"Anyone who has foals knows just how important starting their education is. As Logan is the first foal I have bred, needless to say he is very special to me and when it came time to begin his education, I was unsure where to go and who to turn to. After reading Grants website, in particular foal handling and talking to him about Logan, I knew exactly where I wanted Logan, his mum, Lady, and I to go.
From the first moment when Grant came out to collect the two of them I knew I had made the right decision. Watching the transformation in Logan under Grants kind and gentle yet firm methods was an amazing and a wonderful experience, Grant’s horsemanship skills are something special. Every care was provided to Logan and Lady and Grant was only too happy to have me involved with Logan’s education and answer all my questions. I can guarantee that everything offered for foal handling is delivered. Now we are back home, Logan is a relaxed, well mannered, responsive colt who is just a joy to be around. Thank you Grant for everything you have done for Logan and myself. We will definitely be coming back for more once Logan has been weaned. "- Shannon Herd, Bassendean, W.A. March 2004

  "I have had my 3 year old, registered Australian Stock Horse gelding, "Cardinals Jazz" since he was 19 months old. When it came time for him to be broken in, I sent him to a 'fashionable' breaker. Jazz spent 4 weeks there and I was excitedly looking forward to our future together. Alas, the horse that I brought home was ignorant and arrogant. He knew very little and, needless to say, I ended up 'over the handle bars'. Sufficiently rattled, I proceeded no further and felt that I would be better selling him to someone far more capable than myself.
Fortunately, however, I decided to send him to Grant Walske for a second chance and am glad I did! After 18 days with Grant this horse is now trusting in people and trustworthy. On getting him home I was riding him out on the roads and in the bush, something I could not do before. I recently took him to my local club and rode him calmly and quietly in and around the arenas as other riders had their lessons. Jazz is now very soft and responsive to rein and leg.
I have no hesitation in recommending Grant to deal with any horse related problems. He is kind and patient and is the best person I know to give your horse the very best start to his career. Thank you Grant."- Vera Sulc, Mt. Helena, WA. March 2004

  " I have had "Blake", my 6yr old QH gelding, back home from Chilcotin now for 2 weeks. Recently purchased, he had been broken in (not well) and barely ridden. He really needed handling & education. I approached what I thought was a reputable local trainer and floated Blake around for him to look at. After less than an hour he was deemed 'too difficult to train' and if I could do anything with him he'd love to hear back from me! It was not a nice experience and I was in shock for 2 days. I should have followed my original instincts and 'started' with Grant!
Taking "Blake" to Grant, his assessment within a hour was 'Won't be a problem!' Within 2 days Grant was riding him on the roads and tracks around Gidgegannup. On New Years Eve - the best ever - I rode him after only 14 hours of education and not just in the paddock but out on the roads and tracks!
As a pretty 'green' rider, "Blake" is my first horse and I very much appreciate the time Grant spent educating me as well as "Blake". In the time spend teaching me the ground work and ridden exercises and on the rides around Gidgegannup, Grant gave me confidence in handling "Blake" and asserting my leadership in a gentle and positive manner. My time spent travelling from Serpentine to Gidgegannup was certainly worth the effort.
Grant delivered what he promises on his website under "HORSE STARTING - WHAT WE OFFER! "Blake" and I can also now open and close our gates without getting off and he is a dream to position at the back of the tractor or next to a milk crate to mount when riding him bareback! We are now becoming the best of 'pals'. Now all we need is time in the saddle. An experience I will never forget!….working with a horseman with that 'something special'!" - Terésa Schwaiger, Serpentine, WA. January 2004

  " Grant, Thank you very much, you have done a great job starting my filly "Cosi". I'd recommend you to anyone. Thanks for your hospitality too over the weeks! " - Tricia Jefferis, Gidgegannup, W.A. November 2003

  " Dear Grant, Many thanks for all your help with my Warmblood filly "Emily". We now continue our journey together from a better point than where it began. I look forward to my journey of continued learning and understanding. Regards, " - Leanne Morris, Herne Hill, W.A. November 2003

  " Dear Grant, Just a note to say many thanks for the fantastic job you did educating my warmblood yearling colt. He is a model citizen, floats like an old hand and has perfect ground manners. He is now growing up with a mob of a dozen geldings and it is simple to walk up to him, put a lead rope on and separate him from the herd. I'll certainly be sending my future youngstock to you. Best wishes, " - Kieth Smettem, Phoenix Warmbloods, W.A. October 2003

  " Dear Grant: As promised herewith a few words to express my admiration for the work you have done in training Mon-Taj. He was returned to us beautifully trained by you and we very much appreciate your light and gentle touch in educating him to saddle; working on his natural intelligence and ability to learn rather than harsher methods of control. I would recommend you and your training methods to anyone. I have personally determined to try to work more on feel and less on restraints as I see how well your methods have worked. Not being the greatest rider in the world, the challenge for me personally will be to avoid him going backwards in my care and for me to avoid hardening his soft and sensitive mouth. As you will be aware it is years since I have ridden at all, yet I have every confidence in this relatively young stallion after your training. ..... Thanks again and best regards " - John Bell, Shahwan Nakeeda Stud, Mount Helena, W.A.

  " Wilbur is my 2 yr old cremello Quarter Horse whom I have had since birth. I have always felt he was very special so I wanted to give him the very best start in life when it came to his starting him under saddle. I saw Grant Walske on his Chilcotin web site and, after speaking with him, thought he would be the best horseman for the job. Grant is very professional, his kind, caring and firm attitude soon had Wilbur putting his complete trust in him. He is now very light, responsive, quiet and a well mannered horse. I am now looking forward to a bright future and loyal partnership with Wilbur. I would not hesitate to recommend Grant to anyone for training any horse whatsoever. " - Pauline Heritage, Muchea, W.A. June 2003

  " I contacted Grant when I started having float problems with my horse, Destiny. I had seen Grant working with a friend's 'problem' horse, and I had been very impressed with his calm and gentle but firm, no-nonsense approach to working with horses. In particular, I wanted to learn Grant's method of float loading - sending the horse onto the float rather than leading or using any sort of rope behind the haunches - because I saw it as a much safer method for both human and horse. His methods were very effective with Destiny, who can sometimes kick up a BIG fuss and who had to overcome the memory of an injury from the float. In a relatively short time Grant had Destiny walking onto the float 'on cue', waiting patiently, and then backing up slowly to get off. However, what was even more important was that Grant then helped me to learn how to do it for myself, giving me an understanding of my horse and the way I give him instructions. I was able to learn new skills and confidence for working with my horse and for dealing with problems effectively when they first arise. " - Sandra Frid, Perth, W.A. June 2003.

  " Don't think what the horse is doing wrong, ask yourself what you are doing wrong." Since day-dot I have been taught to pull, tug, kick and tighten. Now, sadly, I realise my horse didn't have the problem, it was who was on its back which made it hard to communicate. Grant made me realise what I had been doing was wrong. Now I have two young horses that are responsive, very easy to handle and best of all a delight to ride. This is what I have been dreaming of. Now I can regain confidence in the saddle, in myself and my horses. I have a bond with my horses formed on trust and respect. They are willing to please and that makes riding and being around them more pleasurable. I highly recommend Grant and Chilcotin Services. The results speak for themselves. They come straight from the happy horses mouth. Thankyou Grant and Lyn for you wealth of knowledge, humour and time. I can rest easy now, as I know my horses are happy, confident. " - Sandra Peirce, Duranillin, W.A. June 2003.

  " Dear Grant, I just wanted to thank you for your work with my mare Lady Kingston and for assisting me in regaining my confidence in the saddle. Your schooling, knowledge and patience has transformed an uneducated mare into a quiet, gentle and sensitive young horse. Had you not schooled this horse and taught me how to handle her affectively and understand her, I believe our relationship would have been based on distrust and confusion. Apart from your excellent Horsemanship skills, I found the service friendly, well organised and exceptionally well priced. Please also except my gratitude in regards to the "first class" care of my horse while she was agisted on your premises and under your supervision. I look forward to continuing my Horsemanship lessons with you and I predict an excellent future and a great partnership for Lady Kingston and myself!" - Jennifer Murphy, May 2003.

  "Dear Grant, Just a quick note to thank you for the work on Jonah. Its been our pleasure to have had you start our Welsh Cob/TB under saddle. You have given us the starting block to a great riding future. Jonah has come back with so much knowledge! He is calm and very responsive to all cues. You also have taught us a lot more about horsemanship which we now use in our everyday routine when dealing with Jonah and our other horses. We would recommend your services to anybody who needs to educate or re-educate their horse and/or themselves. Thanks very much." - Shane & Andrea Fuchsbichler, Gidgegannup, March, 2003.

  "In March 2002 I was ready start my young quarter horse mare (Kit Kat) and I was pretty particular with what I wanted. I was looking for someone with a soft, gentle but firm attitude, as I knew starting a horse would be her foundation for life. I was never really keen to get a young horse as I did not want the drama's associated with handling them. I found Grant and he started Kit Kat and the result was fantastic.!! Kit Kat is a dream to ride, she is as quiet as a mouse. Grant covered ground work, floating, feet, teeth and of course riding. His horsemanship skills, handling and communicating with horses is truly a pleasure to watch. Within 3 to 4 lessons I was able to get involved with her education, going out for rides with Grant, groundwork etc..he was more than willing to get me involved (as was I) with the whole process. To this day I only ride in a rope halter, she is just so relaxed about life!!! I could quite honestly say that she doesn't have any drama's. I would not hesitate recommending Grant to anyone I know, as the results speak for themselves. I look forward to visiting Grant again for some more lessons"......Brandie Allen, Dalwallinu March, 2003.

  "My 5days with Grant Walske on personal horsemanship training were enlightening – and fun. Having recently completed an Parelli’s Natural Horsemanship introductory, I was interested in expanding on this gentle-but-firm approach. Grant’s programme enabled me to do just that, both in the saddle & on the ground. Depending on the horses he had available on a given day, I was able to learn heaps about working SAFELY with different types of horses -- young, nervous, toey, inattentive, in addition to helping them resolve bad habits, enforce the good ones. My own performance on horseback was much improved, as were basic skills, from knot-tying to cleaning out hooves. The programme was custom-driven, considering my own areas of interest, with a nice balance of riding, groundwork, and “watch & learn” segments. And lunches were splendid! I cannot more highly recommend Grant for anyone keen to take their horsemanship knowledge to a higher level. It was well-worth the time I put into it, in addition to a roundtrip flight to Perth from Singapore. I’ve already planned to return later in 2003!"......L. Bendig, Singapore, Feb '03.

  "I sent my newly purchased unstarted 3yr Palomino Quarter Horse to Grant in Gidgegannup all the way from Port Hedland over 1400kms away. I knew that the starting of my horses education was to be the most important time of his life and with all my searching I finally found Grant Walske and Chilcotin Services on the net. Chilcotin Services had every thing I was looking for; the foundations of partnership between horse and human, gaining respect and cooperation softly and gently. When I picked my young horse up I was amazed with what I was taking home. Grant done an excellent job in starting and educating him and would not hesitate on recommending Grant to those who wish to start their young horses in the right direction.Thank you Grant. Chardy and I are having a great time".......Janelle Gardner, Port Hedland, WA, Feb ‘03.

  "I bought my 15yr old gelding, Kaz, with the knowledge he had a float loading problem, after a week of trying to entice him into the float without success I contacted Grant. Grant had him loading willingly and calmly after 1 1/2 hrs, the loading is no longer a problem! In the process Grant showed me soft but firm approaches to get my horse to respond to various requests. Kaz then spent three days with Grant at Gidgiganup ironing out 'callouses' he had acquired over the years, such as bush jigging, avoiding the bit, and general bad manners. I also spent several hours there gaining invaluable knowledge on how to be confident, focused and in charge of my horse. Since then my relationship with Kaz has flourished and our partnership is gaining strength day by day. I have wonderful relaxed bush rides on a long rein, his mouth is soft and responsive, his collection is impressive and his manners are much improved. I am still not certain exactly who was more influenced by Grant's exceptional understanding of horses, and horsemanship, me or Kaz! The combination has undoubtedly made owning and riding Kaz a complete pleasure"..........Melissa Guest 21.11.02
  "What really impressed us when we took our pony to Grant to solve some floating problems was that Grant was not only willing to, but encouraged us to take part in the whole education process and thereby educated us together with the pony. By following up on the work we started together we can now with confidence load and unload our pony on/off the float without any use of force.We will not hesitate to ask Grant for help again in any matter concerning our horses."........Charles Douglas and Lotte Reib, Mount Helena W.A.

  "I took my rising 6yr old QH mare to Grant with a list of problems. She hated to unload from the float, hated people around her rear end , was a pain to shoe etc. etc. Within 6 days Grant had transformed this mare into an absolute pleasure to be around. The respect that my mare showed Grant almost immediately was an inspiration. Not only is Grant a quiet and gentle horseman, he also took the time to point out my faults with the horse and how to rectify them. Since bringing her home I have continued along the same practices as Grant, reinforcing what she has been taught, and in doing so have fallen in love with her all over again. Grant, I am having great pleasure leading Monty in the dance . Thankyou".......Karen Carrier, Parkerville WA.

  "I hardly recognise my horse - he is a different animal! Grant has done twice as much in two weeks as others have done in months..He is going forward well and responding to leg aids and at last I am getting full enjoyment from riding him"...........Freda Wernblom, Toodyay.

  "I am a 14 yo girl and nearly a year ago I outgrew my 12.2hh pony and was looking for something bigger. I saw a horse for sale on Stockyard.net that Grant owned and had started. I went down to look at him and was instantly impressed, so I bought him. He is a big 17hh TB chestnut gelding. He is very quiet and calm and although I now do english style riding with him he has remained that way. He has a very soft mouth and is very obedient. I have no trouble stopping him. All of Grants horses that I have seen are like this. Henry is no exception. He is a gentle giant. He is very willing to please and so are all of Grants horses. Grant builds trust and a horse works well with trust.".....Louise Crosby, South Lake, W.A.

  "Bella is a 2yo part Arab filly and the first horse that I bred myself. As she is so special to me I wanted to make sure that her breaking and training was done properly so I sent her to Grant. He had previously worked on another filly of mine and I was pleasantly surprised with the change of attitude she had when she came home. Well, if I was suprised by his work with Elle, I was thrilled by the results he achieved with Bella. In only three weeks, he had her loading, tying up, shod, and educated to the point where she could be ridden out with confidence. She has three even paces, a soft mouth and a great stop button. I also have another two yearling fillies at home that I am looking forward to sending to Grant for their education next year. I plan on using my horses for hacking and dressage and would recommend Grant as a trainer for your horse regardless of the discipline.".........Karen James – Bunbury, W.A.

  "I have previously had a lot of trouble with my 14yo stock horse who has been 'cooked' playing polocrosse. Grant has taken us right back to basics and taught me how to communicate with my horse - in short I have begun to understand how a horse thinks and as a result we have improved enormously in a relatively short time. The biggest plus is that we can now enjoy our riding instead of it being a struggle and my horse is so much happier and easy to be around. Thanks, Grant, for your insight and I would not hesitate to recommend you.".....Cilla Kuiper, Wooroloo, W.A.

  "I was so impressed with the way in which Grant started my warmblood filly that I recently sent my Quarterhorse filly to him as well.Grant worked kindly and effectively with the gentle nature of both horses to get the best out of my young fillys. Grants' excellent work has made my job of training my horses much easier. I would have no hesitation in sending more horses to Grant, and would certainly recommend him in starting young horses and fixing any equine behavourial problems."....... Leone Baxter (Corbracagh Stables, Gidgegannup, W.A.).

  "Our 5 yo Clydie cross had been through several homes by the time we bought her. and had hardly been ridden - we sent her to Grant to make sure that this time she got off on the right foot, and got a solid foundation to set her up for the future. We were very happy - she was so light and responsive, and is now being trained for eventing."........Brigette Hawthorne, Mandurah, W.A.

  "We sent our Shetland pony to Grant to be started in harness. He did a marvelous job and the pony is a real treat to drive"......Louise Burden, Mount Helena, W.A.

  "We recently sent two Thoroughbred yearlings to Grant Walske for ground handling and float education and are very pleased with the results".....Lex Wright, Ray White Real Estate, Mundaring, W.A.

  "Grant is a professional horseman with a quiet manner around horses. He produces soft and relaxed horses who understand their work. His facilities are suitable and safe. I am very pleased with the work done with my Warmblood mare and have no hesitation in recommending Grant for preparation of horses for any discipline"...........Michelle Ford, Parkerville, W.A.

  "Grant Walske gave a very professional approach to starting my Andalusian colt under saddle and he inspired me the way he used a soft hand right through the horses education. I would not hesitate in using Grant again. 'Thank you, Grant', for a great job."....Stewart Briegal, Swanview, W.A.

  "I approached Grant to wean and handle Oakley, my 8 mos old QH colt. He needed to be weaned and would not let anyone touch him apart from scratching his rump......... In a short space of time Oakley was a changed colt. I could touch him all over and he would follow me around. He leads easily, is comfortable with his feet being trimmed and loads and travels in a float like an old campaigner. I cannot thank Grant enough for the way he has handled Oakley. Watching Grant work with horses is a heart warming experience. He has a natural ability that comes from within when handling horses. He gains the trust from horses in a short space of time.... All I can say is he is a natural and would recommend anyone to use him for their horses."..Kylie Howard