Training

Thunderbird Horse Center opened its doors to the public in 1977 and, since that time, the training of outside horses has never stopped. Over 3,000 head of horses have gone through training at Thunderbird. Neil has over 45 years of training experience, which is being passed on to his daughter Sharra.   The utmost of care goes into every aspect of our operation and training is no exception.

No horse gets great by themselves. Great horses are made by talented, caring people who allow horses’ greatness to become evident. Thunderbird’s training philosophy is focused on the horse’s education and well-being. We work very hard to avoid “making” a horse do anything. Instead, we focus on teaching horses to do everything. We have never found a single instance when a horse is unwilling to learn.

Our training program is based on developing effective communication between humans and horses. Horses can make choices and decisions or they can respond and react without thought.   Understanding how horses think is essential to effective communication with horses. Our training program focuses on understanding the horse and using this knowledge to build excellence.

Thunderbird Horse Center offers a range of training programs. Our services include halter-breaking foals, starting young horses under saddle, helping with a specific problem or getting your horse ready to show and compete. When developing a training program, we will review your goals and make a plan together.