Brigadoon Farm

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I worked as an intern in the summer of 2013, in between my junior and senior year in college. As a backstory about me, I’ve ridden and trained horses all my life, under several trainers and barns. I’m also a polo player—so I’ve seen many different training styles and methods. When I got to Brigadoon Farm, I was pleasantly surprised to be learning about clicker training and negative reinforcement (taking AWAY pressure when the horse does what you want, very different to positive reinforcement in which you add pressure). Most barns I have trained at have used traditional methods, and can sometimes be a little harsh on the horses, especially young ones.

During my few months there, as I was only working the summer, I trained and worked with young horses who were originally trained in a more traditional manner. The horses responded very positively to clicker training and rewarding rather than being forced into things. We had one mare who was very uncomfortable in the beginning; she would buck, refuse to go forward, and just had a generally negative attitude. With the help of Martha and her expertise in clicker training, we were able to completely turn her attitude around into a willing, happy demeanor. This is just one example of the transformation I saw in the horses.

While I was there, Ken and Martha would cook dinner for us all and take us out for Sunday brunch. They very much became an extended part of my family and I still consider them to be good friends of mine. I learned so much that summer, and I still use a variety of the training methods I learned there. Overall, my experience was very positive!

This place is terrible. The owner refers to her paying customers as "idiots." She cares about nothing but money, as seen by the care of a few of her "acquired" horses. She charges a large amount for riding lessons and they're terrible! The students don't learn how to properly control the horse! It's awful. Finally, she treats her interns like slaves and they never get to actually learn anything. Plus, they have terrible living conditions in nothing more than a bug-infested bunkhouse or camper trailer...