ProHorse Training, 29444 Range Road 32, Cochrane, AB (2025)

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween 🎃👻

10/21/2025

What does it take for a horse to trust you this much?

In this video, you see Sturgis, just three years old, lay down and fall asleep with his head in my lap — something that only happens when a horse feels completely safe.

Every day, your horse is asking one simple question: “Am I safe?”

And every moment you spend together is your chance to answer it.

True connection isn’t built through control — it’s built through understanding, consistency, and trust. When your horse believes that you are a safe place, everything changes.

To learn more about how we build this kind of trust through brain- and evidence-based horsemanship, visit our online school at prohorse.ca.

Because when a horse feels safe, they give you everything.

10/08/2025

Teaching your horse to come over to the mounting block in 3 simple steps

This isn’t just a trick — it’s a powerful exercise in communication and trust.
Here’s how we teach it:

1️⃣ Start on the ground. Teach your horse to soften to pressure and move its hind end away. Use a light rhythmic tap and your body language (push) to make it clear.

2️⃣ Switch sides, but still ask for the same response. Now you’re standing on the opposite side, still influencing the same hind leg. Reward every little step toward you — this is where your horse starts to understand the draw.

3️⃣ Once your horse is confident and soft from the ground, move to the mounting block or fence. Ask the same question here — and if they get confused, go back to the ground and explain again before trying from above.

Over time, your raised arm will become the cue, and your horse will start to choose to come over — calmly, willingly, and connected.

At ProHorse Training, we focus on making things clear and fair for the horse — always teaching in a way their brain understands.

Watch the reel for the full breakdown — and if you want more step-by-step exercises like this, join our online academy at prohorse.ca.

10/05/2025

Hi, I’m Carola, the founder of ProHorse Training.

I grew up in a small town in Germany where my parents had nothing to do with horses — but from the moment I met them, I couldn’t stay away. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to learn from incredible trainers and horse people around the world, and I’ve developed an approach that makes training clearer for horses and more rewarding for their humans.

My passion? Working with horses of all ages, breeds, sizes, and training stages — and helping owners become better partners. Because real progress doesn’t come from force, it comes from understanding.

That’s what ProHorse is all about. The name says it itself: everything we do, we do pro horse. Our training is grounded in science — the brain, instincts, and natural communication — so that horses can truly understand what we’re asking. It’s not about tricks or gimmicks, but about fairness, clarity, and evidence-based horsemanship.

I believe every horse deserves to be heard. And every owner deserves the tools to build a partnership that goes beyond obedience into real connection.

This is my life’s work — and I’m so excited to share it with you.

Tell me your story — how did horses come into your life?

10/02/2025

“If your horse had the choice, would it stay with you?”
That’s the question Liberty answers.

For us, Liberty is one of the most important parts of training — not because it looks pretty, but because it’s a way of communicating with horses in a language they truly understand.

09/18/2025

Ever wondered what ProHorse Training is all about?

Hi! We are Ava and Carola. Let us introduce ourselves and share the heart of our work: Liberty, evidence-based horsemanship, and learning how to communicate with horses in a way they truly understand.

We believe great training isn’t about control — it’s about connection. That’s what we teach, and that’s what ProHorse Training is built on.

Video: Joel McDowell

09/17/2025

BIG NEWS — Our ProHorse Training Website is LIVE!

We’ve been working behind the scenes for months and dreamed of creating a place where horse people can learn, connect, and grow together — and it’s finally here.

Inside you’ll find:
• Our Online School – Liberty, groundwork, problem solving, first rides, communication tools, and more.
• A real community – share experiences, set goals, and learn alongside like-minded horse people.
• Our Online Shop – hand-picked products for you and your horse.
• Everything you need to know about ProHorse

This isn’t just training. It’s evidence- and brain-based horsemanship that helps you truly understand your horse’s mind and instincts — so you can build a partnership, not just a ride.

Sign up for our Online Academy before September 30th to grab our early bird discount and become one of the very first ProHorse Team members. Just enter the Coupon Code: EarlyBird at checkout.

This is the next chapter for ProHorse Training — and we couldn’t be more excited to finally share it with you.

Check it out now: www.prohorse.ca

Photos and Videos: Elevate Media YYC and Joel McDowell
Website Design: Makayla Gross

08/01/2025

The 3 F’s Every Horse Needs - Food, Friends, and Freedom — and why missing even one affects your horse’s brain and body.

When we care for horses, it’s easy to think in human terms — what we would like, what seems cozy or convenient.
But horses aren't big, hairy humans. They have specific biological needs — and when those needs aren’t met, stress hormones like cortisol rise.

Let’s break it down:

1️⃣ Food (Constant Forage, Not Two Meals a Day)
Horses evolved to graze 16–18 hours a day. Their stomachs constantly produce acid — even if they're not eating.
🔬 When their stomach is empty for long periods, it can lead to ulcers, stress behaviours, and chronic cortisol release.

2️⃣ Friends (Real Social Interaction)
Horses are herd animals that communicate constantly — through movement, grooming, pushing, biting, or positioning their bodies.
Without social contact, horses experience social stress, which spikes cortisol and impacts their nervous system, heart rate, and overall regulation.

3️⃣ Freedom (The Need to Move)
The horse brain is wired for motion — especially the cerebellum, which plays a major role in processing movement and environmental feedback.
Confinement reduces this input and creates a mismatch between what their brain needs and what their environment provides.
🧠 This can lead to frustration, unpredictability, and chronic stress.

⚠️ Let’s Talk About Cortisol
Cortisol is the horse’s main stress hormone. A short-term spike (e.g., during learning or brief stress) is normal and healthy.
But if one or more of the 3 F’s is missing consistently, cortisol levels stay elevated.

💥 Chronic cortisol:

- Weakens the immune system

- Slows down healing

- Disrupts digestion

- Impairs learning

- Shrinks the hippocampus (memory center) over time

Can lead to learned helplessness and withdrawal

✅ What’s Best for the Horse — Not the Human
It’s not about what we think is nice.
A padded stall, solo turnout without any contact to other horses, or breakfast and dinner feeding might feel right to us, but it doesn’t match the biology of a horse.

If we want our horses to thrive, we need to stop humanizing them and start understanding them — biologically, neurologically, and behaviourally.

When we provide consistent Food, Friends, and Freedom, we’re not being idealistic — we’re giving horses what their systems are designed to function on.

Let’s build care around what they need, not what we imagine.

07/25/2025

Let’s talk Hancock horses.

They have a reputation—don’t they?
“You either get a really good one… or a really, really bad one.”
“They buck.”
“They’re difficult.”
“They’re just too much.”

But I don’t agree.
Not even a little.

In fact, the Hancock bloodline is one of my all-time favourites. My own horse Trapper is out of Alberta Blue Valentines —and he’s Hancock through and through. And I love everything about him.

So where does the bad reputation come from?

👉 Hancock horses are highly motivated.
They give 110%—every time.
But that means they’ll give 110% to the good things…
and 110% to the mistakes, the confusion, or the stuck moments if they don’t get clear guidance or a proper release.

If you reward resistance—because you didn’t notice the tension, or didn’t wait for softness—they’ll take that as the answer and give it right back to you next time.
But if you release at the right moment, when they offer softness, curiosity, or effort… they’ll come back tomorrow and offer you more.

Ask for a soft shoulder yield and reward the try, and they’ll be spinning beautifully for you within days.
They are thinkers. Problem-solvers. Doers.

That’s why they get labeled as difficult.
Because if the timing, feel, and clarity aren’t there—they don’t just tolerate it. They react to it.
And that’s not a flaw. That’s feedback.

So when I hear someone say,
“You either get a good one or a bad one…”
I say:

“No—they either had a good handler, or a bad one.”

Hancock horses will absolutely show you what kind of horseman you are.
And that’s why I like them so much.

They’re not difficult.
They’re not dangerous.
They’re not bad.

They’re motivated.

And they need someone who can meet them with the same effort, clarity, and commitment they bring to every ride.

💬 What’s your experience with Hancocks? I’d love to hear it👇

Photo: My 2-year-old Trapper (Hancocks Blonde Boy), (c) Nakita Kotze

07/21/2025

We’ve all heard of Learned Helplessness.
But do we really understand how common it is in horse training?
It’s not a modern problem. It’s something that’s been happening for decades—quiet horses being praised, when in reality, they’ve simply given up.

This topic matters to me deeply, because I see it so often. Horses that people describe as “so good” or “so calm”… but what I see is a horse that’s mentally shut down. A horse that stopped searching for answers a long time ago.

What is Learned Helplessness?
The term comes from psychologist Martin Seligman’s experiment in the 1960s. Dogs were repeatedly exposed to an unavoidable electric shock. Eventually, they stopped trying to escape—even when the chance to get away was offered later.
They had learned that their actions didn’t matter. Nothing they did changed the outcome. They gave up.

And that’s exactly what I see in so many horses today. Not because people are cruel—but because we’ve been taught to look for obedience over communication.

A horse in Learned Helplessness doesn’t look upset. That’s the problem.
It stands quietly.
It doesn’t say no.
It doesn’t move unless asked.
It never questions pressure.
People call it “calm.” I call it shut down.

A horse that has stopped thinking isn’t relaxed. It’s surrendered.

I don’t want that for my horses. And I hope you don’t, either.

So how do we know the difference between a horse that’s genuinely relaxed and a horse that’s just mentally checked out?

Look for the little things:
✔️ Is your horse licking and chewing when processing?
✔️ Does your horse sometimes offer wrong answers? That’s a good thing—it’s searching.
✔️ Is your horse curious about the world around it?
✔️ Does your horse feel safe enough to express a “no” sometimes?

These are signs of a thinking horse. A learning horse. A horse that’s still alive inside.

I’m passionate about this because I believe we can do better.
We shouldn’t feel proud of a horse that just shuts down. We should aim for connection, understanding, and a relationship where both horse and human can communicate clearly and honestly.

Don’t settle for silence. Look for curiosity. Look for try. Look for a thinking partner—not just an obedient body.

06/22/2025

Ever heard of the 3-Second-Rule ?

When a horse does something—like stepping forward, backing up, or responding to a cue—their brain instantly begins processing whether that action was worth repeating. This is called associative learning: the brain links a behavior with what follows it (either a reward, release of pressure, or a correction).

But this link isn’t open forever. It has a short window—and that’s where the 3-second rule comes in.

The horse’s limbic system, especially the amygdala and hippocampus, plays a key role in memory and emotion.
When something happens, the brain decides if it’s important by how quickly the result (good or bad) follows. Neurotransmitters like dopamine (which drives reward-based learning) are released immediately after the stimulus.
If the reward or release happens within about 3 seconds, dopamine strengthens the memory link between the action and the outcome.
If you wait longer, the brain may no longer connect the two.

👉 Example: If you're asking your horse to back up, don’t wait until they’ve taken 10 steps before releasing the pressure. If they shift their weight back or take just one step—that’s your moment. Release right then. That first effort is what you want to mark and reinforce. Otherwise, they may not know what they're being rewarded for.

It also works the other way around: it helps to give horses space between cues to not connect one cue with the other.

👉 Example: If you ask your horse to come to the mounting block and immediately swing your leg over, they may learn that coming over always means being mounted—which could make them hesitant to come in the first place. Instead, pause for 3 seconds after they line up. Let them reset. Then get on.

These moments of pause and precise timing are small adjustments—but they make a big difference. You create clarity, reduce stress, and build confidence in your horse. The 3-second rule isn’t just a training technique—it’s a reflection of how your horse’s brain learns best.

Try it. Wait just a little longer. Reward just a little sooner. You might be surprised how much faster they understand when their brain has the chance to catch up.

Photo: Alicia Nicole Wopereis Photography

06/16/2025

🚨 Don't Miss This! 🚨
We are beyond excited to announce our very first Pro-Horse Clinic—and it's going to be an unforgettable weekend! 🎉🐴

📍 July 19–20 | 🕘 Starts 9 AM Saturday – Ends 4 PM Sunday
📌 Location: Rocky Six S Ranch and Stables, Madden, AB
This clinic brings together 5 powerful sessions with 4 passionate clinicians over two days, designed to help you truly understand your horse—body, mind, and soul. Whether you're new to horses or looking to go deeper and learn more, this weekend will transform the way you connect with your equine partner and we guarantee you we will blow your mind with facts you haven’t heard before 🙌🏼

✨ Here's what’s included:
🔹 Liberty Training with ProHorse Training – Learn how to use your horse’s body language to build a connection—no ropes, no force.
🔹 Nutrition Deep Dive with Na Lio Equine – Understand what your horse really needs to thrive and get all your feeding questions answered.
🔹 Equine Body Work with Positive Movement – Learn hands-on exercises to help your horse feel great and stay sound.
🔹 Rider Fitness with Katelyn, Certified Athletic Therapist – Discover exercises to strengthen your own body, ride better, and prevent injury.
🔹 Brain- & Instinct-Based Horsemanship with ProHorse Training – Understand how your horse’s mind works and how to work with it, not against it.

💡 Our mission?
To give you tools, knowledge, and inspiration to improve your daily life with your horse. We want you to walk away not just feeling more confident—but more connected.
This is for horse lovers who care deeply about doing better for their horse—and want to hang out with others who feel the same way. 💛
You can bring your own horse or rent one for the weekend!

🎟 Spots are limited—so don’t wait!
$450 for participants with a horse
$250 for participants with no horse

We can’t wait to welcome you to the very first Pro-Horse Clinic and spend a weekend learning, laughing, and growing—together.

Overnight Paddocks available for an extra fee.

Send us a message, email or text for questions or to book your spot!

ProHorse Training

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