Have a Catch

So many of the films presented at the EQUUS Film and Arts Festival 2020 grabbed me. I was steeped in wonder, thrill and amusement. I need a bit of amusement right now. Enjoy horse trainer, Paul Randall’s, short Catching Mito. 

Horse trainer Paul Randall. Photo used with permission from Paul Randall.

The film was a success with EF and AF viewers. It won a WINNIE Award for International Information Short. Who hasn’t had occasional frustrations trying to catch their mount blissfully grazing out in a field? Paul Randall trains in Italy near Arezzo, about 70 kilometers south of Florence. Horses and superb wine? Let’s all go and learn how to catch our horses.

I asked Paul to share a few of his thoughts with us. “When I was 28 I wanted to persuade a girl that I knew more about horses than she did. I’d heard of Roy Rogers and his horse Trigger. The horse came to Roy when he whistled. I racked my brains about all the things that more experienced men had told me about horses and their reactions in different situations and actions by their handlers. This exploration led me to discover a system to train horses to come to me when called without using food incentives. Horses believe that they have to come to me when called. When successful, I can control horses at liberty at a level people don’t even dream of!”

I hope this works with dogs, too.

Paul’s website, titled “Training Horses to Come,” starts with this thought: “One of my particular interests is the fact that there is a gap in almost all people’s ability to control their horses, in that unless they are holding onto it, sitting on it, have a whip in their hand, offering some food incentive or at least the horse is closed in a relatively small area, their ability to influence the horse is close to zero!”

Enjoy Catching Mito . . . and learn a little something.