• BE QUIET. Horses and burros have extremely sharp hearing and respond best if you use soft, soothing sounds around them. To get a horse or burro's attention, whistles, squeaks, clucking or kissing sounds are more effective than loud abrupt noises.
   
• USE BODY LANGUAGE. Besides using your voice to communicate with your horse or burro, how you move your body -if it is relaxed, confident or tense- will also send messages.
   
• MAKE WHAT YOU WANT THE HORSE OR BURRO TO DO, THE EASY THING TO DO. Example: Your horse or burro will soon realize it is easier to put up with a human standing nearby in a calm, non-threatening manner while he is eating than to keep running away with an empty belly!
   
• MOVE SLOWLY. In the beginning, sudden movements will panic a newly adopted animal.
   
• BE CONSISTENT. Use the same signals and words for the same requests every time.
   
• BE CONFIDENT. Your horse or burro will follow the signals you are sending to it. If you appear anxious, your horse or burro will think something is wrong.
   
• BE CALM. If you run into a problem, ask yourself why the horse or burro is reacting this way. Then figure out how you can change his or her need to react that way.
   
• ENJOY YOURSELF AND YOUR NEW HORSE OR BURRO! Because each horse or burro and the adopter are unique, there cannot possibly be any one method that is perfect for every person and every animal. If something doesn't feel comfortable to you, find a new way to accomplish the same thing. You are teaching your horse or burro so you can form a partnership, not trying to break its will.
   
• For handy hints on caring, gentling and training your wild horse, try reading: THE WILD HORSE: AN ADOPTER'S MANUAL by Barbara Eustis-Cross and Nancy Bowker. If your library doesn't have the book, ask them to use interlibrary loan to get it for you.