Welcome to the Collaborative Institute of Equestrian Studies (CIES), an equestrian certification program focused on horse training and the art of riding. Formerly, we were the Cascade Institute of Equestrian Studies, but we have changed our name to reflect our increasing collaboration with students and professionals in both the online and local horse communities. Through CIES, we provide students with coaching in equine clicker training and help them discover how to use positive reinforcement teaching in a horseback riding lesson program. We offer a ground work program for students wishing to learn about colt starting and young horse development, and a ridden training program for students wishing to advance their performance horse riding and training skills.

We think of our institute as a consortium of people, students and faculty alike, with a natural instinct for horse training. We do not believe in instructing students - we focus on coaching - a process of guided discovery study that hones what students instinctively know. The job of the faculty is to keep frustration low, safety high, and to help students and horses make steady progress, and ultimately excel.

What sets us apart from most colleges and other schools offering equine science and equine studies programs is that we function as an association of individuals coming together with the objective of participating in a common activity and pooling our resources for achieving a common goal. We are not a college nor a university - we are a certification program attending solely to the needs to equestrian professionals.

This model allows us to build the most important aspect of horse training - critical thinking and problem solving. Our goal is not to instill a particular equestrian doctrine in students. At CIES, we are not dogmatic, but instead give out students real-world situations with actual problems to solve, give them ideas about how to address the problems from historical and contemporary sources, and help them select the solution that is truest to their core values. This focus on self-direction and value-based decision-making gives our students the flexibility of mind and confidence to tackle any situation that comes their way in a professional setting.

• Learn about CIES on the about page.
• Read about how we train with positive reinforcement and clicker training on our methods page.
• Find out about our college-level on-site and online programs of study in equine clicker training, the art of riding, and equine education.
• Discover Bend, Oregon, the location of CIES.
• Learn how to apply.
• Read free articles and watch free videos on horse training, riding, and clicker training by CIES faculty.