Lizbud,

I will PM you after this post.

As for my experiences with horses, I have been, like I said working with them for about 25 years, and have been studying behavior, and physiology as well as human psycology to better understand training and rehabilitating them. It is a fun subject to teach to owners and riders also.

I have handled and trained over 250 head of horses in my lifetime, from ponies to drafts, but mostly Arabians, QH, Thoroughbreds, and Morgans. I have handled many stallions, both for training and/or rehab and breeding, have foaled out countless mares, imprinted their foals, lost count of how many horses I have started for riding and "finished" for show. I have trained horses for everything from basic ground manners to National competitions in Western Pleasure and Ladies Sidesaddle, which I adore. I have trained and retrained race horses, both TBs and Arabs. I also train halter for Arabians, QH, and Morgans. I love to help kids with Showmanship. But my favorite things to do are reining and trail riding. The only thing I don't do much of on horseback is jumping, so I am not extreamly qualified there, especially in a competive sense. But, if there is a behavioral or phsyiological situation to be addressed in those areas, I usually can work it out.

I have volunteered my services to equine rehab organizations, and have been attacked, trampeled, kicked, bit, rolled over over, and smashed into walls by frightened, confused and upset full grown horses. But I have also had so many wonderful experiences with abused horses learing to trust and care, and actually looking forward to being handled and ridden after months, and sometimes years of hard work and thinking about what I am doing with them. I am one of those crazy fools who will give a "vicious" horse a chance instead of sending it out to pasture for good, or worse to the knackers.

I have found this to be the most fulfilling thing in my life, next to God and my family, to be able to connect with horses the way that I do. It is a thrill!

If anyone has any more specific questions, we can start another thread, and open it up to everyone. I love to talk about horses and help anyone and everyone, so I am open to questions of all sorts.