I had occasion to call upon Shantel's expertise last fall. I had a green broke mare that I was a little nervous about riding, due to the fact I wasn’t really sure where she was at in her training level. Shantel came out and worked with her for a couple days to basically determine what this little mare was all about and where she was at. Shantel's honesty and integrity was clearly evident in her approach to assessing the mare's capabilities. I have had many trainers over the years and was truly impressed with her down to earth attitude. She showed me what the mare would do, how to approach situations with this mare and how to communicate better with the animal. Not only have I told people about her and her programs, but have highly recommended her to two dear friends who are both in need of some compassionate coaching to get back into the horse world. Shantel's methods are first rate and I trust her with my horses and my friends well being and equine development.

Tracey

Working with Shantel has been an amazing experience for me. She is a patient and confident teacher and has a kind and passionate approach towards her students and horses.  I also love her ability to make everything so much fun!
What I have learned from her is so different than what I was originally taught about horses but everything makes so much sense. I have learned how to develop a true bond with my horse and how to understand what she is telling me. Shantel has given me skills that I can use to branch out with as I work with my horse. I recommend her to anyone I know who can use help training a problem horse or wants to learn a new way of understanding horses.

Kessie

Last summer, I came across a bay quarter horse filly, named Breeze  She was only a year old, and just halter broke.  When we were nearing the end of winter, I decided that I might look for a trainer for Breeze.  I happened to find an advertizement for Martin Stables on the same website that I found Breeze for sale.  I decided to email the trainer, and we wrote back and forth for a couple of weeks, and as soon as the weather cleared up we went out to meet Shantel.  When we left, I knew that she was the perfect person for my girl.  A while later, we brought Breeze to Shantel's, and after many goodbyes, we left.  The next weekend we went to see her, and she was a totally different horse.  She behaved so well and there was such an improvement in her manners, I couldn't belive that she had only been there for a week!  I didn't just get to sit on the sidelines and watch, no way!  I was getting into the pen and participating.  So far Breeze has come a long way, and I can't wait to see what the future will bring thanks to Shantel.

Melissa

 I first found Shantel on the "Northernhorse.com" website. We were searching for a horse trainer that believed and practiced "Natural Horsemanship". During our experiences with "horse trainers" we learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover. We have had many different trainers work on our horses, but never found anyone that truly practiced "natural horsemanship" techniques; and surprisingly, our horses would come back with the same problem and with additional issues. We were always amazed that you could talk with one trainer and they would agree with want you were saying, but the minute you left their yard, your horse knew different. We even had one mare that the trainer couldn’t catch; this was a big red flag to us. We never had any problems getting a halter and lead on her, before taking her to the trainers; but we sure had to work hard to get her back to coming to us, when we got her home. This always would set off alarms on what was done to our horse when we were out of sight.

I went to meet Shantel, and when I arrived (an hour late) I watched her saddle up and work with a horse. Our emails and phone calls never discussed the handling of our horses, just that we had a mare that was herd bound and low confidence when riding alone. I knew within the first 30 minutes that Shantel was the trainer for us. My husband required more convincing and was not as quick to share his thoughts. He certainly speaks praises reflecting Shantel now. She took our mare and in less than 30 days had her confident and prepared to ride. She treated my mare with respect and Holly gave back the respect, although not right away (she was a little spoiled). I always had an issue with getting Holly to take the bit and Shantel fixed that. This was issues from her first experience with a "trainer" that tied her and beat her into submission; this was prior to my ownership. I now have a different horse and I can take her out and enjoy riding again. Prior to Shantel, it had been a constant battle getting Holly out of the gate and throughout the entire ride, wearing me down. Our rides (alone) are so enjoyable now that I loose track of time when we are out.