Alberto la Manana

At Myhorse.ca we are taking bit of a summer holiday, so I thought it would be fun to revisit our first Horse of the Week, way back in November of 2005. This special horse is my sister's Paso Fino who has served as a model for our website and business cards.

Alberto la Manana is a 13 year old Paso Fino gelding owned by Janet Grant of Palgrave, Ontario. Alberto's large, expressive eyes and luxurious mane have made him a favourite model of mine. His photo was chosen as the cover for the December 2006 issue of Equine Wellness Magazine. I always think Alberto is a bit of a chameleon as every photo makes him look like a slightly different horse.

Berto is an experienced trail horse and has traveled many rugged trails and miles in the USA and Canada. He is only 14.1 hh, but Alberto is a powerful little horse, with a smooth and speedy gait. He is big boned for a Paso, with tough feet, and is good at his 'trail horse' job. He is a kind, and very sensitive horse with a big heart.

As brave as Alberto is on the trail, he is quite the opposite when faced with ordinary man-made objects.  He is more like a 900 pound rabbit! We are working with Alberto to help him overcome his fears using natural horsemanship, clicker training, and positive reinforcement principles to give Alberto the skills and self-confidence to deal with scary objects. Alberto is doing very well, and will willingly target (touch with his nose) just about any object we ask him to now. Once he has touched it, it no longer holds any fear for him.

Congratulations to Alberto for being our August 11^th, 2008 Horse of the Week!