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Building Trust in Horses a Labour of Love | Print |  E-mail

‘You can see the horse change, especially his eyes,’ says trainer who takes the fear out of breaking

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Horse trainer Gary Hunt gets up close and personal with a new horse. Photo: John Lucas
By DAVID FINLAYSON
Copyright Edmonton Journal March 29, 2007

It took about 25 minutes for Gary Hunt to get a raw, unbroken colt to accept a saddle. But he had no intention of trying to ride the horse at the Farm and Ranch Show Wednesday.

“It’s all about patience and getting the horse to trust you,” the veteran Black Diamond horse trainer said.

By the end of the show on Saturdayhe promised to be upon the horse and have him turning and backing up.

The former professional bull rider, who paid his entry fees by breaking horses for ranchers, doesn’t believe in the hang-on-for-dear life old style way. He likes to take five one-hour-a-day sessions, slowly gaining the horse’s trust and respect.

“They are afraid of you, and when they are afraid their mind doesn’t work. So you have to take the scared out of them.”

And if you do it right you can see the horse change. I’ve had horses bring tears to my eyes they trust you so much.”

If the horse is already halter-trained, Hunt will slowly get it used to having a light blanket touching it and being put on its back in a process called “sacking out.”

At the same time, he is teaching it ground manners such as standing still and being “parked” by pulling its head down gently but firmly.

Then comes the heavy blanket and the most difficult part— putting the saddle on.

It’s not so much the saddle itself but the cinching around the belly that can frighten a horse. And indeed, the colt did a couple of bucking runs around the pen before settling down so Hunt could continue his “EasyStart” systemof firmness and reward.

He breaks 50 or 60 colts a year for clients on his 10-acre spread, but at 54 he wants to get more into teaching younger folk his methods.