The Rural Animal Learning Centre
About me
Horses
An obsession with horses began when I was about seven years old. As a young person I had experience with hunting to hounds, endurance and all in between.
Experience has led me to move away from those traditional methods towards an approach that puts the horse first.
Trust between human and horse builds amazing relationships.
The methods used are modern, science based & apply the application of positive reinforcement in the most fun and engaging ways.
Understanding that our management and training directly affects our horses ability to feel safe and to learn complex behaviours, was a major break through for me that led to me taking a "naturalistic" approach to how my horses live.
Teaching them in a way that respects their sentience and intelligence has been a thoroughly enriching experience for them...and for me.
I have spent several years simply living along side my horses without expectation of any specific behaviour from them.
This has resulted in horses that are now ready to trust, learn and more importantly, enjoy the learning process along side me.
Through my experience working as a Professional Dog Trainer, I have become determined to help others find this type of relationship with their horses...
Large Animal Husbandry and Training
I was born on a large, mixed farm in Northern Tasmania and had years of experience with large animals: from a 200 head dairy to an intensive piggery.
The culmination was a deep interest in ethical farming on the family’s Wattle Grove Speckle Park Cattle and Commercial Dorper Sheep Stud.
Today sees me apply the same principles to all large animals as I would my dogs and horses. Science based and designed to create trust and an understanding of what they need to do via positive reinforcement training and an holistic approach to management.
Professional Dog Training Service
I have experience with helping people with their specific dog behaviour problems, providing solutions that are fun & easy to implement.
Recently I am having great fun in the continued training of my own "farm dog", Hiccup, an Australian Coolie with foundation lessons for Herding along side agility and continued research into dealing with dogs who find life a little challenging.
This experience is grounded in 13 years of experience as a professional, science-based dog trainer, holding a Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services and a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing.