I have been involved with horses and horse training most of my life. As a young boy growing up in the country, my brothers and I would walk the five-mile stretch of gravel road to a local farm just to be a part of the horse world. We did chores all day long just for the opportunity to work with the horses and ride for a few minutes in the evening ... if all the chores were done. A few times a year, we got to saddle up and herd cattle from one pasture to another a few miles down the road. I was in cowboy heaven.
I'll never forget my old friend, a man in his sixties at the time, who owned the farm. He was old school for sure, but I could see in his eyes and hear in his voice that he knew there was a better way. I remember watching him walk into a corral of snorting and kicking horses armed with a rope and a calm gentle voice, and in minutes walk out with the horse he wanted. He may have used a lot of the old horse "breaking" methods, but this was years before anyone even mentioned "natural horsemanship". He was good to me and he had a real passion for the horse. I worked hard, and I learned a lot, and he was responsible for me getting my first horse.
In my early teens, I rode daily and competed in every gaming event imaginable at our local horse shows. If you could figure out how to make something competitive, we did it. Later, in my twenties, I trained standard bred harness racing horses for a local owner including two Chicago track record setting pacers. Although somewhat successful, I was not satisfied as there was no real opportunity to bond with the horses, the only goal was to see if they were fast.
After a few years away, I returned to the horse world, buying young or green horses and training them for resale. I spent a lot of time on the trails with other pleasure horse owners, usually discussing various problems with their horses and what should be done to correct them. I realized that this was an opportunity to pursue my passion for horse training, and provide a service for the pleasure horse owner as well.
For the past few years, I have devoted a lot of time to working with 4H participants and other young riders, including an opportunity to experience Equestrian Special Olympics. I am also very fortunate to have a wonderful circle of friends and associates who travel with me to Indiana Horse Rescue facilities to volunteer our services training abused and neglected horses to prepare them for adoption. I have met so many good people and special horses. I know that I am now doing what I was meant to do.
My mission is to provide the best of natural horsemanship training and rider instruction to build the bond between horse and rider.
Denny Taylor
