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He was born in a manger. All right, all right - - - maybe it wasn't a manger, but it should have been. If it weren't for him, I would be out of horses.

Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about an extraordinary person, Mark Matyszyk trainer/instructor. Mark is not a well-known name in the horse industry. He doesn't own a magnificent farm and he can be a real pain in the neck, but he does make dreams come true! Mark has helped me save my love of horses and has taught me how to be a true rider and horse person.

I had started to have problems keeping my horse's feet on the ground. He was becoming dangerous for me to ride and handle. I couldn't figure out why he had become like this. My friends advised, "You should sell that horse before he kills you" but I, like so many others, had a special bond with my horse and I could not give him up. I went from one trainer to the next, getting nowhere fast. I was even told by one trainer "If your horse won't go on the bit in a month, then it never will." Does this sound familiar? But getting my horse on the bit was the least of my worries.

My first concern was to be able to handle and ride him without having my life threatened. I was at my wit's end. My friends were against us (me and my horse), my significant other was against us. I just couldn't find the right help.

I was just being kicked out of my third barn (no one wants a problem horse at their facility), so I started the search again - - groan. That's when I came across an ad in a horse journal. Standing out in glowing letters (I thought) "Problem horses our specialty." I was afraid to admit to myself that everyone was right. I had a problem! I was apprehensive because of my earlier experiences. I was afraid the trainer/owner would be too rough on my horse because of this behavior; after all my horse was very, very sensitive. I spoke with Mark Matyszyk, owner and trainer at Sunrise Farms in Pelham, NH. After a very informative conversation about his training methods and techniques, I decided to set up an appointment to see the farm.

The barn was light and airy; all the horses had all day turn-out if desired. There was an average sized dressage arena, some jumps - - - just another horse farm. Then I met Mark Matyszyk face to face for the first time. He comes off as a very pleasant hit man: confident, controlled and calculating, but in a very affable and matter of fact manner. I asked Mark about his credentials in training. He told me about his 25 years with horses, his experience with hunter/jumpers, his eventing career and his dressage work (not so impressive). What did impress me was his ability to listen and communicate with me about my problems and to offer a solution.

What I found unusual was that unlike the other trainers I had previously had experience with, Mark did not stress any time frames for the training of my horse. I thought this funny so I asked Mark why he could not give me a time frame for when my horse would be trained. Mark said, "Well, can you tell me when the problems began?" I thought about it and replied "No." Then Mark said, in his confident way, "Well, neither can I. Your horse has post trauma stress disorder, he receives positive reinforcement from himself when he should be getting it from you. Your horse is also very smart; he can out-think a human! He has YOU trained to stop pushing him or he is going to threaten your life. So you stop. You need to go back to basics and find the area in his training where he learned his behavior, then create choices for your horse and listen to him. He will tell you everything you need to know."

At this point, I was completely mesmerized at the depth of training Mark goes to, and I asked again "Where did you learn all of this?" Mark answered, "Studying the basics, not just doing them, but seeing what works and how it works, by being a skeptic and mixing and matching techniques of training for each individual horse. Each horse is an individual and should be treated as such - - not just put into a "cookie cutter" mold and have riders and trainers try to crank out "cookie" horses. Some horses will never fit in the mold and no matter how hard you push them your horse will outsmart you. He does this by being afraid, by being a bully, or just being plain mean."

Well, with all of this being said, I decided to let Mark train my Anglo-Arabian. Within a short time, I saw a tremendous difference in my horse's attitude; he was quieter, calmer and (amazingly) willing to please.

To watch Mark work with a problem, inexperienced or young horse is a marvel in itself. The time he takes to understand, listen, and learn their strong and weak characteristics is a quality I have rarely come across. The more I studied with Mark, the easier the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Now I had the skills to listen and understand my horse. As Mark would say (over and over) "All I do is draw you the picture of your horse, give you all the dots, and slowly put them together with you."

I was finally getting back the horse I fell in love with when I first bought him. I could now start to do things with my horse that I had thought were impossible. I can ride and compete him in any weather conditions. Before, if it was windy, he was too spooky; if it was rainy the footing would upset him; but now we trail ride, school and compete in all the elements.

I have seen my own, and other peoples, dreams come true - - people that shared the same disheartenment as I did. I can understand their happiness and gratitude which equal and sometimes surpass my own after their "problem" horses have been transformed.

I now own three horses; my first (no longer a problem) horse, a more experienced older horse, and a colt who has come along wonderfully in two years (he will also trail ride in all weather). I have the confidence and the skills to handle most of the problems that may come my way. But, if I cannot, I know I can always rely upon the watchful eye of my trainer and very good friend, Mark Matyszyk.