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Willingness cannot be forced.
If your horse can't say no, they can't meaningfully say yes.
WHAT WE DO
At The Willing Equine, we teach people how to build willing partnerships with horses through behavior science, positive reinforcement, and a whole-horse approach to care and training.
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We believe in choice without chaos, structure without coercion, and training that works in the real world. All while taking the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of both horse and human seriously.
Trust, cooperation, and consideration are the foundations of our training program.
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WHAT WE TEACH:
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A whole horse, holistic approach to behavior modification and training
Prioritizing the relationship between horse and human
Lasting success is found in hands-on education for committed oweners/caregivers
Give horses meaningful choice without abandoning structure.
A Least Invasive Minimally Aversive approach & following the Humane Hierarchy
Adapt training to the individual horse instead of forcing predetermined timelines.
Many equestrians come to us after years of being taught to ignore their own questions, instincts, and discomfort—to push harder, be less “soft,” and trust the method even when something about it doesn’t feel right.
We don’t believe good teaching should require people to override themselves any more than good training should require them to override their horses.
Our coaching is patient, clear, individualized, and designed to help people understand why something is happening, build the skills to make thoughtful training decisions, and grow more confident in what they’re seeing and feeling.
That philosophy is a big part of what shaped The Willing Equine Academy: a place to learn deeply, ask questions, receive thoughtful support, and become more skilled at creating training that is both practical and genuinely cooperative.
THE WILLING EQUINE TEAM
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ADELE SHAW, CEBC
Head Training & Founder
Adele Shaw, CEBC, is an internationally recognized equine behavior consultant, trainer, educator, and founder of The Willing Equine. Her work centers around positive reinforcement, behavior science, and helping people create genuinely cooperative partnerships with horses—where the horse’s experience, communication, and willingness matter just as much as the behavior being taught.
Her approach considers the whole horse, including health, environment, lifestyle, learning history, and emotional well-being, while helping people develop the clarity, skill, and creativity to meet real-life needs. Adele’s teaching is thoughtful, individualized, and grounded in the belief that meaningful choice requires structure, clarity, connection and education.
THE HERD
Throughout the years Adele has owned and worked with many horses, and each of them has left a permanent bookmark in her life story with an endless list of lessons they taught, her current herd being no exception. She currently has 7 horses, who each come from unique backgrounds and have so much to give. They can be found living a species-appropriate lifestyle in between enjoying positive reinforcement-based training sessions and starring in educational and inspirational content for TWE Academy members.
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THE FACILITY
Adele and her herd reside at a private facility in Central Texas. Sign up for the newsletter to stay in touch about upcoming events.
