In 2023, all students must complete the Basic Horsemanship and Animal Training curricula on the MagicMustangTamer.com website. Successful graduates of that course of studies will be invited to do a practicum at Mustang Camp. Paid trainer positions at Mustang Camp, will be filled with our graduates.

Our Training Program

Many people imagine mustang training with rearing, running, snorting horses, but we do everything we can to avoid that scenario. How it works might surprise you. Our training program consists of a 26 step fundamental steps. These 26 steps take about 30-45 days for a horse to complete and upon completion the former wild horse can be caught, haltered, led, loaded into a horse-trailer, stand tied, and have their feet trimmed.  Students learn to teach these fundamental steps to animals freshly brought out of government holding facilities.  Students and animals both benefit.

We use the science of learning to gentle and train wild horses and burros for adoption  

We teach them how to actively engage with us in the most humane ways possible.  We build relationships.   We want to help other people learn to use these well-tested methods.  

Train with Purpose and Precision.

The principles we use are simple and familiar to any students of behavioral psychology.  

Click here to learn more.

Patricia Barlow-Irick, Ph.D.

Executive Director, Mustang Camp

The Founder of Mustang Camp, Dr. Barlow-Irick, developed rational training methods to help the American mustang. Since 2009, she has gentled more than 600 mustangs for government agencies and worked with more than 40 interns.  She is the author of the book “How to Train A ______ (fill in the blank).”. She has also written a manual on the care and gentling of wild horses. Her goal is to spread a humane training system to make animals adoptable, while minimizing suffering. She has a PhD from the University of New Mexico.