles, logs, mattresses, cowboy curtains, mud, water,  etc. They also undergo systematic psychological desensitization training to make them less reactive to new or scary situations. 

 

      Properly executed desensitization training does not make your horse shut down or dull - it actually makes them more in tune with their handlers, which improves their attitudes and makes them more trusting, willing, and eager to please. This type of training encourages horses to think rather than react which makes them much safer in every aspect of their lives. All of our personal horses have gone through this training program.

 

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