Katie Aguila Horse Training

"There are many people who hang their hat as trainers and should not. In my forty years with horses I’ve encountered more than my fair share of them, but I can without a doubt attest to Katie Mandel’s qualifications. My background with horses is extensive. I’ve raised, bred, and campaigned World Champion quarter horses, and now currently hunter-jumpers. Multiple surgeries over the years limited my ability to do the things I used to and feel safe handling young horses. I have an Oldenburg gelding with sensitive bloodlines who was a real late bloomer mentally, and due to his sensitivity, almost everything new he experienced was Armageddon. I blamed myself for not enough handling since his foal inspection, and now here I was in serious need of a qualified trainer I could trust 1000%. He desperately needed someone who would guide him to become confident in his own skin and developed into a solid equine-citizen. It was my job to locate that person who would do right by him, and on his timeline."
"SO thankful I found Katie! I’m impressed by her immense skills, endless patience, and sincere integrity in the work she does. My gelding not only learned respectful boundaries, she nurtured and developed his courage, guided him to understand and navigate pressure, how to properly answer questions, and to trust his person to put him in situations he might inevitably be uncomfortable. What a complete 180 degree turn!! As a bonus, this affectionate, funny, and curious personality bloomed. He also developed an eager ‘let’s go to work’ attitude, if he saw Katie in the distance he would whinny and bang his stall door wanting to come out and work. It was quite obvious he really enjoyed his training time!"

"Some people come into your life for one reason, and you later find out that fate really had many reasons that seem totally unrelated for bringing that person to your life. I wanted to take riding lessons for my whole life but had put it off. When I finally decided I’d like to learn to ride horses, I had been quietly searching for over a year for the right person. Katie came along and I knew that she was the right one. The way she interacted with her own horse, Colonel, showed me that she is not only kind to people, but also to horses. Katie Mandel is the complete horse trainer. She has the kindness to understand. She has the intuitiveness to see through your fears and confusion. She has the perseverance to help you persevere when you think you can’t. She has all the knowledge needed about horse care, nutrition, training, and stabling. She has the tact to deal with you on your funky days and to help you deal with other horse people. And above all she has the sense of humor that comes out at just the right time to allow you to laugh. When I started with Katie, I was afraid to trot and literally could not make even a seasoned lesson horse go forward. Now, I have learned so much that I cannot even count it all. She has taught me all the whys behind everything we do on the horses. She has helped me understand myself, my body, my goals, and each horse as an individual. I still have so much to learn, and Katie is the one to teach me. She loves children, adults, and people of any age, and everyone loves her back. I cannot recommend Katie enough. She has taught me that I can try anything at any age and to listen to my feelings and my body, and the horse’s and work with it all, not against it. Katie has a gift, and is a special gift to all who know her."

"I came to Katie with a very nervous and anxious horse. She was bought from a kill pen out of Oklahoma and transported all the way to California. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Although she was very loving and trusting, she was hard to control. She had no idea how to relax and was all go. At the age of 15, she didn't even know how to back up. Katie has not only taught my horse how to relax, she has taught her how to deal with her nervousness and anxiousness. It has been an amazing transformation for the both of us. Katie also teaches you as the owner how to read your horse and explains why so you are understanding how to work with them. Katie has created such a strong and trusting bond for the both of us. My mare is a completely different horse. We both have confidence that we did not have before. Because of Katie's patience and gift with horses, Daytona and I both are able to enjoy a nice relaxing ride. She has a gift of natural horsemanship. I don't know where Daytona and I would be today without Katie."

"When Katie gives direction she does it with respect and makes sure that I understand what I am asking my horse and why. She is patient with me when I am nervous or slow to 'get it' and she doesn’t get mad at me or my horse. This helps my horse and me gain confidence and trust to move on to the next step.
She is horse and people savvy, competent, easygoing, friendly, truly approachable and there are no stupid questions. She will correct you without making you feel inept and will explain what you are telling your horse from his viewpoint. You might think that you are clearly telling him to do something but he keeps doing the 'wrong' thing. Sometimes it turns out that he is doing exactly what you are telling him to do. Once you learn to communicate clearly, your horse is likely to do what you asked and you are on your way."