Charlie and Milda Minter are professional Paso Fino horse trainers. Both have been training horses for at least 20 years and Paso Finos are their specialty and focus. The Minters advantage is that after over 20 years of training Paso Finos, they can understand and handle these horses with a minimum of fuss while maximizing their potential.
Philosophy: No matter what the bloodines, talent, looks, or disposition are, the Minters train to maximize each horse's potential whether it is a top show horse or nice trail companion. They encourage owners to come to the farm to ride and handle their horses, so that when the horses go home they are secure and comfortable with their owners and the transition is easy.
Methods: The Minters training methods are firm but gentle. They don't spoil the horses but want them comfortable with people and respectful. All horses are started in the same way, with groundwork for several days to several weeks, depending on the horse and how much handling it has had. The groundwork concentrates on making the horse respectful of people on the lead line and reins, teaches the horse to be flexible and supple, and makes the horse responsive and attentive to the handler.
All horses are ridden at first with a ground person on a lunge line, learning to flex, stop, turn, back, and generally maneuver with the weight of a rider. Then they progress to solo rides in the arena and are graduated to the trails when they are more settled.
Only after the horses are confident and consistent do we try to determine what the best use for that horse will be, although we will have some idea based on an evaluation of the horse's movement and attitude even before training begins. Each horse's ultimate use will depend on the brio, disposition, quickness, power, quality of gait, athletic ability, presence, and overall quality.
The Minters progress each horse only as fast as that horse can handle based on physical and mental maturity and actual age. They believe every horse has its own special use and that each horse will be most comfortable mentally and physically when we find that use, making the horse a more solid and consistent individual.