About Alyssa Neilson
From a young age Alyssa has always had a passion for learning about horses, reading every book about them she could get her hands on. Beginning with casual trail rides as a child, as an adult she moved on to Dressage lessons with a natural horsemanship trainer while leasing different horses, and eventually taking hunter jumper lessons.
While she learned a lot throughout all the lessons and instruction from professionals, she always felt uncomfortable with the harsh training methods, and couldn’t help but notice the equines facial expressions that seemed to mirror her own discomfort. Trusting the professionals, she brushed it off as being ‘normal’.
It wasn’t until after being gifted her first horse, Rayvn, in 2019 and being injured after their first ride together, that she began learning more about equine behavior and Positive Reinforcement. This knowledge quickly confirmed what she suspected all along – these horses were trying to communicate their discomfort, and there were much more ethical training methods that could be used.
Since then, Alyssa has been studying equine behavior, and applying Positive Reinforcement and Science-based training methods with her own horses as well as helping others to do the same. She continues to expand her knowledge and education by attending clinics, taking courses, and doing her own research.
Meet the Horses
“Rayvn”
Only Annie Peach - 2009 OTTB
Rayvn is a 16hh OTTB mare that was gifted to my sister and I in 2019. Rayvn was my first horse and the one that changed everything for me. After being injured from a fall our very first ride together, I started playing around with Clicker Training while my arm was in a sling. After realizing how quickly Rayvn was learning, I began teaching myself everything I could about R+ training and learning theory and haven’t looked back.
Rayvn used to be the horse that you had to be very careful around. It seemed like she was always pinning her ears or threatening to bite or kick. We spent a lot of time and money on different tests and treatments, but never got any answers. While I still believe part of this was due to pain or discomfort, I think a lot of it came from a lifetime of no one listening to her. Rayvn now not only just accepts and tolerates pets, scratches, and hugs, but will often seek out the interactions herself.
Our goal with Rayvn is to get her going under saddle again and go on some fun trail rides!
She loves the Reverse Roundpen and her favorite trick is “smile”.
“Danny”
2013 OTTB
Danny is a 16.2hh OTTB gelding that I’ve owned since November of 2022. He raced until he was 5yo and was then used in chuck wagon races until he was taken in by a R+ trainer in Arkansas. After getting him some much needed care and restarting him under saddle, they began looking to rehome him to a R+ home and I jumped at the chance and had him shipped up to Wisconsin.
Being thrown into another new home, Danny was very timid and untrusting of people. With some time and a lot of snacks, he’s really come out of his shell and is such a joy to work with. He’s has really taught me to slow down and has done a lot to help me strengthen my skills with clicker training and reading equine behavior.
Danny is a child at heart and loves to play with the young geldings. He loves his treat ball, cows, and halters. Any time you walk into the paddock with a halter, Danny will immediately great you with a loud nicker.
My goal with Danny is to eventually be able to go to some small, local Dressage shows and just have fun on some trail rides.