First and foremost I am an equine behavioralist. I’ve spent much of my life working to better understand horses’ motivations. I specialize in working with troubled horses, or horses with people problems. My professional development is a collection of University Classes, schooling with trainers and clinicians of various disciplines, reading texts and books written by trainers of different disciplines, exposure to various training programs (such as Parelli/Happy Horse, Happy Life, and Downunder Horsemanship), and most importantly, observation.

While trainers teach and reinforce new skills, an equine behavioralist works to correct unwanted behaviors by understanding what drives the horse to behave the way they do. I work to give the horse skills and exposure to respond to stressors in a healthy and safe manner.

My foundation is firmly planted in Classical Dressage, becoming one with the horse by encouraging obedience and efficient movement. I use Natural Horsemanship,  a philosophy of working with horses based on the horse’s natural instincts and methods of communication and response to pressure and the release of pressure. I do not use force, fear, or pain to motivate. ‘Control is an illusion.’ I work to develop harmony between horse and handler.

Carriage driving is the focus of my training program. I develop my personal horses and ponies for driven dressage and combined driving events (CDE). I have extensive experience with working with damaged/abused/unhandled/wild horses.

I’m a member of the American Driving Society (ADS), Unites States Equestrian Federation (USEF), United States Dressage Federation (USDF), and the Carriage Association of America (CAA) where I am working to become a CAA Level 1 Instructor.

My History

I started riding when I was 3, got my 1st pony when I was 6. I got my first green training project when I was 9 and started training (in exchange for cleaning stalls) with a classical dressage trainer. I was also started jumping and eventing. At 12, I worked for a Thoroughbred racing barn. I retrained the retired and slow to be hunter jumpers. I did this for 4 years, but not as a full-time gig, I trained when they had someone for me to work with. I also began training for cart driving. I rode and drove two Welsh ponies. At 13, I trained my first two wild horses. (Assateague Island) ponies rounded up at Chincoteague Island. I gentled, desensitized, and trained the ponies to ride. By 16, I was schooling 1st level with the green horse I’d finished training. We were jumping 1.0m (bareback). After a move to FL and a brief break from horses to focus on school. When I was 18, I worked at an Arabian Show barn. There I focused on reversing damage done in the show ring. This is where I really developed my love and skill for training horses with people problems. I worked through the bucks, and bolts, as well as better developing the mind of the horse by introducing him/her to a calmer, quieter way to train. No chains needed. At 20, I purchased my first unhandled Thoroughbred and trained her from ground up, working with a dressage trainer and a jumping coach. I started competing at this point (aside from 4-H shows as a kid). I boarded at a very large facility (110+ full sized horse stalls) and during my time there I retrained a dozen or so ex-Thoroughbred racers and giving lessons for the rider to continue with the work I started. At 26, I took a four-year hiatus to travel the country and find a spot that fit me the best – I fell in love with WA. At 32, I returned to training, again working with Arabians and warmbloods. In 2007, I purchased a Warmblood of color to be my dressage/jumping prospect, unfortunately, he was diagnosed with wobblers at 9 months…..now he’s 18 yo and as beautiful as ever. I also rode several lease horses (mostly Thoroughbreds). During this period I offered riding lessons and spent my training time working with troubled horses. Then in 2012 we moved to a larger facility where we board, train, and again offering lessons. I became very involved in the Rescue Horse process. I’ve had several horses from bad circumstances come for rehab, retraining, and rehoming. We are NOT a rescue, though we do offer discounts for rescued horses.

What People Say

“Sent my pony there for four months, she came home a different horse! She became my dream pony, best buddy. Thank you Kimber!”

Karen Wang