About Brendán

For his whole life life Brendán has been involved in horses. With an unfaltering belief that it is our responsibility to train the horse in the most ethical way possible, Brendán’s goal is to develop the horse, with minimal stress achieving lightness through harmony and a belief in respect for the horse's sensitivity and learning processes.

The lifelong dream of setting up Bergin Equine materialised in 2010. From the time he spent at Blue Berry Hill in Denmark Brendán recognised the importance of an holistic team approach to equine management and training: “as individuals we are limited, but with the help of others we can realise our full potential!”. As Einstein said "Once we accept our limits, we can go beyond them".

Brendán’s experience working with horses has led him on different roads of training but the same key point SIMPLICITY always recurs.

Brendán’s employs learning theory to develop the horse using his natural learning processes. By working with the horses natural learning processes; training is more sensitive, faster, more thorough, more effective and more ethically sustainable.

When you train the horse allowing him to express himself or herself free from conflict and pain the horse can really “tell you when something is not right”, masking physical problems with strong pressures is completely inappropriate. Brendán’s goal in developing the horse is to truly deal with problems at the source. Dealing with the problem by changing the horses mind set and looking after his physical wellbeing with our partners

"Any person who works with another living organism has an effect, as such humans should consider themselves trainers"

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by how its animals are treated”- Ghandi

By training horses well in a sustainable manner, we can get the most from them and achieve our desired goals. The key point to remember is that in training

“It is not about the destination, it is about the journey”

If you achieve your goal using gadgets, violence and force then it is just a hollow victory. By removing all the crutches and focusing on your mental state you facilitate the success of the partnership.

In our training we allow the horse to go in his natural way according to good biomechanics. With our sound sensible approach we enhance the paces rather using brutality and force to coerce a false outline or movement which works to the animals detriment rather than his development. Good biomechanics aid in the journey to achieve “happy athlete” rather than the “muscular robot!”. With good rider mental state we can feel more of what the horse’s body is saying and train him according to his needs not just our own.

It is not our right to rush the horse. I strive to achieve the corner-stone of the classical training principles “harmony and lightness” at every stage in the training. I want to train horse using time, patience, focus and calm.

Brendán's goal with the aid of my mentors is to train the horse using:“Ethical Effective training achieving lightness through harmony” and encourage others to do the same.

To contact Brendán directly email: Brendan@BerginEquine.com or phone +353 86 813 3789.

Mentors
- Dr. Andrew Mclean PhD - who did the initial research into equine learning theory and continues researching to this day. He is an author of many articles on the subject as well as a number of texts.
- Susan Kjærgård - Grand prix show jumper, former top 100 in the world. With a gifted insight into biomechanics and learning theory.
- Dr. Helen Spence PhD An equine behaviorist brining together the balance of science and art creating a balanced approach to the training of the horse and rider.
- Patrick Print - OBE, FBHS
- Donald Kear- BHSI, List 2 Dressage Judge
- William Micklem -FBHS and renowned coach, speaker and author
- Jane Kennedy - Proprietor of Brennanstown Riding School