Available Horses

Internationally known and with over 25 years of experience working with a wide range of horses, Lisa Wynne has developed and uses her own training methods, including the IDT℠ Method & the Measured Response℠.  She works with the psychological and physiological challenges a horse may have all while developing the desired skill set in each horse.  

Lisa has developed a reputation for being able to train "difficult" or "problem" horses, which comes from her experience training rescue/rehab cases.  She is often all that stands between a horse being sold at auction or being put down.

Lisa is an all-inclusive trainer.  While there are key differences between breeds, the bottom line is that the "modern horse" as we know horses to be, is a 10,000 year old species.  Human impact through creation of different breeds has not significantly altered the basal instincts or thought processes of the modern horse.

Unlike so many other trainers, Lisa is not a text book or recipe-based trainer.  If a step-by-step recipe is followed, horses and riders often end up frustrated and unhappy with the results.  Horses are unique individuals and each has their own concerns that require customization in handling.  Lisa's goal is always to provide horses and their riders with the tools they need to take their partnership to the next level.

IDT℠, or Identifying Territory Method of Ground Work speaks to the horse on the horse's level.  It involves using horse body language to explain to the horse that the handler is actually a horse in the herd and not a predator.

The Modern Horse is a 10,000 year old prey animal, meaning that they are very prey/predator focused (this is different from fight/flight) in their instincts and ancestral memory.  They are well aware that people are their primary predators.  More traditional "Natural Horsemanship" ground work methods can be mistaken by a horse as predator behavior, resulting in their inability to learn.

While all horses and all horse-human partnerships can benefit from IDT®, about 25% of horses cannot handle traditional ground work methods and need IDT® instead in order to be successful.  

Here are the steps of IDT℠:

1. Explain to the horse that the handler is also a horse by identifying territory "controlled" by the handler.
2. Confirm for the horse that the handler is the herd leader.
3. Help the horse understand that the handler, as herd leader, defines personal space between the horse and handler, regardless of distance from each other.
4. Help the horse to be comfortable with the handler both at a distance and immediately next to each other.
5. Help the handler understand how the horse prefers to interact with other members of the herd (including the human members of the herd).
6. Develop the horse-human partnership to a highly integrated, close relationship.

If done correctly, and if the Measured Response℠ is taken into account, the horse will respond very positively to IDT℠ and become a positive contributor to the equine community.

The IDT℠ Method was developed by Lisa Wynne and her equine herd leaders, Hudson and Grace.  It works well for the abuse/neglect cases Lisa often works with.  The method has proven to be a good solution to poor horse behavior as well.  Lisa is known for her work with aggressive and anxious horses.

Measured Response℠ is using horse body language to identify their inherent hierarchical place in the herd, regardless of the horses around them, and then using that information to respond to and train the horse on its level. A horse can be inherently dominant, submissive, or anything in between.   

If a handler uses the wrong body language on a horse, it's a recipe for disaster. If a submissive horse is treated the way a dominant horse needs to be treated, it becomes anxious, nervous and eventually mentally self-destructs. If a dominant horse is treated as a submissive horse, it becomes pushy, manipulative, and even aggressive. Where the Measured Response℠ gets tricky is when a horse acts dominant, but is actually submissive AND defensive, or when a horse is very subtle about its dominant behavior. Typically, by the time a subtle horse bites or kicks, it has given many subtle cues and has to escalate to get its handlers to notice. No horse should feel a need to be defensive or a need to escalate its behavior. Good leadership by a horse's handler means understanding and knowing how to use the Measured Response℠ to his/her advantage. 

• Initial Assessment: $150 within 1 hour drive of HHIA, $200 outside 1 hour drive (Off site assessments also require additional mileage fee based on IRS Mileage rates)
• Daily Fee: $70 per day (1 week minimum and provided in weekly increments only) 
• Owner must provide hay and feed for their horse to avoid unnecessary diet changes.
• Payment for training is due 1/2 at start of training and 1/2 at completion

• Assessment occurs wherever you keep your horse and will determine what Lisa recommends training-wise.
• Training is at our farm in House Springs, Missouri
• Proof of Negative Coggins, 5-way, Rabies and Strangles are required.
• Training includes 7 sessions a week
• The only allowable trainer, for liability reasons, is Lisa Wynne.
• Lisa requires the owner to attend between 2 and 4 training sessions toward the end of the training to ensure the owner is well aware of the horse's training progress and is prepared to continue the horse's development.

In some circumstances, based on the training goals, it makes more sense for the horse and/or rider to be trained on their own property or at their boarding facility. In those cases, farm visits are on Saturdays and range in frequency from every 2 weeks to every 6 weeks. The horse and handler are expected to work together and make progress between trainer visits. 

Lisa currently travels all over the greater Saint Louis area, southern Missouri and southern and central Illinois. If your geographic area isn't listed, call to see if she will travel to your area.

Fees are $150 a session for farms within a 1 hour drive of HHIA and $200 a session for farms further away.   

Remote Training and Assessments (Zoom, FaceTime or Skype)

As part of our COVID-19 response, remote training sessions have become a part of HHIA.  At $50 per half hour, Lisa will work via video conference with you and your horse.  She is able to talk owners and handlers through most things from care, ground work, ground manners and riding.  Horse assessments (for purchase or rehoming) can also be carried out remotely.  The owner/handler must feel comfortable carrying out instructions without Lisa physically present for a remote training session to work effectively.  Depending on content, Lisa may use one of her own horses to help with explanations and demonstrations.