trainer profile
A Laying On of Hands & Heart
Colorado trainer has found success following her heart and instincts in using healthful, natural products, combined with a hands-on, labor intensive approach
by Betsy Furth
am Fisher has been enthralled with horses all of her life. Born in
Pennsylvania and raised in a
suburb of Philadelphia, she grew up in the heart of horse country.
From age eight, when she was given her first horse, she immersed herself in the competitive riding and racing worlds. In the course of her long career, Pam has become a highly regarded horse trainer and an expert three-day event competitor with dozens of honors to her name.
In college Pam studied animal behavior, adding scientific study to her innate understanding. Her life’s work, as it turns out, brings all of her learning, intuition and experience to bear: in addition to training, Pam heals horses with creativity, compassion, common sense and heart.
Pam has owned and operated her own horse facility since 1986, training horses for many equestrian disciplines. Over time, her interest in rehabilitation of injured horses has grown exponentially.
H
er introduction to rehabbing horses came more than 20 years
ago through an invitation to sit in on a meeting about nutritional and healing products for horses. Te use of magnetic field therapy had just been introduced. Already a well-regarded trainer, Pam was entrusted with the care of an injured event horse for sale on consignment. She used the treatments and dietary
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“Horses are social creatures and they need fresh air and sunshine and companionship, just like people do,” Pam says. “If you’re happy and in a good frame of mind, you’ll heal faster.” She also likens horses to young children. “Tink of your horse as a four-year-old child. Try to keep its life as simple as
Using alternative therapies, Colorado trainer Pam Fisher
keeps herself and her horses in top condition for competition.
supplements available at the time, in addition to the relatively new magnetic therapy. Instead of the expected six- month rehabilitation period, the horse was healed in just three months.
possible. Treat it like a member of your family.”
______________
Healing injured animals holistically takes a great
investment of time and effort and an understanding of a
horse’s basic nature. ______________
Pam moved to Colorado in 1994 and established her facility, Ruffian Stables, in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen. Since then she has continued all of the facets of her career, including her rehabilitation treatment, under the sunny, clear skies of the Rocky Mountains.
EMBRACING THE ALTERNATIVE APPROACH
for animals grew, Pam’s treatment of horses continued to evolve. “People
A
in general are more open-minded in terms of alternative therapies now,” she says. Working closely with veterinarians to diagnose and create an individual treatment plan for each animal, Pam has found that in many instances, depending on the injury or shape of the horse when she receives it, her treatments can cut healing time in half.
An enthusiastic proponent of a healthy diet, Pam incorporates many of the same nutritional supplements into her
continued on p. 22 Holistic Horse™ • August/September 2010 • Vol.16, Issue 68
s interest in and acceptance of alternative healing therapies
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