TRAINING "a bunch of untrained horses" in Western Australia, is just another typical day for horse wrangler and whisperer Adam Sutton.
Raised in a horse-loving family from Cooranbong on the NSW Central Coast, Adam jumped into his first saddle at three and by eight owned his own horse.
Adam says he can't remember a time when horses weren't a part of his life.
"They are a part of my life, I work with them everyday," he said.
As a horse whisperer, Adam explores the relationship between a horse and their rider, shining a new light on what can be a confusing situation.
He became involved in campdrafting and rodeos, competing across Australia, until he returned home to pursue his equine passion, starting All-Round Horsemanship in 1999, using his formal training and natural affinity with horses to teach owners and their horses how better to work with each other.
As a specialist in wild and problem horses, Adam said to have a better understanding of each animal he had to understand their pasts.
His own best friend, stallion Archie, was an unraced Thoroughbred he saved from slaughter and was one of the first he trained.
"I take various types of horses, problem horses and young wild horses - it's like talking to 10 different people with 10 different pasts," he said.
"You have to counsel the horses and find out why they are problem horses, there is no set time limit when it comes to training them.
"They might have been through something traumatic and you have to connect with them and help them through that.
"Some have been through a really rough trot or are traumatised."
Adam has learned his craft from a few different people, and said you had to take into consideration the horse's welfare and mental state when training them.
"We want the horse to be a willing worker so you have to work with them on what they can do rather than what they can't," he said.
Adam's knack with horses has taken him across the world, working on a number of films and television series, training the actors and horses to do different things, from actually riding the horse to rolling and shooting guns.
He got his first film gig in 2001 as a wrangler and teacher on the Australian movie Ned Kelly with actor Heath Ledger.
It was his encounter with Ledger on this film that gave him the opportunity to work on the Academy Award winning film Brokeback Mountain.
More recently, Adam did the same work on the set of Channel Seven's Wild Boys.
Well before his globe trotting wrangling business, Adam spent a number of years at his local pony club and around the Watagan Mountains, training and polishing his skills.
Adam is looking forward to getting back in the competition ring, performing and competing in the rodeo circuit sometime in the future, but said right now he was happy with the way work was going at the moment.
He also does do a lot of work for the Hunter Valley Brumbie Association which keeps him busy.
