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Will-SkillSM Rehabilitation for Animals
Testimonials
Equine Testimonials "I got on a website about 'training
to preserve your animal's individuality.' After reading most of
that stuff I STILL think YOU have the secret!!! "I saw every minute of the work, start
to finish, and I still don't even believe it. It's amazing." "Jesse is a gelding in our herd at Chancelor
Ranch, Bodega Bay. He was not much use as a trail horse because
every time you'd cinch up the saddle, the
horse would go ker'plop! Right down flat on the ground he'd go.
I think we heard he'd been kicked in the gut by a previous owner
when he didn't stand still for the saddle. On your vacation you
donated two hours to helping Jesse with his problem; after those
two hours I even cinched him up myself. I watched you the whole
time and I still don't know exactly what you did, but the change
in the horse was unbelievable. Well anyway, ever since you were
here, we've been able to saddle and ride him out to the ocean again.
He seems to like the job. He has a woman at the ranch too who loves
to take him out." "Security was
trying to close down the state park for the night. It was getting
dark and my 4 year old horse still refused to get on the trailer
to come home, which, although he had only left home twice, was out
of character for him. After trying all the standard and obvious
bribes and coercions, I made the call, hoping she was available.
I did not want him to have a bad experience, and he is too big to
be fighting with. She came down right away, and using just a rope
lead line and small treats, she taught him to teach himself to load.
As the experience was a learning process versus a fight, the next
day he put himself on the trailer again and again and seemed completely
comfortable and in control. Even without treats, we couldn't keep
him out! It's a good way to go, to avoid having to undo the damage
from a horse that's been forced or even beat into the trailer, and
a way to avoid injuries for both the animal and the people!" "A winning race horse, fresh off the track.... who would not budge. Huh? That's what I got. All bets were off in the saddle; no go. The world of crops was his life on the track, so any amount of pressure on this horse and he would turn into a stone statue, 'untrainable' I think is the term they use. His fitting name was Solo. I have rehabbed many a horse in my day and even the "Natural" advice and books and clinics were not solving Solo. What is different about Casey's approach more than anything is that she thinks. It's not a system, step 1, step 2, step 3, it's not degrees of pressure or who's moving who. She has in depth knowledge of how the mind works across species. Its about watching the horse at liberty - how does he choose to move? What changes when the rider gets on? I was her puppet on Solo and I did what she
asked, which means I actually did all of what was done. So it's
the mind, quite simply, that Casey works with. She avoided everything
that would bring about a mental brace. She went to his brain and
did not insult him. We got the walk by asking him to solve a puzzle.
He couldn't trot counter clockwise because he was afraid of past
fights so we let him relive his memories. As the gaits quickened
the reward system turned into ambrosia for the boy; he is now looking
to please. He is crossing over into the world of seeking because
he knows there is something for him there. This rehab project is
not over yet but I now have a horse that can self-manage stress,
which is huge. He moves forward with his own character and confidence
intact. " People had often commented on how well behaved
my horses have been. However two previously
independent competition horses had been jointly attacked while in
south Florida by an unknown assailant (to this day we don't know
whether it was animal or human) who left them covered with blood
with long, curved cuts from withers to hindquarters. One
horse also had three extremely painful punctures on the abdomen.
They emerged from the experience neurotically
bonded, and with one aggressively protective of the other. Casey's approach methodically resolved the trauma inside maybe 6 sessions. She is professional, timely, kind, extremely intelligent, and remarkably effective, which is important because her approach is decidedly unusual. I still can't put into words what she does, even after watching it carefully, but it actively engages the horses, and she carefully manages their mental stress level so that they can learn whatever specific answers they need. First, Casey evaluated each horse separately to make sure it was aware of all its own body parts (which I was dubious about, until it worked). When she reacquainted them with their "missing" areas (she calls it "learned paralysis"), I noticed they both began to walk around in separate fields without anxious concern for where the other one was We drove each horse around the arena with the other loose to observe their concerns, progressing to separate road trips. Casey is an extremely keen perceiver of animal emotions, and knowing that she was making sure each horse wasn't pushed too far was psychologically critical to me. (I was horribly nervous about those first solo trailer rides.) In my opinion, Casey, leveraging her years with other species, has pioneered an incredibly effective new approach to horse training (and behavioral problems) that is a leap forward. I have had horses for 34 years, and I have seen everything from the old "show 'em who's boss" methods, to current traditional training techniques, to various new natural horsemanship approaches, and I think Casey's approach is different and more effective because she has the horse actively engage and understand and participate. I am now looking forward to using Casey's
approach to build a killer freestyle ride since one horse consistently
either shuts down or blows up with conventional dressage trainers,
and I want us to move up in level!" "I wanted to give you an update and also to give you a testimonial! The reason for me being so long in writing to you is that I wanted to wait until I knew for sure that Jessie was over her issue with her ear. Jessie is a rock solid trail mount and was to be my niece's 4H horse starting this year. This horse was a rescue horse and has been a gem for us in every way except when we wanted to bridle her. The problem we had was that it would take 30 minutes of trying to get the bridle on her, and we always ended up practically tricking her to do it. To recap, this mare would not let you even close to her left ear.; I think we determined she must have been repeatedly severely ear twitched in her past. As you said, you began pealing away layers of the issue or trauma as if it were an onion. Even after the first session, she was still really nervous about letting you do more than just brush by the ear. She slept on it and you worked with her first thing in the morning. We put her away again for a few hours and you worked with her again that afternoon. At the end of the second day, both you and I did bridle her, my entire hand enveloping her ear. Of course, my niece and I were in tears and so was most of your crowd. Long after the clinic, I was still afraid to let my niece bridle her without my presence for fear she would fail and we would take steps backwards. This was probably silly on my part, but I am protective of them both. But a month ago we were at a barn for a riding lesson and Jessie was to be the next in the ring. The riding instructor went over to Jessie and just threw the bridle on her before I had a chance to tell her to wait for me! Jessie just stood there, took the bridle and went about her work as if it were nothing at all. My niece actually bridles Jessie completely
different from the way I do it, and so do the instructors. So, again
you were right: she learned to accept the concept, not just a specific
action. "Casey has opened up a whole new world for me and my horse. I was a struggling novice horse owner with a young horse that had been orphaned, and I was dealing with progressively aggressive behavior. I read a lot of training books, watched a lot of training videos and was mixing methods which in turn confused my horse. I did not realize how significantly I was allowing my horse into my space which created this aggressive dynamic. Casey patiently unlocked us and we are now communicating and my horse clearly understands what is expected. In a few short hours, she had my dangerous horse communicating and taught me as well. Casey empowers you quickly. I was impressed that she developed a plan, checked in on the progress, stuck to her plan and adjusted fine details as necessary. I have never worked with any trainer who set clear goals, documented progress with case records, and stayed focused on what needed to be taught and learned. I am so glad I found Casey and look forward
to continuing to learn how to apply to more advanced training. I
even use this with the kids. I would highly recommend Casey for
any communication problem whether it be 4 footed or 2! I see application
as a manager of a large department to keep my staff focused and
motivated to reach their potential. " "If you can get
a halter on this animal and get him in the trailer, he's yours!
That's how bad I thought things were between my horse and I. I read
books, spent mega money on DVD'S. They all had some good information
in them, but they did not have that one thing needed to apply what's
in the books and videos to your horse. I searched for help, and
I met Casey. She teaches you how to teach your horse. How to literally
carry on a conversation with your horse. The confidence that you
and your horse gain is absolutely amazing. She empowers you with
everything you need to fix any problems that might arise, be it
horse, dog, human etc., and it stays with you forever. You can pay
someone else to fix your problem for you, but that does not help
you when the next problem surfaces. Casey Sugarman is "that
missing link" that so many of us are searching for! It's fun,
it's easy to learn, and anyone can do this. A priceless education.
" Canine Testimonials "Haddy" is the doggie mascot of our racecar team, which is ironic considering she wouldn't even get near a car! If she had to go to the vet or anyplace we'd pick her up and put her in and she'd heave and vomit a few times on the ride. Even with car sickness drugs and even on short trips, she'd still foam at the mouth and she just looked awfully unhappy. Around a car, Haddy would seem to stop breathing, like she had gone to planet Neptune in her mind, she'd shake or even nip at us. We didn't know how to help her. Haddy's car phobia took only 5 sessions to
reverse with Casey. Now Haddy jumps in the car by herself, looks
out the windows, and stands up on the console. She has gone on long
trips and short trips, all with no drugs, and she has not been sick
once, because her physical motion sickness was actually caused by
her mind's anxiety. Even if she eats a meal just before a trip,
she's fine. Now she can go to the beach with her family! And as
a member of the pit crew, Haddy doesn't have to drive 200 mph in
her team cars, but if she had to, I bet she'd be fine with it. " "We first contacted Casey when I was pregnant. Chunk, our border-collie mix who up until this point had been an only child, had a very worrisome track record with children (and some adults) and we were afraid we wouldn't be able to keep him once the baby arrived. Casey was realistic with us from the start. Unlike other trainers we had spoken with, Casey really worked to understand our dog before beginning our session. After detailed questioning and careful observation, she explained what our dog was experiencing, and helped us understand where Chunk was coming from. Most impressive was that after some initial work, Casey decided that her original plan needed to be adjusted. Where other trainers only saw Chunk as a "typical border-collie," Casey saw Chunk as an individual. It wasn't magic. We all - my husband, Chunk, and I - had to work long and hard, Casey was with us every step of the way. Her endurance and focus were superhuman! By the end of our weekend session, Chunk had made drastic improvements. The night after our session was the first night Chunk slept through the night without howling at the sound of a door slamming or a gate creaking. As Casey said, he became a much more emotionally strong dog. Furthermore, we felt much more confident in handling and diffusing Chunk's ongoing anxieties. It is amazing watching Chunk with our now
6-month-old son, Eric. Chunk is his protector. He sees Eric as one
of the pack and not as an intruder (or a meal.) We are so grateful
to Casey for giving us the tools to help our furry first love be
a content and safe member of our family. We highly recommend Casey
to anyone dealing with their animal's behavioral problems. " Casey's ability to swiftly and correctly
identify the source of our problem. Our "obstinant"
dog's problem was that she was actually agoraphobic, she was afraid
of the outside, specifically, the stone patio. This information
made it possible for her to provide us with a gentle program that
yielded virtually instant results. Our relationship with the dog
has improved enormously, and in general the dog seems happier and
less stressed. Now, if I could get Casey to work her magic on some
of my human family members! We were lucky enough to be able to add an addition, a new deck, and, lo and behold, a new full-length glass door with brass fixtures that let in the glorious sun. Cobie, our beloved mutt, resumed his old "scratching at the door" habit that we didn't care about before. Clawing at this new beautiful and expensive glass door suddenly those scraping claws sounded exactly like fingernails on the chalkboard. But within a few hours on two separate days
close together, Casey taught Cobie to ring an elecronic doggie door
bell and taught us to open the door when he did. Now I can report,
months later, that Cobie no longer jumps on the door but approaches
and deliberately steps on the paw pad that sets off the chime and
we come running with praise. Casey's patience, thoughtfulness, and
command of animal behavior is extraordinary and a marvel to watch.
She quickly had our dog focused on the desired behavior and then
actually appearing to enjoy it. Both the process of change and the
wonderful outcomes are marvelous.
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