On Christmas Day 2010, a little grey pony made the news after being cruelly dragged behind a car. Police documented that he was dragged from the passenger side on a bitumen road up to speeds of 60kms/hr for about 3kms. He then fell into a ditch on the side of the road where very concerned onlookers called the police. The driver and passenger were identified at the time by the onlookers.

After the incident, the little grey pony was taken to the RSPCA's Fairfield Shelter for veterinary attention, where he was named "Elf" for being very small and found on Christmas day. He was then transferred to Redlands Vet Clinic where he underwent rehabilitation of his extensive injuries.

Jill Strachan met 'Elf' and knew from the start he would have the right temperament to work with kids. Jill runs E.L.F. Inc. - Equine Learning for Futures, a not for profit organisation that develops horsemanship programs for at risk youth.

In this article Jill explains how using the Learning Theory based training system developed by the Australian Equine Behaviour Centre, she is re-training 'Elf' to become more relaxed and begin to trust humans again....

Read the full article by clicking on the link to the August issue of Horses and People Magazine...