"The best place for him is the feedlot. He's too far gone; he's so scrambled that he's not coming back." Those were the words of a trainer called in to evaluate a nine-year old gelding who was quickly becoming unmanageable. Lukas had begun life as a promising race horse, but an injury had ended his career before it began, and a succession of abusive and neglectful homes had left him with little hope and even less spirit. Purchased as an "inexpensive project horse" from a jumping stable where he had failed, again, to fit in, Lukas was well on his way to fulfilling that trainer's prediction.

Lukas was purchased with Dressage - a type of English riding - competitions in mind. But he had other ideas. Just being hand walked brought out the invisible monsters that then followed him into his own stall. After numerous disappointments and many frustrating days, his latest owner turned to trick training as a way to gain his trust. This playful interactive way of relating with animals has long been a way for trainers to enhance learning and make horses more attractive for adoption. But, could it also be a way to help Lukas reach his potential?

So the journey began - face tricks being the easiest and simplest, the smile was attempted first. As a psychiatric nurse for 25 years, Lukas' owner had developed a system which includes a combination of behavior modification techniques and her own version of clicker training. She also uses a wide variety of bits and pieces from many different areas: circus to cowboy, Spanish Riding School to Sea World. Kindness and liberty (free/loose) training are the foundation of her system along with positive reinforcement and brief, enjoyable lessons which provide the most beneficial results for both student and trainer.

She immediately began to notice a shift in Lukas' attitude - Lukas would greet her arrival with a loud whinny instead of the stubborn defiance of the past. Training sessions were now games that he initiated with a happy eagerness and ceaseless enthusiasm. The smile had been learned within days and Lukas had been adding new tricks weekly to his ever-expanding repertoire.

His spookiness disappeared as his trust, confidence and focus improved. And his under-saddle work? Through game playing he had "learned to learn," and had become a joy to ride.

Around this time, Lukas' trainer began to wonder just how much Lukas could learn. She happened to pick up the book, Beautiful Jim Key - a fascinating story about a horse who lived at the turn of the century. Jim is considered to be the most intelligent horse that has ever lived - his IQ was estimated to be equivalent to that of a 5th grader. So she began to include cognitive tasks into Lukas' lessons, and the rest is history, as they say.

To date, Lukas' talents include the smile, yes, no, kiss, pose, yawn, catch, fetch, being blindfolded, crossing his front legs, acting lame, curtsey, wave, going to a mark, pedestal work, Spanish walk (a high stepping walk), jambette (three-legged pivot), passage (like skipping), bow, sit, lay down, putting his feet all together, playing hide and seek, stay and come, pushing a cart and the rear.

Most of his acclaim has come from his abilities to spell, count, identify shapes, discriminate colors and his understanding of object permanence, spatial relationships, proportion, same/different and absentness. Moreover, the special bond Lukas has with his trainer has been celebrated by animal lovers all over the world.

What's next for Lukas? His owner plans to continue to share the happy results of kind training and to show how smart and wonderful animals are for their improved treatment. Like the sign on his gate reads "Fairy Tales Do Come True."