A Profile and Snapshot
Wild Horse Workshop 2004
By Steven Levine, Oakland, California, BLM Volunteer
A unique equine experience has taken place in a different part of the country, every year, for the last seven years. A joint collaboration between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and Least Resistance Training, Inc. (L.R.T.C.), has resulted in a Wild Horse Workshop that has allowed hundreds of mustangs to be gentled and hundreds of potential adopters to be given hands-on training experience, prior to adopting and taking home a wild mustang or burro.
This year's Wild Horse Workshop and adoption took place in Brentwood, California. What makes this unique is that some of the best trainers in the country come together to give of themselves and their time in order to help horses and potential adopters learn about each other. In the process, wild horses and burros and the public are introduced to training using natural horsemanship.
A true attitude of willingness to share ideas was evident throughout the weeklong symposium. One of the many things that impressed me was how open the organizers and professional trainers were to learning from each other as well as teaching the public.
Not only did the trainers come together from all over the country, but the participants also came from all directions and points in between. I can't even guess how many states were represented by all of of there, but we all brought something to the party. All ages and levels of experience were represented, from first-time horse owners to those of us who own and train horses. We all came to learn, and we did. What follows is a good example of what I'm talking about.
It tells the story of a particularly interesting participant in the 2004 workshop, Antonio Louis C. Fernandes de Castro.
Mr. de Castro is a man with a quiet, unassuming manner about him, but it was so obvious what a natural way he has with horses that he quickly caught my attention and that of those around me. Another workshop participant, internationally renowned trainer and clinician Frank Bell, put it this way: After hitting a brick wall with a couple of truly problem horses, our eyes were glued, watching his remarkable progress by using his body language, which ranged from animated to phenomenally subtle. In approximately one hour, he was able to get a rope on a horse and have it follow by feel. This culminated with him lovingly stroking this very resistant mare. Now this was the filly we had affectionately called "Hot Heels." This nickname came from her determination to kick one of us into the next county. Fantastic!
Antonio had found out about the workshop on the Internet, just like I had, and had been as intrigued as I had been. Unlike me, however, Antonio came all the way from Portugal to attend this workshop with the wild mustangs of the American West. Here's the background behind the man whose skill with horses made such an impression on us.
Antonio comes from a ranch near Lisbon that has been in his family since the fourteenth century, when the king of Portugal awarded his family with the land. He raises Lucitanio and Arabian horses, and the family is still in the cattle business. He also raises bulls for the bullfights. In Portugal, this is done from horseback, and the bulls live to fight another day. He subscribes to many equine magazines and publications to keep up to date with the horse world.
Back in the late eighties, he started to see articles about a new, although not new, type of training, natural horsemanship. This he had to see. He flew to America to attend a clinic in Pennsylvania and has been coming over once or twice a year ever since. He has learned from several of the best-known practitioners of the craft in the years that have followed. He also wanted me to acknowledge the great trainer Nuno Oliveiro and give him the credit for the classical training that Antonio combines with what he has learned over here. Like a lot of us, he needed to be convinced about natural horsemanship, but seeing is believing. He rode one of his stallions to the Portuguese Horse Fair without a bridle or halter to show his countrymen what was possible. He was laughing as he told how they were looking and touching the horse expecting to find some invisible guide, like fishing line. He trains only his own horses and doesn’t take outside clients. However, when selling one of his horses, Antonio insists that the new owners spend five days to a week on his ranch to learn his method of communication.
Besides having always been interested in wild horses, he had a practical reason for making the trip. As Willis Lamm, head of L.R.T.C. commented, “In Portugal, horses are turned out till the age of four before they are brought in to start their training. We used to do that in this country. Regardless of where they come from, they all speak the same language.” Antonio saw this as an opportunity to learn different training techniques and of course, to learn from the horses. The first thing that he learned from the horses was that all of his preconceived ideas were wrong. As he put it, “I expected to see scrawny, malnourished, small horses. Like gypsy horses. Not true. I was very surprised to see fat, glossy, very healthy horses. These wild horses have good conformation, good bones (structure), and they are of a very reasonable size for many sports and disciplines.” We both agreed that the workshop itself is very professionally organized and the BLM has done a wonderful job with the horses. What is obvious is that everyone is here for the horses. That remains the first priority, as it should be. Antonio told me, “There are no bad horses here. Some have bad habits, for people, but natural for them. I’m very happy to be able to be involved and able to learn from each other.” This is one of the interesting and great folks I met in the week we spent with 80 mustangs and 20 burros. Antonio was one who came to learn and ended up teaching. I expect several of the friendships I made to continue and grow in the years to come. After all, this is a labor of love. Antonio and I only wished we could do more. There are so many horses, so little time.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) does not advocate or actively support any specific wild horse or burro trainer, nor are we in a position to recommend who may or may not be best. It is the ultimate responsibility of the adopter to evaluate the trainer’s credentials, references, and techniques.
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