Karen Murdock

Karen Murdock & Lukas

LUKAS

Lukas is a 17 year old registered off-the-track Thoroughbred gelding.  He is chestnut in color and 16.1 hands high.  He ran in three races as a two year old and bowed both front tendons.  After leaving the race track, he changed hands several  times over the following years and ended up neglected and emaciated in a back yard.  He was rescued and rehabilitated and then advertised for sale when he was not fitting in at a jumping stable.  Murdock purchased him as a "green project horse" when he was 10 years old, 7 years ago.  He went from being very uncooperative and dangerous to being listed on both Yahoo and Google as "The World's Smartest Horse," and Guinness is currently considering a record related to his feats.  He has been on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, HLN and  Equisearch and the Associated Press  released a feature story on him.  He is thought to be one of the top liberty (free/without any equipment) performers in the country, however, his main acclaim comes from his amazing abilities to spell, count, identify shapes, discriminate colors, understand the concepts of same/different, proportion, spatial relationships and absentness.   Furthermore, Lukas' special bond with Murdock has attracted world-wide attention.  He has been invited to attend many events and performs to support the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, TROTT (Training Racehorses off the Track), and HEAL (Human-Equine Alliances for Learning).  His purpose has become to share the happy results of kind training and to show others how wonderful and intelligent animals are.




KAREN MURDOCK

Karen Murdock, a retired psychiatric nurse, has been training animals for over 30 years using a combination of shaping techniques, a specialized clicker system and positive reinforcement.  Her unique approach uses games and play as a way to connect and bond with animals to build confidence, increase focus and improve performance.  She has also used the same techniques with her Spaniel, Wendel, to train him for pet therapy (including tricks for smiles!).  Murdock is dedicated to sharing the happy results of kind training and helping others to see how wonderful and intelligent animals are - all of her services and proceeds are donated.  She contributes to many newsletters, blogs, forums, and magazines and her much-awaited book is due out this Fall.  She is available for consultations, interviews and appearances.  Upcoming events include the Grand Prix HITS Desert Circuit, the Equine Affaire at the Pomona Fairplex  and America's Family Pet Expo at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

 





Photo by Sharon Fibelkorn

http://www.playingwithlukas.com