Colby is the most challenging horse I’ve ever had, or maybe I’m just older and more cautious than I used to be. I bought Colby because he was so quiet. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that he was the classic “quiet horse that isn’t safe.” He was really quiet until he wasn’t – and then his reactions were lightning-quick and often ended up with me on the ground. His signature move was a spook-rear-spin-bolt maneuver that created a lot of fear and anxiety in me. He would also go around with his head up and his muscles tense all the time. We fed off each other’s anxiety.
When I began working with Katy about 2 ½ years ago, I had already spent a lot of time with online training systems, attending clinics with well-respected clinicians, and working with local trainers. It seemed like no one could help me. I was so discouraged and fearful that I was ready to sell Colby and maybe even give up on horses altogether. Katy has helped me to learn a different way of working with my horses. She breaks the lessons down into pieces that are manageable for both horses and riders. Katy’s program starts with groundwork exercises designed to build confidence in both horse and rider. While progressing through the groundwork, you and your horse can build a trusting relationship and fix potential problems so that they don’t occur under saddle.
The ridden exercises follow logically from the groundwork and use skills developed during the groundwork phase. Each week’s “assignments” follow from the material you and your horse have already learned. Although there is a new lesson every week, there is no pressure to move ahead before you and your horse are ready. It is all about moving through the program at a pace that suits the developmental level of your horse as well as the time you have available. Katy is an incredibly patient teacher who is readily available to answer questions and really understands how to build confidence in her students.
Thanks to Katy, I have a plan and Colby and I are making progress. We’re not where I want to be yet, but I am riding him in a rope halter or sidepull bridle and get compliments on what a wonderful relaxed horse he is. We’re looking forward to learning more in Katy’s Tips and Tricks and Horsemanship classes this winter and spring.
When I think of Katy Negranti the first few words that pop into my head are: open minded, humble, and evolving.
I’ve been a student of horsemanship since I was a child, and was so thankful I stumbled into one of Katy’s clinics 3 or 4 years ago. Since the first “Katy Clinic” I attended, I have followed Katy’s program and attended as many clinics and courses as I could.
She has built a program to encourage every horseman/woman to the next level!
I can get very hung up and anxious about about a skill or exercise being “perfect”, Katy not only understands my anxiety, but offers solutions around it.
It’s hard to train people to communicate with horses. It’s difficult to maneuver around the humans anxiety, past experiences, fear, frustrations, learn behavior while also navigating all of the above’s of the horse at the same time!
It’s even harder to teach people who already “train” horses…but she does it and makes it looks easy.
She is constantly learning and evolving her program and she will be the first to tell you “it’s way different than I did it 5 years ago”
3 “little” things Katy taught me, that I can clearly pint point, that changed my methods within a few minutes are:
1- the 3 second rule! Omg I have never heard anyone say it! I use to give my horses a “chance” to respond to a cue…but giving them a clear 3 second count to respond…🙌🏽
2- if a horse is frozen or scared and doesn’t want to go over the obstacle, turn them around.
3- when a horse doesn’t want to stay still, just move with them!
^For all of the reasons listed above + so much more- Katy has changed my horsemanship and my own training program.”
Brooke Jordan
Five years ago I was dealing with a mare that had some pretty extreme behaviors including food aggression, charging, kicking, rearing, biting, barn sourness, really the gamut of unwanted behaviors. I actually rode her during that time (scary), really struggling for about four years.
I called Katy out of desperation. I had reached the end of my rope and I didn’t know what to do to help her. She came out and asked me what I was doing with her. I talked her through some of the scary situations I had encountered and she didn’t really care about the specifics of what had happened. She pretty much said if you’re committed we can teach her a different way. Now I realize she meant “I can teach you a better way.” But that’s not what I heard at the time.
First she introduced me to groundwork. Something I always thought I did, but in actuality had no true knowledge of. She taught me how to break things down into manageable bits of information. She taught me signs of relaxation and when to push and when to back off. We started with her structured sequence of exercises in the round pen and moved on to on-line exercises and obstacles to test our knowledge. Then she taught me her sequence of riding exercises. We progressed through the exercises, waiting to move on until we were good at it. It’s amazing that when the horse learns they have control of what happens to them.
The coolest part I found was that by teaching my horse the exercises through her program, in order, that I didn’t run into any of the problems I had been having in the first place. The scary behaviors no longer existed. I learned to address behaviors before they came a full-blown problem. I would take a step back and work on the preceding exercises, get those good, and reproach. With the knowledge I’ve gained I am confident we can get through anything.
Five years later I have a completely different relationship with my horse. She leaves her hay to meet me at the gate. She is trusting of me and I am trusting of her. I feel that I am equipped with so much more knowledge to effectively teach her new things.
Katy has taught me so many things about the way that a horse learns and thinks, what they are motivated by, and how to teach them to look for answers. I love the sometimes unconventional things Katy does to get a horse to want to learn. In our case, one of those things was positive reinforcement with clicker training. I was a skeptic, but Katy used the clicker for a short time to teach my horse the first steps of seeking for an answer.
Katy now has a structured program that she is constantly adding to and evolving. She offers courses online through a progression of her program. Each course includes your choice of private, group, clinic, and video lesson options depending on your preference and location. Katy isn’t the type of trainer that think she knows everything. She is constantly striving to learn and evolve her program.
Even though I have been through lots of the exercises over the years I went back and just completed her Groundwork 101 course. I thought my horse was pretty good at the groundwork, but I found that I was able to fill in lots of small gaps. We fine tuned our basics to give us a much more solid foundation which is making the next steps easy.
Katy’s program is not discipline specific. If you are having problems or want to fine tune your skills I 100% recommend her program to provide a solid foundation for any discipline. ”
~Lauren and Bebe
It all really works. Polaris and I have been working with Katy for about a year. Groundwork 101 several times, Horsemanship 101, obstacles 101, private sessions. We really needed to start at the beginning.
Today we went on a trail ride to Nipomo. I arrived at Sundale and Dawn (I’ve never ridden here before), and I thought, oh boy, this is a neighborhood. This is going to be so stressful for us. And it was, at first. We mounted and started riding in the eucalytus, and Polaris was completely checked out, ready to bolt at every little thing. I was not going to spend the next 2 hours like this. So I asked my friend if we could stop. We did. Tried lateral flexion while mounted, forget it. Then got off and tried it from the ground. Much better. Then mounted again and flexion was much better. I waited until he softened and looked at me before releasing. He was an angel for the rest of the ride!!! We did dogs, kids at the playground, a golf course with carts, walking on weird raised fancy concrete cross walks, a horse running around bucking and much more (those familiar with Nipomo know what I’m talking about). He would look, I would tell him it was ok, and he believed me!
This is a major miracle for us and I have Katy to thank. So for those of you stuck in week 6 of the first week of groundwork 101 or 4th week of lateral flexion, stick with it! It is so worth the patience. I truly believe that if they trust they know the ABCs and that you do ,too, they will take you any where. We have a long way to go, but I am so grateful we found Katy!
I am the type of person who collects horses. Most of my horses have come into my life after being dealt a raw deal somewhere else. It’s as if there’s an 800 number frustrated horse owners call for help and the help they get is my contact information. That said, I sometimes find myself in way over my head. Enter, Katy Cumberland. When she met Shamir, she was giving a group lesson that I joined. I walked in with my cute little horse and Katy asked me, “What’s the problem with THIS horse?” “Well,” I replied, “he bucks.” I tend not to follow instructions very well, so in spite of Katy’s clear direction, I failed to cooperate and ended up in the dirt, brushing myself off. I wasn’t hurt, I was just annoyed. At myself, of course.
With too many horses, a demanding career and a husband who needs attention, I have little time for my many horses. So, Katy agreed to take Shamir for me to work out the kinks. She had him for a total of 10 weeks and during that time he went from being sticky and scared to forward and cooperative. She spent hours upon hours working on the basics, building his confidence, and helping him to understand that the world is not as scary as it seems. I visited him a handful of times, and she showed me what he had learned, taught me what I needed to know, and re-iterated the fact that the only thing she can’t “fix” is the relationship I have with Shamir. Luckily, my little horse seems to like me, so with the skills she gave me and his willingness to let me learn, we have gotten along great!
The most important thing I’ve learned from Katy is, the “behavior problem” is not about the behavior itself. Bucking wasn’t his problem. His problem was a lack of confidence. After spending time with Katy, and Katy teaching me how to translate her work into a cooperative relationship, Shamir will not only go forward without bucking, he will get in the trailer, cross water, walk over obstacles and do anything else I ask him to do. He is literally a different horse. She has given me a partner I can trust, and has taught me how to be trustworthy. THANK YOU, KATY!
Jennifer O.
Katy, I just wanted to let you know what an impact you and your clinic made in my progress with my little mare Maddie. It has been well over a year since Rhea… Benko invited me to attended your clinic. I had only had Maddy a few months at the time, and I had not rode in several years. Maddy had been started and lightly rode but essentially was a 10 year old baby. My confidence as a rider and leader for her were shaky at best. After the first day of ground work, gaining her confidence and respect as her leader, her whole demeanor changed. I suddenly had a way of communicating to her what I wanted, that she totally understood. I am just now realizing how important those fundamental basics are and continue to be. The further we progress the more I understand the depth of what you were teaching us. Way, Way cool Thank you Katy.
Katy Negranti is my go-to, number one, personal recommendation for a horse-riding instructor for learning a solid foundation. And, I think every baby horse should spend at least 30 days with Katy. I’ve known Katy since she was 11 and have watched her grow and develop as a rider and trainer. You want to learn from the ground up? You want to learn safety? You want to become more confident? You want to learn how a horse thinks? Call Katy Negranti.
Okay…this is my little Katy! Daughter in law of Jon & Anna. Jon kept telling me about this girl…and her capabilities. She placed first in a Mustang Training Contest. I told him I wanted to meet her…he told me she was shy. Said…I don’t care…I’ll just show up…what’s she going to do??? What I didn’t know….he was telling Katy she had to help me…I was riding a horse that was going to kill me! i’ll have you know JON NEGRANTI…I was just fine on that horse. Anyway…Looking for a second horse. Went up to ride one of hers. REALLY LIKED HIM AND HER! She started putting on clinics…of which I gone and taken my grand-daughter…Mackay. Learn LOTS! Went to a Chris Cox clinic with her…had some issues. Thought to myself…that’s okay…I’ll just go home and Katy will teach me!! Which she did! We have become great friends, I’ve loved watching her mature and grow as a teacher! I have sent my number one horse…lil Lena…to her for numerous months. Anybody that knows me…knows how I LOVE lil Lena…so I’m totally giving my stamp of approval!! Just went to a Warrick Schiller clinic with her…obvious how much he respects her…plus sends her clients.
Little Lena and Warwick Schiller Agua Dulce, CA 11/2015
KATY NEGRANTI PERFORMANCE HORSEMANSHIP 