SAFELY. ETHICALLY. EFFECTIVELY.
When I started VetCareTraining in 2018, my goal was simple:
To help horse owners and equine professionals handle their horses more safely, more easily, and more ethically during veterinary and husbandry procedures.
As a veterinarian, I had seen too many horses struggle — frightened during injections, restrained during procedures, often misunderstood, labeled “difficult,” and treated as the “difficult” horses - with a lot of force and punishment. I believed we could do better. And I had discovered something powerful:
- That we could train horses to participate in their own care.
- That we could use force-free, consent-based methods to reduce fear and build trust.
- That we could create a system where horses don’t just tolerate care, but choose to cooperate.
What started as a niche project about vet prep has grown into something much bigger.
Because cooperative care isn’t just about handling injections or hoof trims. It’s about changing the entire foundation of how we work with horses. It’s about giving them a voice — and teaching them, step by step, how to be active participants in every aspect of their lives. It’s about moving from compliance to cooperation, and from obedience to understanding.
Over time, I began to see something remarkable:
When we give horses the right to say “no,” they start saying “yes” more often.
When we train with positive reinforcement, clear communication, and consent, horses become calmer, braver, more confident.
They become curious. Willing. Engaged.
And their humans?
They become more compassionate, more capable, and more connected to their horses than ever before.
Through VetCareTraining Academy,
(that is coming soon, so stay tuned)
I now teach horse owners and equine professionals how to:
Understand equine behaviour, learning, stress, and emotions
Teach horses essential life skills like standing calmly for vet care or daily care, accepting touch, following calmly, and loading safely
Create a shared language through positive reinforcement and choice-based training
Transform difficult or fearful behaviour into trust and cooperation
Build a foundation that supports all future training and interactions
Because the truth is this:
Every horse, no matter their age or job, needs healthcare.
And every procedure — from vaccinations to farrier visits — is a chance to either build trust or break it.
Sadly, many horses around the world don’t receive the care they need — not because owners don’t love them, but because the horse’s behaviour makes care too difficult or dangerous.
In those moments, people often resort to force — not out of cruelty, but out of fear, frustration, or lack of tools.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
I believe in a different approach.
That cooperative care isn’t just for "clicker trainers" or "problem horses."
It’s an essential piece of every horse’s education — one that gives them confidence, clarity, and control in an often chaotic human world.
- It’s how we teach horses to navigate the human world with ease, confidence, and understanding, not just blind obedience.
- It’s how we transform routine care into a relationship-building experience.
- It’s how we prevent conflict — not by overpowering, but by being more PROactive and less REactive
- It´s how we make everyday interactions FUN for our horses
And above all:
It’s how we show up for our horses with compassion, skill, and respect for their needs.
IT´S MORE THAN JUST GETTING HORSES READY FOR A VET
...and when I say "horse", in fact, I mean "equine" because the same applies to donkeys, mules, and hinnies as well!
