Last Updated: Friday, November 17, 2006 1:48 PM CST
Horsing around -- Not your everyday training
By Chantel Balzell - Daily News Staff - cbalzell@rhinelanderdailynews.com
When Amanda Lane enrolled in the Minnesota Horse Training Academy which she discovered online, she had no idea what to expect.
“I was definitely nervous,” Lane said. “There's a lot of trainers out there that use harsh methods or strange methods, and I didn't know what kind of trainer he was.”
Lane says it was not until her third day at the academy that she realized how knowledgeable her instructor, Larry Surrett, actually was.
“At first I was hesitant on a lot of things that he was saying, not really reading too much into it, just hoping to take something away from the school, but I ended up taking everything away,” she said.
The academy was a three week course that taught Lane everything from teaching a horse to jump into a moving pickup truck to getting it to lie down.
Surprisingly, sitting down, Lane says, is one of the hardest tricks to teach a horse because it is not natural for them to do.
Each day, the students learned four lessons, which were first discussed in a classroom setting. Then, in the afternoon, Surrett would demonstrate the lessons outdoors with his horse, and later, students practiced them with their own horse.
The first week was the most difficult, Lane says, but by the second week, it was easier.
“A lot of his techniques are so different from what I was used to and what I was accustomed to,” she said. “The first week, basically, I had to teach myself how to teach a horse.”
During the last week, the students prepared for their final presentation, which was held before friends and family members. In addition to their demonstration, Surrett had the students answer 30 questions on how to train a horse in scenarios that were not covered simply by using steps he outlined in similar situations.
“The way that he teaches you, you can teach a horse to do anything physically possible,” she said. “So you could probably ask me anything and if it's physically possible for a horse to do, I could probably tell you how you would train your horse to do that.”
When training a horse, each step, Lane says, is foundational, making it essential for students to master the first lessons before moving on to the next.
Now that she has graduated from the Minnesota Horse Training Academy, Lane hopes to return next year possibly as an assistant trainer.
While she hopes to be a professional trainer, Lane is currently saving money to buy a young, untrained horse, which she will train and sell.
For those looking for a horse training school on the Internet, Lane suggests researching the trainer and his or her techniques.
Lane highly recommends attending an academy, claiming “I acquired so much knowledge and hands-on experience to make any horse safer, more relaxed and willing in less time than I ever thought possible.”
She says Surrett has trained over 2,000 horses for close to 30 years.
“Time is money in the horse business, so he tries to come up with the most efficient and quickest way of doing this,” she said.
Lane is a resident of McNaughton. She became interested in training horses after her parents began working at Fort Wilderness, where she and her sister began caring for the 50 horses at the camp. Two years ago, Lane purchased her own horse, Pirate, who is now 4 years old.
| Tell us what you think... |
| Comments » |
The
comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News. |
|
| Post a comment
(150 word limit) » |
| We will not post reader comments containing
racial, religious or personal attacks, slander,
profanity, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses,
phone numbers or Web site addresses that are
for personal or promotional gain. |
|
|
| Thank you for your comments! Once your comments
are approved, they will appear on the site. |
|
|
|
|
feed
Comments
