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Amy Allen is an experienced horse trainer/riding instructor in Shelton, WA, who specializes in unbroke and problem horses
and working with students who are afraid or have been through a traumatic experience. Amy uses her horses to teach Natural
Horsemanship or travels to your location to give you lessons on your horse. She teaches all ages and levels, from beginner
to advanced, improving their equitation and communication with the horse.
Amy's experience began early--at 2 years old, as her mother and sister are avid horsewomen. Over the years, Amy studied
a variety of disciplines in riding and training, and she now passes her experience to her students.She took innumerable lessons,
worked with expert horsemen and women, and showed saddleseat on beautiful Morgan horses.
Amy was a groom/assistant trainer at Conestoga Run Farm in PA under the direction of Eric Krichten, traveling up and down
the east coast doing the Egyptian Arabian show circuit. She has also worked with many different breeds of horses, at various
stages of training, as well as unbroke, green, abused and mishandled horses.
Amy's training is based on Natural Horsemanship and she mostly follows the training methods of John Lyons and Bill Dorrance.
Having seen quite a few well known Natural Horsemanship trainers in person, she takes from them the more gentle methods and
customizes the training for each and every horse she works with.
"One of the best horse training mentors in my life was a wise cowboy by the name of Bill Wall. Not a big name, well
known trainer but a gentle cowboy who was once one of those break em' cowboys. He learned the gentle methods of Natural Horsemanship
and took me under his wing, teaching me the patient way to work with the horse, teaming up with them and understanding them.
Bill is the one who taught me 'wait on the horse', I can still hear him saying it every time those words come out of my mouth.I
was not always a patient student, and some lessons were hard learned and frustrating, but it was well worth it".
She also relies on her own basic good horsemanship, where she watches, listens and feels the horse to develop a good partnership.
"Feel the horse, feel him give to the pressure and release. It's the reward he is seeking", Amy says, "You
will learn and speak the same language and come to a better understanding when you learn the 'feel'."
This is known as Natural Horsemanship, the idea being to communicate with horses at their level, in their language and
develop trust and understanding while teaching specific tasks and movements. Its a new name for a training style that has
been done for years, understanding and communicating with horses in the horses own language.
Amy has learned that rushing to get a result often takes longer if the horse is not ready. "Wait on the horse"
is a term that you will frequently hear her say, "timing is everything". Once you understand the horse's reason
for what he does, you will begin to develop the language needed to communicate what you want to him. Horses are prey animals
and will run away when frightened, or if they can't run they will fight. Once they learn to trust you and listen to your body
language and cues a partnership is born. Once you have their trust they become a willing partner, working with you without
resistance".
As a life-long student of horses and avid learner, Amy continues to attend clinics and symposiums to see what new ideas are
developing in the horse world and to keep herself on top of her training. She synthesizes the plethora of information and
offers lessons and training that are tailored to each student and horse. Amy says, "A good teacher is a good student and is
always learning. One of my favorite sources of new information is my students and horses--especially the horses. I gain as
much learning from them as I hope they learn from me. We learn from mistakes, whether they are our own or someone else's.
If you are riding a horse and they are not doing what you are asking them, maybe you should be listening to your horse."
"Patience, timing, communication, skill, common sense, and an open mind are the keys to a good relationship with your horse.
There is always something to learn to make you a better rider or trainer. I want your horse experience to be safe, fun and
enjoyable."
If Amy's philosophy and approach sound like something you'd like to experience, don't hesitate to call her or send an email.
She is always accepting new students and horses for training.
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| Amy with one of her teachers, TJ |
amysgame@hotmail.com
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