Playing With Horses - Natural Horsemanship and Equine Body Work

I met Wendy last summer. I was at the Graham Hill Showgrounds and had been struggling with my horse to get in the trailer for well over an hour. She had been getting progressively worse over the summer with her trailer loading. Wendy happened to be there and asked if I needed help. She promised me no quick fix; She worked with Monterey age 15 focusing on ground manners, finding the holes in her training. She addressed the problems, showed me how to work with my horse using her training techniques. We then proceeded to load Monterey in the trailer, she got right in and now loads every time, with no problems. Wendy has since worked with my other horse Cameo age 6 on saddling and starting issues. Ground work including, leading, circling and basic manners. We rode out on the trails together numerous times. Cameo is learning quickly and easily and responds well with Wendy’s methods.

I am a raw, beginning, 52 year old new rider. Wendy had helped give me skills and confidence to conquer my fear with horses. She adjusts her method and approach to fit what I need to accomplish, at my level. She is very intuitive to both people and horses! Very positive and affirming in style.

I sent Zuri my 3 year old Arabian to Wendy to start him for me. My horse was disrespectful when I led him around and was very spooky. He took 4 hours to load and Wendy stayed calm and patient. Making sure it was a good experience for him. Wendy started him under saddle and rode him in Fall Creek and Big Basin State Park. Wendy gave me riding lessons and took me out on my first trail ride with Zuri. He was ridden on narrow trails with water crossings, logs, bridges, and bushes tickling his belly. We safely encountered bicycles and other horses and my little horse did so good! He now quietly loads in the trailer and is excellent with his ground manners. He is desensitized to ropes, tarps and blowing objects. He is now very respectful of my space. Zuri is calm when I ride him at the ranch where I board him. We have lots of cars passing, dogs and pedestrians on the trails and he keeps me safe. He is calm with the tractors on the ranch. My horse is now quiet and good minded. You made my pony a good pony, Thank you Wendy!

I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I have several acres of redwoods and hills and a small area for my horses. I hired Wendy to help me work with my 4 year old mare. She was pushy and disrespectful and I felt limited in what I could do with her in the small area I had set aside. Where I saw limitations with my property, Wendy saw potential. She picked safe areas on hill sides and around redwood stumps where she could work my mare. We practice trailer loading techniques between large redwood trees. If it’s safe and she can use it Wendy will find a way to incorporate it into training.

Wendy has the ability to read each horse as an individual and tailors her training to the horses needs. My mare was extremely sensitive and lacked confidence. In just a short time Wendy had my mare respectful and built her confidence to a level where we could ask more and more from her. Wendy uses natural horsemanship techniques and is consistent and persistent in her training methods putting just enough pressure on the horse to accomplish what is asked. The horses she works are always calmer when Wendy is finished and she always considers the safety of herself and the horse. The fact that Wendy is trained in equine massage adds to the delight of the horse because when she is finished training there is always a thoughtful massage and stretch that leave the horse looking forward to the next time

Wendy worked wonders with my mare and also took the time to teach me and my daughter how to continue to train her and reinforce what she had started. She always takes the time to explain what she is doing and why. The subtly of her body language and how the horse is reacting to it. She listens to our concerns and even allows me to do a little back seat driving without taking offense. She is always trying to increase her knowledge and learns from every new experience.

While Wendy was working with my mare I ran into a couple of issues with my 22 year old gelding. Following a somewhat hairy vet visit that involved a twitch and several needles, my old guy decided he didn’t want anyone to touch his face. He was tossing his head and using other evasive methods all of which were dangerous. I asked Wendy to work with him with the simple hope that she could get some wormer into him. She worked with him for about 45 minutes and I have to admit I was a little skeptical because I didn’t really see if going anywhere. Then at about minute 50 my horse started dropping his head and closing his eyes. Wendy was putting her fingers up his nose and in his mouth. She was rubbing the inside of his ears and she gave him his wormer. The next day when I went down to groom him I started rubbing his face and he stood quietly while I too put my fingers in his nostrils and rubbed his gums. No more head tossing.

The same gelding provided another opportunity for Wendy to show her stuff when my farrier gave up on him. He always had a bad habit of yanking his back feet away. Previous farriers had used a nerve line or just muscled their way through it but this farrier felt that the horse was in pain and asked that I have Wendy work with him. Wendy worked with the horse using massage and stretching. When she first started working with him he would yank his feet away and slam them down hard. She continued to work with him about 30 minutes every time she came out. Each session getting a little longer stretch with a more polite release. In total I believe she has worked with him 2 hours over the past month, often times with 2 weeks in between visits, and today she was able to do a hamstring stretch and farrier stretch on both hind legs with the horse relaxed and calm. She was able to hold the stretch as long as a farrier would and to have him politely place the foot back on the ground. Wendy was able to determine that there were two issues involved with this problem. The first being that the horse was uncomfortable which she solved with massage and body work and the second being a behavior issue where he had learned if he yanked his foot away the offending person would leave. By taking care of the original problem and ensuring the horse was no longer in pain she then went on to fix the behavior problem.

I am very thankful that I happened on Wendy’s website and made the call. She is a wealth of knowledge and so helpful with every new challenge that arises. I am on my way to a new partnership with my horses, one based on trust, respect, and love. It is possible and Wendy is helping me get there.

Wendy had worked with me and two horses over the past 4 years. Working on and resolving ground manners and trailer loading issues with my 23 year old mare. Working on ground work with my filly from the age of 5 month to current (4yrs). Backing her and riding her under saddle. Extensive trail work, trailer loading and ground manners. Fantastic job! Wendy has great skills and patience working with her clients and their horses.

I have been Shoeing Wendy’s two horses for two years. In that time, Wendy has demonstrated solid knowledge of equine hoof anatomy, and how such affects the biodynamics of the body. While she ultimately leaves the shoeing decisions to me, as well as the veterinarian, she clearly understands how various trimming/shoeing techniques impact soundness and lameness issues. She has worked will within the veterinarian-farrier-owner dynamic as issues with her own horses have arisen. She is also diligent about keeping her horses on a regular shoeing schedule, which lets me obtain the goal of good farriery: maintaining homeostasis vs. having to constantly fix overgrown, severely out-of-balance feet. Overall, she has been a great client to work with, and I constantly appreciate her enthusiasm and dedication to our local equine population.

I hired Wendy McDonald to help me evaluate horses for my next purchase. I had specific criteria that needed to be met; however I do not have the expertise needed. After I made initial contact and deemed the horse potentially suitable, I made arrangements to see the horse with Wendy. She worked the horse(s) on the ground and evaluated their temperament. She also evaluated the horse physically for conformation, ability to perform the required duties and suitability for my needs. She gave me a clear and concise evaluation, which allowed me to make informed decisions. We looked at several horses before finding one that was a “good fit” all around.

I took lessons from Wendy McDonald both for riding and ground work. Having taken lessons from several different trainers, I enjoyed Wendy’s clear instructions. She demonstrated a skill, showed me how to ask for it, and if my horse was not familiar with the skill, she taught it to my horse. I have had her give lessons to my husband and children.

I also had a young, very green (unbroken) filly that I had acquired as a rescue. When she was old enough I sent her to Wendy McDonald’s training facility for saddle training in late March of 2006. Wendy rode the same filly in our local July 4, parade the same year. The horse was calm with sirens, balloons, crowds, bicycles, and motorcycles. My 11 year old daughter rode the filly in two July 4, parades this year.

Wendy performs equine massage on my 17-year-old mare. Wendy is very accomplished and knowledgeable; my mare is always much more comfortable after a session with her.

Wendy is very patient with me, explaining what she’s looking for, what she’s feeling, and how my mare is reacting. She has been teaching me things I can do to work with my mare to help keep her healthy and comfortable. Wendy also provides me with full documentation of every session to help me track my mare’s progress and problem areas.

Additionally, I am looking forward to working with Wendy in the near future on natural horsemanship, as she has been highly recommended in that discipline and is quite obviously talented in this arena as well. (Due to my travel and the need to move my horse to a new facility, we haven’t been able to schedule this yet but plan to shortly.)

I met Wendy McDonald through the Santa Cruz Horsemen Association. A friend was taking lessons from her and thought I might be interested too. I’m 62 years old and been ridding for 20+ years. I’m lucky enough to own two horses, both of which live with my husband and me on our property in Aptos. I have taken five lessons from Wendy and am impressed with her horsemanship knowledge and the challenges she’s given me to improve my ridding. {I’m a English rider, Wendy’s a western rider} Wendy’s teaching style includes groundwork, riding patterns and lots of information about horses and their behaviors. I admire Wendy’s horse handling techniques and her respect for each and every horse she works with. Wendy has also shown me some massage techniques to use on my 23 year old Arabian gelding. Wendy makes the lessons challenging, informative, and fun. I look forward to many more lessons.

My partner Tony and I have a small Equestrian Facility in Boulder Creek, CA. For our training needs we have used Wendy McDonald over the years and have been very pleased with our results. We appreciate the way she handles the horses for training and massage. She has succeeded in teaching my young teens very valuable skills and it has improved their horsemanship in addition to my own. Her experience and knowledge has veen very valuable to my success in having very socialized, trail worthy, safe horses. In addition to teaching me how to create a better partnership with my own horses. I have on many occasions witnessed her success in training my personal friend’s problem horses. When we were performing this year at the Gymkhana State Championship Wendy proved invaluable in helping maintain our horse’s performance level thorough massage and stretching.

When we recently purchased our nine year old Arab/Saddlebred gelding, he had been through some trainers in three different barns, numerous handlers and was owned by a novice who was unfamiliar with the methods used by big-named trainers looking for blue ribbons. While he did win a national championship, he was unhappy, skittish, nervous, suspicious and defensive when we took him on a one-month trial.

He had issues with ground manners, loading and trailering. He would not stand still to be mounted, he bucked at the canter and refused to walk in mud on the trail or venture into the river. In our first attempt at loading, he didn't get within twenty feet of the trailer without balking, rearing and backing up.

We saw immediate improvement after his first session with Wendy. He finally met someone who understood him! He began to trust her and she began to change his attitude and actions. Wendy exposed him to many obstacles on the park trails and along the busy highway by our home. His biggest challenge was walking into the knee-deep river.
Wendy's training methods had him comfortably fording the river, going up the bank then back down into the water, without hesitation. Now his only reluctance is leaving the water! As she trained, she constantly explained her actions to us and how they affected change in the horse.

He now stands still for mounting and doesn't buck at the canter. He leads right into the trailer and is relaxed and eats while traveling. His ground manners are excellent and he circles, backs and yields without hesitation He has been transformed from a nervous, high stepping horse to a calm, relaxed, pleasure mount and is currently used as a
Patrol horse in Henry Cowell State Redwoods Park

Wendy has been totally responsible for his transformation and we would highly recommend her as a trainer of horses and the people who ride them.

Rose was transformed into a confident and competent horse rider after some intensive training by Wendy. Wendy started working with my daughter Rose and her new horse Darla about 2 weeks ago. We got Darla August 1st and while Darla is a sweet mare she started taking advantage of my 12 year old Rose in the first week of riding. In the arena Darla would stand in one place and not move. Darla was getting sour quick! After a little less than 2 weeks of training by Wendy my daughter Rose had a much stronger command of the horse and with that her confidence and skill level went up. Her horse is now in control on the ground and Rose and Darla are trotting patterns in the arena. Wendy has an easy way about her while she controls the situation between rider and horse using humor to make it all fun.

I highly recommend Wendy as a trainer for both the horse and the rider.

I met Wendy at a horseshow this year. She was illustrating muscles on her horse in beautiful chalk colors. That is what grabbed my attention in the beginning. When I talked to her briefly and she explained her goal I thought, that is a great idea, I wished I had more time to visit.

Off to ready my horse for her class and she was warming up great, I thought this is going to be a great class! Suddenly she pulled up lame and my hopes just died. The on site vet looked at her and could find nothing wrong. That didn’t help, she was still lame. Wendy came over and offered to so some of her massage and stretching on my filly. I was astounded what a difference she made in such a short time. A miracle I’m thinking. We placed well and I had Wendy’s phone number.

I did call her out to work on my mare that is 25 years young who has some of the same problems that most oldsters human and equine get eventually. Wendy has been out a few times and she impresses me more and more. I like the fact that she explains what she is doing and what I should expect as a result. Many that have worked on my horses for numerous reasons make their work secretive so that I have to keep calling them back. I watch my horse go from stiff to a very relaxed 1200 lb. body that I hope won’t fall over because she is so relaxed.

Wendy is very in tune with what my horse needs and how much she can handle. Although Wendy has a time limit she doesn’t leave until she feels that the horse is comfortable.

For people like me who view horses as their kids, nothing is too good for them and if you feel this way then give them a session with Wendy. I keep asking “Do you do people?”

Wendy McDonald has started 90 percent of our foal crop for the past 5 years. She had also started our APHA show stallion for both halter and under saddle.

She is consistent with her work and provides the horses with a good base foundation. All of our horses she has started have become good partners with the clients that have purchased them.

Our stallion currently sold to become a lead/breezing pony for the Hollywood Race Track in Southern CA. The new owner is pleased with the tractability and work ethic of this stallion.

Ms. McDonald has also re-started older horses for us that came to us with poor training or a poor foundation (i.e. cowboyed). Every one of our horses has benefited from her ability to communicate to the horse what was needed in a way the horse could understand and retain.

Ms. McDonald will continue to be our trainer of choice until such time that we no longer own or breed our APHA horses.

I would not and have not hesitated to recommend her to anyone that is wishing to have their horse become a solid riding horse to partner with.

Kimberly McGowan, Oso Viejo Ranch, Los Gatos

Wendy helped in training and finding a home for my 6 year old, 17 hand warmblood gelding, Rainfire. Rainfire had a terrible shoulder injury when he was a year and a half old that canceled his career as a dressage/three-day event horse that he was bred to be. Rainfire was a very sweet, but being 17 hands, he could be quite intimidating to most people. When Wendy worked my horse, she was amazing! She did extensive ground work with him, which turned him from being a huge overgrown Baby Huey that thought it was o.k. to walk right through you whenever he wanted to, into an alert, respectful, yes mam, thank you-mam, what more can I do for you type of horse. Rainfire was strikingly impressive to watch as Wendy would play the Natural Horsemanship Seven Games with him, and have him jumping over barrels on the lead line. All her work was done in a rope halter, which made him very soft, light, and supple. When it came to putting the bit and saddle on, their was no bucks or kicks. He became very sensitive and easy to ride. Rainfire had all the proper prior teaching from Wendy to make it all go smooth.

Another thing that was impressive was when Wendy ponied Rainfire on the trails. She taught him to lead from just the right place and stay there consistently at the walk, trot, and cantor. She made him overcome his fear of crossing the water. And, most importantly, she instilled the desire inside him to look forward to their adventures on the trail. He was excited when she came with the trailer to pick him up.

When it came time to find a home for Rainfire, Wendy was instrumental in finding the perfect family to take him. She networked through every aspect of her life (telephone referrals, friends, horse supply store, General Feed and Seed. Wendy has a very friendly, outgoing, likeable, and fun personality. She is also an excellent communicator. She made an excellent connection with these people and continued to work hard through showing my horse three times to them. They loved my horse and what Wendy had trained him to do and could hardly wait to get him home. Without Wendy’s help I don’t think it would have been at all possible to find any good situation for my horse. With Wendy’s help I found an ideal placement that was perfect for the next stage of training Rainfire.

Kristin Dyer, Boulder Creek

I have really benefited from learning the techniques that Wendy taught me. I bought a young horse that had major issues with anxiety, and fear of people. I initially poo-pooed the "emotional" reference to the developmental level of the young horse. Wendy picked up on the fact that the horse needed to be restarted from the ground up. She taught me that if there are "holes" in the stages of training, they will still be there to fix later. My horse was 5 going on 2. Wendy is professional, confronts the problem, and works through it. I like the fact that she encourages people to learn to work through the process, and not be dependent on her. She cuts to that chase, and just runs right to the "Nerve center" of the horse. My horse is now respectful, light and responsive to handle,...in all situations.

Leela Standal

Wendy is a very nice, knowledgeable, natural horse trainer. She is easy to work with, both my horse and I relax around her. She really helped me to get my horse to respect and understand me, she is great with helping us riders to use the proper cues, on the ground and in the saddle.

Barbara Kilduff

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