Cooperation isn´t behaviour. It´s conversation.
After practicing and teaching equine cooperative care for more than 10 years, I realized a few important things. First, when we get stuck, it´s rarely about the equine. Almost every time, it´s about the way we've been taught to think about cooperation.
Most of us spend decades thinking about how we can make our equine do XYZ, or how to motivate them to cooperate, without actually asking these fundamental questions: Are we someone the equines feel safe to cooperate with? Can we create space for a conversation our equines actually want to join?
12-week guided hands-on training experience (online). Kick-start your cooperative training & get your equine ready for the most common healthcare procedures. Small group. Live calls. Feedback on your training.
Imagine that the vet appointment is scheduled for tomorrow. For the first time in years, you aren´t worried about your equine´s behaviour. You know you are both ready. You´ve done the work. How does it feel?
Host or attend an equine cooperative care clinic, and take advantage of in-person learning & direct feedback on your training. Bring your own horse (mule,...) or come as an auditor to watch others train.
Getting a genuine "YES" from your equine:
Building your equine´s agency & emotional safety by asking for their consent and allowing them to say "no".
Creating a space for a two-way conversation your equine actually wants to join
Becoming a person your equine wants to cooperate with
TESTIMONIALS
PERSON BEHIND VETCARETRAINING
Hello, I´m Katerina
I am an equine veterinarian, life-long equestrienne and animal lover. I've always been passionate about equine health, behaviour and training, and helping horses and other animals overcome their fear of the vets and health care procedures.
I created this project to help horse owners and equine professionals understand equine patient´s behaviour and learning, gain more confidence in handling equine patients in safer, more ethical and more effective manner, and to know how they can effortlessly start building trust every day with the help of science-based techniques.
My work is based on combining scientific evidence, body awareness, emotional awareness, and ethical principles of handling and training horses.
I strongly promote using force-free techniques based on understanding equine behaviour and learning. I identify with the LIMA (least intrusive minimally aversive) approach.