Equilore Farm's Page

Hi Jane..
I attended the clinic and wish to give you my account of it. On a scale of one to ten, ten being the best and one being the worst I would give it a two.



The hosts were Janna and Villy Sorenson and they provided excellent facilities and refreshements and meals. Their staff were there to assist and made sure everything ran smoothly. That was the two.



I was disappointed to find out that the clinician did not offer any background information on his training or credits. No affiliation with any clubs or organizations or other trainers.

There were several references to Classical Dressage but no mention of what source. I had attended a Demo by the trainer, which looked very promising but due to obligations could not audit that clinic. I wished I had, it would have saved me the money on the clinic which I feel was overpriced for what I got out of it.



I did note that there were methods similar to John Lyons one rein technique used. There were basic suppling exercises and leading exercises practiced. For inattentive horses who do not yield during leading or handling Paul uses a plastic bat. The bat is also used to “soften” and supple horses that are unresponsive to aids given from the ground by a handler. Unfortunately, I saw it being used to hit horses in the face when a more subtle method was available.

The basis of the clinician, Paul Dufresne’ method is use of the flight reflex in an equine to promote bending and shaping the horse to supple them. This was accomplished by finding items that would induce the flight response. Plastic bags, tarps, whip a standing box and a teetor totter is used in the clinic.



There was no briefing in the first morning of what we could expect to accomplish in the time frame given (two days).

There was no evaluation of the attendees, their equines or their background experience.

This was detrimental in the clinic, as the goals of the attendees were not outlined.

Breaks and rest periods were not properly timed.



There was prejudice shown by the clinician to equine disciplines that attendees practiced that had he made it clear upon the attendees pre clinic inquiries would have eliminated them from attending. This was a waste of both their time and money.



The time spent on trying to load two attendee’s horses took up the better part of the clinic leaving many to practice without supervision. In my case I was advised at the end of the first day that I had been doing a maneuver wrong all along. When we started over again going on 5pm, he demonstrated how to get a proper bend in my horse’s neck.



The second day had some real glaring safety issues.

The clinician did not achieve the goal of the two attendees in loading their horses and started a protracted fight with both mounts to achieve this, which included the bat and whip.

His obvious frustration led to his taking it out on other attendee’s horses including mine. His statement he was “looking for a fight” stuck in my mind. It was poor horsemanship at its worst. He was not responding to situations but reacting very badly. He let the situation become personal, acted and spoke in a very unprofessional manner. I did not see anything the second day that was outlined on his website “pkequestrian.com”.



His method of tying a rope around one foot of the horse to lead it was practiced on one of the horses that would not load. He then made it into a modified running W and after working the horse a bit handed it over to the owner. This was done in an arena with a truck and trailer, training objects and several horses and people present. The handler was not experienced enough to prevent the animal from getting tangled and it proceeded to kick repeatedly and more vigorously. The horse was then undone from the ropes and tied up to the trailer. This method should never be used in an open populated area and, never by anyone who is not an experienced trainer.

The riding demonstration was a short affair with riders on their mounts for about 15 minutes….long enough to warm them up. The clinician pointed out all that was wrong with the rider’s efforts and then offered to mount the horses (now warmed up) and demonstrate how the horse could be ridden. This was showmanship.



A good clinician would have been able to have the riders perform these movements based upon what they had been taught in the clinic.



I have to say based upon my experience I would not recommend attending one of his clinics. I would also strongly recommend to anyone looking at attending any clinic that they audit one first without their horse to evaluate the trainer and the methods used.

I have to say the cost of the clinic at $300.00 was too much for what I gained out of it as I simply could have used the recommendations on his website for free...Melany

HI Equilore

You should check out the Pony Breeders of Ontario group here on Barnmice. I think your Lac La Croix Ponies would fit in nicely.

Hi, Jane. Thank you for inviting me. Linda