This is a non-commercial, independent website, owned and written by Nancy Kerson, for the benefit of actual and potential adopters of BLM Mustangs and Burros and similar animals.
DVD or VHS (2-DVD or 2-VHS set) almost 3 hours of instruction!
$39.95 plus $5 shipping/handling = $44.95 total
Lesley Neuman: The First Touch Gentling Your Mustang $45.00
Lesley works with 3 wild horses at a BLM adoption, and very clearly explains what is happening, what she is doing, & what she sees in each horse as it progresses. Study this video and you can learn "pressure and release" gentling techniques to gentle your own new mustang!
Help for Burro adopters! Crystal Ward Donkey Training
All the basics of gentling, handling, and training. A MUST for new burro adopters! Good for domestic donkeys, too!
The Bamboo Pole method of wild horse gentling was developed by John Sharp of Prineville, Oregon, back in the early part of the 20th Century. His grand-daughter, Kitty Lauman, has perfected this technique and uses it on a regular basis in the horse training business that she and her husband, Rick, operate. The Laumans also teach clinics, where people can come and learn from them first-hand.
The Bamboo pole method is a very effective method of making safe, early contact with a wild, unhandled, or spoiled-unsafe horse, that most people can learn relatively quickly, and can use within the BLM-reg 20 x 20 foot pipe panel pen that most adopters start out with. No round pen is required. In fact, the corners of the pen are used to advantage within the bamboo pole method, providing the horse a feeling of relative safety. The pole works by making the pole an extension of your own arm, so you can reach out and touch the horse from a safe distance.
Learning to use the bamboo pole to make early contact with a wild horse is something that nearly everyone can learn, but it does need to be studied to be most effective. I strongly recommend Kitty Lauman's video "From Wild To Willing" produced by Video Mike, that very clearly teaches how to use this method. Here are a few still shots from their video:
Kitty Lauman: FROM WILD TO WILLING
DVD or VHS (2-DVD or 2-VHS set - almost 3 hours of instruction!
$39.95 plus $5 shipping/handling (+ California buyers have to pay sales tax)
Can't Order Online? No Problem! Just Call TOLL FREE 1-877-345-6748 (1-877-FILMS4U)
An Alternative to the Pole: Patricia Barlow-Irick's "Mustang Taming Stick" (also made from Bamboo)
FROM WILD
TO WILLING
Step 1:Start at the withers
Reward when the horse looks at you
Gradually work the whole body - keep a safe distance at first
Final stage with pole only: doing the underside and lower legs
Introducing a rope by attaching it to the pole
Draping the rope over the other side
Getting up closer
Transitioning to actual touching
Using a flag for extra energy and/or de-sensitization. The horse learns he can handle the flag, so he feels more confident, less fearful.
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copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Nancy Kerson, all rights reserved - I'm happy to share, just need to be asked and have credit given where due.
Disclaimer: Horses are inherently dangerous. Use the information contained within this website at your own risk.
